From an acclaimed travel writer, a portrait of Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island and a place of enduring fascination for its rich biodiversity (including a plethora of endemic species), as well as for its tangled and troubled history.

A journey – both historical and contemporary – among the fantastical landscapes, resourceful inhabitants and isolated tribes of the world's fourth-largest island of enduring fascination for its rich biodiversity: Madagascar. 'A beautifully written depiction of the history of this beguiling island' Literary Review 'Courageous, exploratory, humane and with a wry sense of humour' Spectator 'A feat of journalism, observation and determination' Dr Alyson Hitch 'Wonderfully witty and wry' Benedict Allen We think we know Madagascar but it's too big, too eccentric, and too impenetrable to be truly understood. As well as visiting every corner of the island, John Gimlette journeys deep into Madagascar's past. Along the way, he meets politicians, sorcerers, gem prospectors, militiamen, rioters, lepers and the descendants of seventeenth-century pirates. Insightful and wryly humorous, here's an encounter with the people, landscapes, politics and history of one of the most remarkable places on Earth.

"Few writers have delved into [Madagascar's] history and none as thoroughly and mercilessly as Gimlette... His descriptions of the everyday sights of Madagascar are wonderful... Enjoy the book as an evocation of this extraordinary island, in all its complexity and all its contradictions'" - Literary Review

"Courageous, exploratory, humane and with a wry sense of humour" - Spectator

"Destined to scoop whatever travel book awards are still in existence these days" - The Bay (Swansea)

"The best English-language travel writer out there" - Travel Mag

"A fabulous new book" - Timeless Travels

"John Gimlette's latest thoughtful study sees him explore the relatively recent human history of the world's fourth largest island" - Wanderlust

"In this chronicle of the fascinating strangeness of Madagascar [...] incredulity, horror and amusement coalesce in Gimlette's customarily talented narration of the weird" - Irish Times

"Gimlette's 'walk-through history' is a tour de force, taking in slavery, Welsh missionaries, ancestor worship, French conquest, and forts whose ramparts are rendered in millions of egg whites" - Telegraph