Series such as Michael Palin's New Europe have raised awareness of Europe's forgotten nations Based on the people of Turkey, this book will appeal to fans of William Dalrymple's travel writing such as City of Djinns and Mark Mazower's Salonica: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950, as well as Jan Morris and Colin Thubron Christopher de Bellaigue's previous book, In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs, was shortlisted for the 2004 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize

Shortlisted for Orwell Prize 2010.

'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