Timing is everything, and in this brilliant travel diary Evelyn Waugh catches Africa and the Levant as it was emerging from the shadow of WW II and into the post- colonial order. He reports on Port Said, Aden, Kenya, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanganyika, Rhodesia, Mozambique, Bechuanaland and South Africa.

Waugh was no defender of the established order, but he was no sucker for hype, either. He knew the emergers were going to get something far different from what they expected.

"As a traveler Waugh has no equal. His eye takes in everything and he is absolutely fearless. A fine, well observed report of an area that has broken many hearts and hopes." (B-O-T Editorial Review Board)