A timely eyewitness account of the overlooked territories where the new Cold War is playing out

'Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Europe of today and tomorrow' PETER FRANKOPAN 'Brilliantly reported and sharply analysed' GIDEON RACHMAN Long before Putin's invasion of Ukraine, conflict was simmering on Europe's borders. In overlooked territories in eastern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus - from the Balkans and Cyprus to Abkhazia on the fringes of Georgia - local disputes spiral into regional crises, global alliances are forged and broken, and power is brokered while the West looks elsewhere. In Hinterlands, acclaimed correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith draws on vivid first-hand encounters with politicians, spies and ordinary people caught in the crosshairs to paint a gripping portrait of Europe at its edges - and the struggles that will define its future.

"PRAISE FOR ERDOGAN RISING" - -

"Empathetic and engaging... full of dazzling cameos and incidental delights" - Financial Times

"Comprehensive and nuanced" - The Times

"One should begin by applauding Smith's courage and determination in remaining in both Syria and Turkey during their upheavals and keeping her cool as a journalist ... Could not be timelier" - New Statesman