A Savage Dreamland

Eimer’s journey takes him to all these trouble spots, including many not reported in the West. It’s a remarkable achievement because most are off limits to tourists and especially westerners … The result of Eimer’s intrepid endeavours is a revelatory and moving book, enriched by vivid descriptive colour and an incredible cast of characters -- James Holland * The Times *
[Eimer] has served up something refreshingly different: an old-fashioned travelogue, and an excellent one at that … A rich and enjoyable mix of history, amateur psychology and personal reflection, with a few dabs of investigative journalism too … [Eimer's] sharp, always well-informed observations help to create a persuasive portrait of a country that remains beguilingly oblivious to Western notions of progress -- Richard Crockett * Literary Review *
Eimer’s powerful account reveals a country plundered and brutalised during the colonial era and decades of autocratic rule, while struggling to come to terms with the reality of its present ethnic and religious diversity -- PD Smith * Guardian *
[Eimer] proves to be an able guide, and A Savage Dreamland explores the beauty but also the troubling realities of Myanmar, offering a vivid portrait of a country struggling to overcome its past, but where things may get worse before they get better -- Kit Gillet * South China Morning Post *
[Eimer] is one of the best travel writers to focus on politics and current affairs … During his researches, he interviewed a large cross-section of Burmese and visited areas normally off-limits, including war zones … Eimer’s wide-ranging portrait of a country in straits as dire as they’re prolonged is both fascinating and troubling * Spectator *
Explains wonderfully well why Burma today is both compelling and combustible … [Eimer’s] book is a good primer on history, culture and modern-day politics, and on the power wielded by the Buddhist hierarchy … If Orwell could read A Savage Dreamland, he would be impressed by this choral-voiced account of a country where so many, for so long, have been silenced -- Michael Kerr * Daily Telegraph *
[Eimer] is an intrepid reporter … He goes to places where tourists, and many journalists, fear to tread … Eimer's book takes readers closer to his fascinating subject * Economist *
A luminous journey into the haunted, heartbreaking, dark fringes of the betrayed, golden land -- Rory MacLean
Eimer’s informed peregrinations make A Savage Dreamland a fascinating and revelatory read * Irish Times *
Eimer is a meticulous, fair-minded and empathetic observer, he takes interest in people of all kinds and from all walks of life, and is adventurous and curious enough to go off the beaten track -- Peter Gordon * Asian Review of Books *
A chilling travelogue through modern Burma intertwined with helpful historical context ... Riveting -- Tom Freston * Airmail *
Essential reading for anyone with an interest in Myanmar * Mekong Review *