Romantic, adventurous and poignant. - Rated 
I came across this book by chance, browsing through the withdrawn books on sale in my local library. It turned out to be a very fortunate whim since this book is really very good. I was initially attracted to it because of it's Agatha Christie connection (being a fan of her). I already knew a fair amount about Agatha Christie's life (her divorce, her trip to the Middle East and subsequent encounter with Max Mallowan) when I started reading it but Andrew Eames' treatment of this period in the crime novelist's life is by far the best account of it I've read. He clearly reveals how significant the trip was as a turning point in her life. He also made it romantic and adventurous which other accounts have not tended to do.
But even if you aren't a fan of Agatha Christie there is much more to the book to make it thoroughly interesting. In the book Eames says a travel writer should bring to the reader an insight to countries that, apart from the terrible things reported in the news such as war and genocide, we would know and hear very little about. This he successfully does, whether it's Serbia after the NATO bombings or Iraq before the current conflict, providing another view of life there other than the one we see on the news.
Wish I could take this trip - Rated
Andrew Eames a British journalist recounts his travels by train in 2002 from London to Baghdad. He replicates the journey that Agatha Christie took back in 1928. Eames interweaves the account of his own adventures in the tumultuous Middle East with Christie's life story, providing background on the culture and history of the places en route. This is an interesting travelogue that is informative and worth reading.
Christie and the Orient Express - Rated 
After her marriage broke up, Agatha Christie made a trip to Iraq to see some archeologist friends, taking the Orient Express most of the way. For a single woman to make that trip on her own in the 1920s was adventurous and fairly unusual. At the end of her journey she met her second husband, Max Mallowan, an archeologist. Almost 80 years later, Eames retraces her journey from England through Western Europe, the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East, staying--whenever he could--in the hotels she stayed in. When Christie travelled to Iraq, it was still a protectorate of the English. When Eames made his journey, the US was threatening to bomb Iraq and the Balkans had been through a vicious war. It's a fascinating travelogue, full of contrasts and links between the past and the present, which Eames weaves seamlessly together.
Not just about Agatha - Rated
Someone gave me this book, and I didnt expect to like it because i'm not a fan of Agatha christie. But actually there's a lot of great stuff in here and all the Christie bits are a bit of an excuse, really. I now understand the whole Yugoslavia disintegration - well I think I do. And Iraq in the last months before war sounds so different to what we hear about at the moment.
A fantastic journey - Rated
This book is really two stories; Agatha Christie's life-changing journery to Iraq, and a modern-day odyssey through some of the world's most talked-about troublespots. Andrew Eames writes with great style and compassion about the many characters that he meets en route, as he traces Agatha Christie's footsteps (or rather railway lines) across Europe to the Middle East. It certainly brings into perspective the news that we hear everyday about the Balkans or Iraq, and shows that people are just people, wherever they are. Every politician should be required to read this.
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