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Hinterlands: Journeys through Europe’s Unfinished Frontiers
Not yet published
Expected 4 Jun 26'Compelling and disquieting' JON LEE ANDERSON, author of The Fall of Baghdad
'Gripping and thought-provoking... poignant stories, memorably told' EDWARD LUCAS, author of The New Cold War
Long before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, conflict was simmering on Europe's borders. In overlooked territories in eastern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus - from the Balkans and Cyprus to Abkhazia on the fringes of Georgia - local disputes spiral into regional crises, global alliances are forged and broken, and power is brokered while the West looks elsewhere.
In Hinterlands, acclaimed correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith draws on vivid first-hand encounters with politicians, spies and ordinary people caught in the crosshairs to paint a gripping portrait of Europe at its edges - and the struggles that will define its future.
'Gripping and thought-provoking... poignant stories, memorably told' EDWARD LUCAS, author of The New Cold War
Long before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, conflict was simmering on Europe's borders. In overlooked territories in eastern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus - from the Balkans and Cyprus to Abkhazia on the fringes of Georgia - local disputes spiral into regional crises, global alliances are forged and broken, and power is brokered while the West looks elsewhere.
In Hinterlands, acclaimed correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith draws on vivid first-hand encounters with politicians, spies and ordinary people caught in the crosshairs to paint a gripping portrait of Europe at its edges - and the struggles that will define its future.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication June 4, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Did Not Finish
March 12, 2026maybe too short to dig into these stories enough, but just not a writing style that worked for me and i couldn't stay engaged. the idea of 'journeying' through these places suggests you're going to get more insight into the lives of their people, and a more vivid image of what being in these areas are like, than this book delivers. there is very little human aspect to this. i found it hurtled at breakneck speed through the most brief possible overviews of international politics ('they did this. this happened. then these people backed by these people got involved. then this person responded by doing this) in a way that rendered the stories it was telling pretty dull.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC from NetGalley
The hinterlands discussed in the book are, unsurprisingly, strange and interesting places. Unavoidably, there are many interesting stories in this book, but they come as disjointed digressions from an incoherent narrative. It really doesn't feel like Smith has a thesis or narrative in mind, but has merely collected a series of travelogues. I would not find that objectionable in itself -- travel writing can be amazing -- but the organization of each entry is awful. History is mixed with personal anecdotes, mixed with political, mixed with forecasts, going back and forth inorganically.
Although I deeply wanted to be gripped by these stories of such odd places, I ultimately found myself frustrated at the telling of them and skimmed much of the latter third of the book just to finish.
The hinterlands discussed in the book are, unsurprisingly, strange and interesting places. Unavoidably, there are many interesting stories in this book, but they come as disjointed digressions from an incoherent narrative. It really doesn't feel like Smith has a thesis or narrative in mind, but has merely collected a series of travelogues. I would not find that objectionable in itself -- travel writing can be amazing -- but the organization of each entry is awful. History is mixed with personal anecdotes, mixed with political, mixed with forecasts, going back and forth inorganically.
Although I deeply wanted to be gripped by these stories of such odd places, I ultimately found myself frustrated at the telling of them and skimmed much of the latter third of the book just to finish.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Chaotic and hasty and not really thought through at all (the very first chapter is on Syria, a couple borders away from Europe, you know). I guess monetizing all these voyages was tempting, but it could (and should) have been done better.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews