A revised and updated edition of Philip Marsden's classic travel book, published to coincide with the centenary of the Armenian massacres.

After centuries of prominence as a world power, Armenia has withstood every attempt during the 20th century to destroy it. With a name redolent both of dim antiquity and of a modern world and its tensions, the Armenians founded a civilization and underwent a diaspora that brought many of the great ideas of the East to Western Europe.

The Crossing Place is Philip Marsden's gripping account of his remarkable journey through the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus in a quest to discover the secret of one of the world's most extraordinary peoples.

Caught between opposing empires, between warring religions and ideologies - at the crossing place of history - the Armenians have somehow survived against the odds. This is their story - told by one of the finest travel writers at work today.

About the Author

Philip Marsden is the author of The Bronski House, The Spirit-Wrestlers (winner of the Thomas Cook Travel Book of the Year Award), The Chains of Heaven, The Barefoot Emperor, The Levelling Sea and Rising Ground. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He lives in Cornwall.

Reviews

'A stylish and beautifully written elegy to a lost civilisation....The Crossing Place is about loss and exile, and its pages are full of displaced communities and tenaciously maintained traditions, strange discoveries and odd conversations, all illuminated with brilliant flashes of esoteric learning' William Dalrymple, Spectator

'Marsden's fine and unostentatious travel writing is criss-crossed with traces of politics and cultural history... This is a beautifully written book, with enough incident and observation to convey the unpredictabilities of real travel' Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph

'A terrific travel book' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian

'A wonderful journey recounted with knowledge, humour and a beautiful, elegiac sadness' Observer

'An extraordinary travel narrative ... As a history of the Armenian spirit in the twentieth century, this is possibly the most important book in decades' TLS

'He has gone into a world that remains closed to most outsiders and brought back wonderful pictures' Independent

'The way Marsden uncovers the traditions and secrets of these people from right under Europe's nose is enthralling' Sunday Times

Book Information
ISBN 9780008127435
Author Philip Marsden
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint William Collins
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 210g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 19mm