High Caucasus: A Mountain Quest in Russia s Haunted Hinterland

Tom Parfitt has written an extraordinary book, a thrilling, profound masterpiece. His curiosity, courage and empathy shine from every page. I was gripped, from start to finish.A thrilling and beautiful book. Tom Parfitt's extreme walk along Europe's wildest frontier - through the mosaic of restive statelets on the southern edge of Russia - is epic in itself, but it offers too a drill-down into the deepest layers of human experience - collective memory and individual survival, the legacy of horror and the joy of healingEvocative, intimate and insightful, this is an extraordinary look at life as a foreign correspondent as told from the messy inside. Tom Parfitt is brilliant at zooming in and out of the bigger picture, revealing the sweep of history as it's being written whilst also capturing every detail and feeling up close and personal. This beautifully written account of his relationship with the Caucasus in the aftermath of Beslan offers essential context for anyone trying to understand what is happening in Ukraine and Russia and what might happen next. Most of all, High Caucasus is a reminder of how deeply these not-so-far-away conflicts affect us allTom Parfitt is the best kind of journalist - brave, empathetic and insightful, and with a beautiful writing styleTom Parfitt is a Patrick Leigh Fermor for our time - a walker, historian and moral witness whose sparkling account will stand as the finest contemporary interpretation yet written of the landscape and people of the North Caucasus. Sharply observed and quietly devastating, High Caucasus reveals how a highland region scarred by war, despotism, and empire has also produced cultures and communities of awesome, resilient beautyA keenly felt response to a harrowing experience, Tom Parfitt's High Caucasus is a life-affirming, uplifting book. A skilful blend of memoir, history and travelogue which brings this fascinating region vividly to life, it is also a testament to the recuperative power of walkingWith this book, Tom Parfitt has re-invented travel writing for the 21st century. He's an adventurer with a heart; a journalist who saw too much death, but who - instead of running to the next crisis - confronted the horror and crafted a testament for its victims.A vivid and insightful account of an epic journey through Russia's most volatile region. Parfitt is a captivating guide whose reportage is an enthralling blend of history, politics and the personal