Moorcroft continually puts himself in the most dangerous parts of the battlefield and the bar-room, relating tales from both that will make your hair stand on end, and rubbing shoulders with some of the most murderous fanatics the world has known as well as some of the gentlest people who just want to get on with their lives. Not surprisingly, Africa features heavily here, as does the Middle East and the Balkans, and this gripping collection of dispatches is sure to astound, horrify, amaze, and, due to the nature of the writer, amuse and entertain in equal measure.