Kazakhstan is the size of Western Europe but so little known that few people can find it on a map. It was closed to travel by the Tsars and sealed tight by the Soviets. Stalin dumped entire nations in its empty steppe. Cosmonauts were sent into space from here, nuclear weapons tested, the Gulag built and millions of Kazakhs murdered. Today, state that has no enemies.

In a hilariously offbeat book Christopher Robbins criss-crosses a Wild East full of surreal characters: he finds Eminem by a shrinking Aral Sea, hears the Kazakh John Lennon play in a dusty desert town, joins nomads hunting with eagles, eats sheep's heads and sushi with the President – and visits some of the most beautiful, unspoilt places on earth.

CHRISTOPHER ROBBINS is the author of Assassin, a non-fiction book on political assassination, two non-fiction books on the Vietnam War, Air America and The Ravens, and the biography of the war hero, Nazi hunter and language teacher, Michel Thomas, The Test of Courage. His most recent book, The Test of Courage. His most recent book, The Empress of Ireland, is a memoir of his friendship with the Irish film director, Brian Desmond Hurst. Empress received wide critical acclaim, was chosen as the film Book of the Year by the Cork Film Festival, awarded the Saga Paga Prize for Wit in 2005 and picked as a Book of the Year by the The Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, Daily Express, Observer and Sunday Times.