The Caucasian Semi-Circle: A Journey Along Russia's Exposed Nerve

Matthew Clayfield's engaging, funny and at times nerve-wracking report from Russia's North Caucasus provides rare insight into a region that has long found itself at the mercy of empires, warlords, dictators and extremists. From the battle-scarred mountains of Chechnya to the glistening white walls of a Soviet-era sanatorium, the hallowed ground of Russia's worst-ever terrorist attack to the 2014 Winter Olympics host city, Clayfield spends times with locals, soldiers and human rights workers in an attempt to understand why this thousand-kilometre stretch of soil continues to mean so much to so many.
"I'm not sure if Matthew Clayfield was brave, foolish or both for travelling through Russia's North Caucasus region, but it's a good thing he did. His narrative though a region wracked by Islamist terrorism and state repression is deftly executed and gripping. Recommended." Michael J. Totten, author of The Road to Fatima Gate
"A symphony in which all the individual notes are given their proper weight. Penetrating analysis sits alongside concentrated bursts of colour and fabulous set pieces. A how-to-not-skimp guide to being anywhere. It comes with my highest recommendation." Joseph Woby, The Times
"Matthew Clayfield's tour through the Caucasus is by turns illuminating, wry and disturbing. Inquisitive and sceptical, Clayfield questions the simplistic picture we see in the West and allows us to glimpse the messy truths behind the headlines." Alison Croggon, author of Black Spring