'Wry and deft ... travel writing of a high order, given steel by [Bell's] keen understanding of the country's contradictions' DAILY TELEGRAPH
'A fine, gentle and loving travel book about South Africa which captures the magic of the land and the warmth of its peoples' SCOTSMAN
'Wherever Bell goes, he brings a gimlet eye to the human and unusual' YORKSHIRE POST
'One of life's great wanderers, at home when he is away ... a lucid, deeply informative and highly entertaining piece of travel prose' GLASGOW HERALD
'Bell tells of his travels with a good grasp of what makes the country and its people tick- the history of each community, the beauty of the landscape and with a great dollop of wry humour.' ABERDEEN PRESS AND JOURNAL
'A rich portrait, wise and humane The country emerges as beautiful, its people broken and weary.' THE TIMES
'Bell has a wonderfully clean style that can only come from years of condensed communication and if his prologue alone does not hook you, you have no heart.' THE LIST
'An absorbing account, part travelogue, part history, lightly told and illuminated throughout by the stories that ordinary people relate as they explain their lives and the world around them' SUNDAY TIMES