Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London and has spent the past decade in the Middle East and South Asia. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for a number of publications including the Independent, the Financial Times, the Economist, and the New York Review of Books. His previous book was shortlisted for the 2004 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize He lives in Tehran with his wife and son.

'A finely-written, brave and very personal book' Orhan Pamuk 'Sifting through propaganda, partisan accounts and evasive oral histories, de Bellaigue delivers a comprehensive primer in Turkish political history' Guardian 'This marvellous book is a classic, not just of travel writing, but as a simple exposition of a reporter's job; to travel, spend time somewhere, and report. It should also be included on the Turkish education syllabus, but that, I think, will have to wait for a while' Literary Review 'A brilliant literary thriller, an incursion into forbidden territory that is all the more gripping for being true' The Times

Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London and has spent the past decade in the Middle East and South Asia. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for a number of publications including the Independent, the Financial Times, the Economist, and the New York Review of Books. His previous book was shortlisted for the 2004 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize He lives in Tehran with his wife and son.

'A finely-written, brave and very personal book' Orhan Pamuk 'Sifting through propaganda, partisan accounts and evasive oral histories, de Bellaigue delivers a comprehensive primer in Turkish political history' Guardian 'This marvellous book is a classic, not just of travel writing, but as a simple exposition of a reporter's job; to travel, spend time somewhere, and report. It should also be included on the Turkish education syllabus, but that, I think, will have to wait for a while' Literary Review 'A brilliant literary thriller, an incursion into forbidden territory that is all the more gripping for being true' The Times

Christopher de Bellaigue was born in London and has spent the past decade in the Middle East and South Asia. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for a number of publications including the Independent, the Financial Times, the Economist, and the New York Review of Books. His previous book was shortlisted for the 2004 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize He lives in Tehran with his wife and son.

'A finely-written, brave and very personal book' Orhan Pamuk 'Sifting through propaganda, partisan accounts and evasive oral histories, de Bellaigue delivers a comprehensive primer in Turkish political history' Guardian 'This marvellous book is a classic, not just of travel writing, but as a simple exposition of a reporter's job; to travel, spend time somewhere, and report. It should also be included on the Turkish education syllabus, but that, I think, will have to wait for a while' Literary Review 'A brilliant literary thriller, an incursion into forbidden territory that is all the more gripping for being true' The Times