Stalin's Nose: Across the Face of Europe
‘A minor masterpiece of comic surrealism.’ –The Times"Crazy, charming, a delight." --John le Carré"Eccentric, amusing and chilling."--The Economist"The best book I’ve read for a long time." --John Wells"As an allegory it is powerful and frequently moving. As a tale it is tremendous fun. It is also a thing of beauty.'" --Jan Morris"The most extraordinary debut in travel writing since In Patagonia. A park, sardonic and brilliant book which grows in stature with every page." --William Dalrymple"The wittiest, most surreal travel writing of recent years." --Frank Delaney"A truly wonderful writer who has delved into the human condition around the world for two decades to create a canon of work that is invigorating, heartbreaking, hilarious, slyly seditious and ultimately illuminating." --Toronto Sun"There is pathos—and adventure—in spades…Stalin’s Noseis an essential companion for anyone travelling to a part of the world still recovering from the horrors of the giant confidence trick that was communism." --Financial Times"It is a painful book of bitter old ages, or lives which have had their meanings repeatedly declared void. It is very hard and very good." --Guardian"MacLean is…the only major travel writer of his generation who is still exclusively and self-consciously a literary writer about travel.  He is also one of the best around."--William Dalrymple,Prospect