Desmond Hogan is one of Ireland's leading writers. In addition to his novels and stories, he has travelled widely (for various newspapers) to some of the strangest and most fascinating parts of the world. In the past fifteen years, he has visited Soviet Russia, Central America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Each of the pieces in this volume is both a personal and a geographical journey, and taken together they amount to a vivid picture of a changing world. 'Hogan is a portraitist of place, sometimes a minaturist, but the detail is exquisite... he writes superbly. This 'scrapbook' has a coherence, an identity, that comes only from a refusal to take things lightly while permitting lightness to the imagination.' - Ian Bell, The Herald. 'Hogan has a perfect eye for happenings at the edge and for the details that others ignore. He writes in the lyrical prose of a wandering, restless storyteller... his haunted, mesmeric style is laden with echoes and an elegaic richness.' - Sean Dunne, Cork Examiner. 'Hogan is not just a travelling fellow, but a sensitive and hyperliterate fellow traveller.' - Martin Cropper, Sunday Times. 'Hogan is an Irish writer of exceptional talent and sensitivity - a true original. A beautiful book.' - Midweek