Small Earthquakes

'[An] appealing fusion of travelogue and history, excavating the roots and remnants of British influence in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.' * <b><I>The Observer</I></b> * 'This is travel writing as much as history. Meghji has the true travel writer's eye for the comic, pathetic and tragic, and for the places where they collide [...] This is writing full of rust, wind and sadness. It captures splendidly the air of South America and the long, withdrawing roar of an empire whose influence once reached far beyond its political borders.' * <b><I>The Times</i></b> * 'The passion and poignancy of his prose is captured in his description ... Combining the immediacy of a travel memoir with the depth of a scholarly history lesson, Small Earthquakes illuminates how Britain helped shape these nations.' * <b>BBC Travel, 'Six Upcoming Summer Travel Books'</b> * 'A useful and informative read for anyone interested in Britain's nefarious involvement in Latin America.' * <b><I>Morning Star</I></b> * '[An] entertaining and meticulously researched narrative.' * <b><I>Geographical</I>, 'Book of the Month'</b> * 'A thrilling, illuminating perspective on a continent that is closer than we think.' * <b><I>Unseen Histories</I></b> *  '[A] fascinating journey through a history that British schoolchildren are simply never taught.' * <b><I>Latin American Review of Books</I></b> * 'A book that should help foster and mediate new conversations in the present about Britain and South America's shared histories.' * <b><I>Latin America Bureau</I></b> * ‘A fascinating—and often shocking—book full of hidden histories and unlikely characters: guano barons, gaucho lairds, imperial ghosts and human zoos. Shafik Meghji must be one of the most exciting travel writers working today.’ -- <b>Cal Flyn, author of <i>Islands of Abandonment</i></b> ‘Small Earthquakes takes us through so many rich and delightful stories, while also illuminating deeper truths about colonial legacies and cultural exchange. Shafik Meghji has unearthed a fresh perspective on Latin America that will resonate with readers far beyond Britain.’ -- <b>Taran N. Khan, author of <i>Shadow City: A Woman Walks Kabul</i></b> ‘Combining vivid firsthand reporting with granular historical detail, Meghji takes the reader on an engrossing and illuminating journey through the little-remembered history of British South America.’ -- <b>Matthew Carr, author of Darwin’s Savages: Science, Race and the Conquest of Patagonia</b> ‘From football stadiums to Welsh-style Patagonian tea-rooms, from pirates’ haunts to Victorian-era foundries, this is a kaleidoscopic tour of Latin America. A fascinating book packed with detail and intriguing insights, and bearing the marks of its author’s extensive knowledge of the region.’ -- <b>Nicholas Jubber, author of <i>Epic Continent</i> and <i>The Fairy Tellers</i></b> ‘Filled with larger-than-life characters and rich observation, this is a colourful, captivating and clear-eyed odyssey through the entangled histories of South America and Britain. A must-read for anyone interested in how this corner of the globe, though never formally painted red, became deeply enmeshed in the British Empire.’ -- <b>Laurence Blair, author of <i>Patria: Lost Countries of South America</i></b> ‘A deeply researched and refreshingly nuanced look at how Britain changed South America, but also the role of the continent’s original inhabitants in that story. A powerful blend of reportage and historical investigation.’ -- <b>Mark Johanson, author of <i>Mars on Earth: Wanderings in the World’s Driest Desert</i></b>