The author is the son of Sir Claude Elliott, a former Head Master and Provost of Eton and a notable figure in the world of mountaineering. The opening chapters of this always entertaining book contain an affectionate and amusing portrait of Sir Claude, both at Cambridge and at Eton, chairman of the Everest Committee in the contentious matter of the leadership of the successful expedition of 1953. The later parts of the book cover the author’s adult life of remarkable variety and extensive travel. He has suffered considerable press and media coverage about his knowledge of Philby and dealings with him in Beirut. He has written a perceptive chapter on the man himself, his relations with his family and what made him tick. Another chapter gives the first factual account of what really happened in the celebrate Cicero case in Ankara during the war.