A crackling piece from 2000, recounting the author’s experience attending the birthday party of a “global pariah”. Sample guest – a Bulgarian MP who has brought him a sniper rifle as a present. The 17 subsequent years of Iraq’s history make for a dark prism through which to read the story.
A profile of a group of Polish climbers planning to summit the deadly giant K2 in winter, following in the footsteps of a celebrated older generation.
The story of Gertrude Sanford, a socialite who fought against Germany in the Second World War and was taken prisoner in enemy territory.
When Belarusian entrepreneur Roman Mazurenko died, his friend built a memorial to him – a chatbot that uses an archive of his text messages to recreate his voice and identity.
The remarkable reappearance in Vietnam in 2008 of an American commando whose helicopter went down in Laos half a century before was not all that it seemed.
A piece about Henk De Velde, a man who has sailed around the world by himself six times.
The story of Robin Williams’ last days is about his genius, friendship, family and life.
The challenges of running a travel agency when your top destination is North Korea.