The valley of the fallen and other places

the long version

"Few writers can match journalist Donald Katz's ability to make an exotic locale familiar or transform an ordinary place into something peculiar, if not completely weird. The Valley of the Fallen and Other Places gathers an assortment of stories from around the world, each of which subtly underlines the relationship between geography and politics. Cities, countries, and regions of the world emerge as characters in Katz's panoramic cast, as fully drawn as the unusual people who occupy them, so that one realizes, of each particular story, that it could happen only in a place like this."--BOOK JACKET.