The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase

Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson bring together some of the funniest despatches from British Ambassadors abroad, in this sequel to their acclaimed Parting Shots. Based on a new BBC Radio 4 series, it features some classic stories, from the horse given to John Major by the authorities in Turkmenistan which got lost in the Russian rail system to the puzzling behaviour of the Spanish Ambassador in the Algerian desert. With an introduction by Matthew Parris, who began his career in the FO, the book shows our representatives in their best and worst lights - rude and sympathetic, clever and confused by turns - and throws a light on how we British have viewed the world ...and how the world has viewed us.