Here, like a treasure chest, are the polished gems of a whole life of writing on the road, reflecting a world now totally lost to us. From Yemen of the Imams to bandit chieftains, Neapolitan men of honour and tribal chieftains in Central America, as well as darker scenes: the doomed cultures of French rule in Indo-China, Cossacks being sent home to their death and the quiet holocaust of the indigenous peoples in the jungles of South America. This is a book of immense range and power, informed by an extraordinary lightness of touch: humour, humanity and the telling detail.

‘He really goes in deep like a sharp polished knife. I have never travelled in my armchair so fast, variously and well.’ – V.S.Pritchett, New Statesman

‘Lewis is such a fine and amusing writer – and also such an intensely moral and humane one – that he can make even the most horrible situations both bearable and instructive.’ William Dalrymple, Sunday Times

‘A truly remarkable and admirable author. The man is simply amazing.’ – Harry Ritchie, Mail on Sunday