I am delighted to report that yesterday’s launch of my new book, Travellers in the Great Steppe: from the Papal Envoys to the Russian Revolution, went off yesterday at the RGS without a hitch. The virtual audience heard from RGS director Professor Joe Smith, from His Excellency Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, and from Dr Steve Brown, great-great-great grandson of explorers Thomas and Lucy Atkinson, before the presentation. Don’t worry if you missed it, because there is a link to the video of the event , which you will find here. You will need to use the access code *udEv2jV. I will try to find a way to create a permanent link, but you should be able to download the files to your own computer – note that this is a very large file. Please let me know if you have any questions about the video, or, more generally about the book itself. Many thanks to all of you who were able to tune in and watch the event. Another book coming later this year….

My new book, Travellers in the Great Steppe: from the Papal Envoys to the Russian Revolution (Signal Books), will be launched next Wednesday at 1430 at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Although the COVID-19 restrictions prevent us from opening the event to the public, there is full online access to the presentation. You can log in via Zoom using the link in the article below this, or you can check out the RGS website, where there is also a link – see here. After short speeches from guests, I will give a brief illustrated presentation of the book’s contents. Hope you can make it!