I was writing the Paraguay book, a Paragauyan told me that only five thousand people in Paraguay read.

Benedict Allen gives you the impression that he hasn't done any research at all, and I am sure he has. And when he is off doing his ice dogs and that sort of thing - and therefore its not only an exploration of the place but also his imagination in a sense. It's very successful as technique.

When McDonald's opened up in Moscow - I happened to be there when it opened and wandered in. And the Russians were queuing three times around the block to get in. And when they got to the head of the queue, they'd go, "I'll have a Big Mac please. Have you the cheese and the rolls? And do you have the meat and do you have the salad?" And everybody asks this because they are so used to things being awful that it took them a quarter of an hour to order a Big Mac.

This terrible frustration that we so often feel in the West in not being able to articulate and express ourselves.

Diplomacy was what I wanted to do. From really quite an early age and I think I had a false impression that diplomacy equals travel.

I am always surprised when people do get upset. Perhaps its just the nutty people who write to newspapers who get upset.

I would love to write a book that opens people's eyes to the more interesting side.