In it, he looks at the world's troubles - the Middle East, global warming, population explosion - and takes the perhaps surprising view that it's actually not nor will be the end of the world. His vivid prose, his clear-sightedness and the wonderful anecdotes about the many strange people and places he has come across all add up to a richly satisfying read. And with his long experience and his remarkable ability to explain what's really going on out there, he offers us all a crumb of comfort in desperate times.