The 8.55 To Baghdad - Hardcover

Eames, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0593051696 ISBN 13: 9780593051696

Publisher: Ted Smart, London, 2004

Synopsis

Andrew Eames is an adventurous, insightful and sympathetic observer who sets out to travel from London to Baghdad by train, following the route of the old Orient Express. Interwoven through his own experience, with the colourful cast of characters he encounters en route, is an identical journey made by Agatha Christie in 1928, a journey which was to change her life completely and led to her spending 30 seasons on archaeological digs in the deserts of Syria and Iraq. As Eames' own journey progresses he begins to reveal details of that exotic second existence of the world's most widely read author. The modern journey from London to Baghdad by train is actually far harder to do today than it was in Agatha's day. Many of the countries Eames passes through, from the Balkans and into the Middle East, have had a particularly bad press in recent years, and yet the people the author meets are invariably delightful Eventually he arrives at the Iraqi border at the same time as the UN weapons inspectors, and thus was one of the last tourists to experience the reality of Saddam Hussein's regime. As the book approaches its final destination of Ur, one of the first cities mentioned in Genesis an

About this title

About the Author

was born in 1958. His career in journalism started in south-east Asia, where he travelled and lived for two years. From there he returned to the UK to work first on specialist magazines and then in guide book publishing. Ten years ago he went freelance, and has been writing travel and general interest features mainly for national newspapers, such as THE TELEGRAPH and THE TIMES. He is the author of CROSSING THE SHADOW LINE, FOUR SCOTTISH JOURNEYS and BENN'S LONDON. He is married with two children.

From the Back Cover

Andrew Eames, an adventurous, insightful and sympathetic observer, sets out to travel from London to Baghdad by train, following the route of the old Orient Express and an identical journey made by Agatha Christie in 1928. Agatha s journey was to change her life completely and led to her spending thirty seasons on archaeological digs in the deserts of Syria and Iraq. Eames own journey reveals fascinating details of this little known but exotic chapter in the life of the world s most widely read author. The journey from London to Baghdad by train today is actually far harder than it was in Agatha s day. Many of the countries Eames passes through, from the Balkans to the Middle East, have been deeply troubled in recent years. Eventually he arrives at the Iraqi border at the same time as the UN weapons inspectors. As the book approaches its final destination the shadow of war looms increasingly large. A compelling read, merging literary biography with travel adventure, The 8.55 to Baghdad is the journey of a lifetime...

Edition details

• Publisher: Ted Smart, London
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0593051696
• ISBN 13: 9780593051696
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 401