Beyond the Vapour Trail

A two-year-old girl is abandoned on the streets of Ulaan Bataar with a bag of clothes and a note pinned to her: ‘Please take care of me …’

Twelve-year-old Betty, alone looking after her dying mother, is kidnapped to become a child soldier …

An Australian aid worker finds himself off the tourist map confronted by the struggles of people in the developing world, across six continents. He discovers the inspirational and the beautiful; people and cultures responding to their changing landscape; the stories and courage of individuals who bring fresh perspectives to life.

And so much that is just funny …

‘Brett Pierce’s globe-gobbling journey is a caravanserai of the good, the bad and the thoroughly ugly, which comprise his passionate work. I loved the intriguing title, his unpretentious style that kept me reading, his very real emails back home – both informative and genuinely personal – and a surprising epilogue that tugged and delighted this fellow traveller’s heart and mind. I felt as though I had grown to both know Brett and admire his indefatigable commitment. A bold, humane and utterly readable book.’

George Negus, author of The World from Down Under and The World from Islam