Customer Reviews

The 8:55 to Baghdad: From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie and theOrient Express

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Journalist Andrew Eames follows in the footsteps of Agatha Christie as he retraces her route from London to Baghdad on the Orient Express. Christie traveled to the Middle East many times and enjoyed her visits there. When she visited, before World War II, places such as Damascus and Cairo and even Baghdad evoked romantic and exotic images. Eames's journey takes place in 2003 when even Lawrence of Arabia might think twice about going.

Eames sleeps through the European part of the trip, eager to get to the more challenging Belgrade and Serbia and beyond. On the way, he recalls what it would have been like in Christie's time and observes what it is like now. Sometimes, as in the London suburb where he begins the journey, not much has changed. Often, as in Belgrade and certainly Baghdad, things are much different.

8:55 to Baghdad hurtles from familiar to exotic to frightening and back again. When things start to get too gritty and real in Serbia, Eames takes us back to the days of luxury aboard the Orient Express. When the company of pre-WWII upper class snobs threatens to become boring, we are whisked onto a bus to cross the border into Iraq on the eve of war in 2003.

All along the way, Eames recalls Christie's career and her life. She enjoyed accompanying her archaeologist husband to the Middle East and didn't mind roughing it from time to time. Roughing it back then meant camping out at a dig in the desert without running water. Roughing it in Baghdad in 2003 meant dodging bombs.

Even if you are not a Christie fan, there is a lot to enjoy in this narrative. The Orient Express, archaeology, modern history, travel essay, it's all here. It reminds me of Beyond the Blue Horizon by Alexander Frater, another British writer. In it, Frater sets out to travel around the world using only routes that Imperial Airways would have flown. Imperial Airways was the pre-WWII airline of the British Empire, so that meant Frater had to do a lot of puddle-jumping on small propeller-driven airplanes in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Both he and Andrew Eames mix past and present to come up with unique and memorable travel stories.

I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie and travel books and this book seemed like it would be a great combination of the two. It was and it was much more. Eames deftly handles the bio-history of Christie, the juxtaposition of her trip 75 years earlier with his modern day experience, as well as giving very sharp insight into the people and history of today. I was especially interested, and surprised, to read his detailed accounts of traveling through the recently peaceful Balkans and the people he encountered. I had not expected that element of the travelogue and was intrigued by his experiences.

Also of interest were his travels along what was the Taurus Express--the rail line that ran between Istanbul and Baghdad. These now mainly muslim countries that still held so much evidence of the imperialist occupation by European countries were of great interest to read about--especially given that many of those countries are not safe to travel.

Christie's remarkably brave trek from London to Baghdad as a lone female in 1928 was equalled by Eames' much more hazardous trip on the brink of a major war.

This book is a real treat. A journey by train all the way from London to Baghdad, just before the invasion of Iraq. In the footsteps of Agatha Christie. At first sight it seems an odd mix of travel adventure and literary biography, and it does change pace regularly, just like the trains Eames travels with. But there are some real insights in here, and some great pieces of observational writing. I particularly liked the bits in Slovenia and Serbia, and of course the final bus trip across the desert to Baghdad. Highly recommended.

Why would anyone still read a travelogue in this, the beginning of the 21st century, when it was so easy to find outstanding independent film travel documentaries, many prepared by only one or two individuals at most? Certainly this visual medium combined with well-edited documentary realism and well-scripted travel guide dialog would serve better than print for the purpose of introducing a novice to a new culture, people, or place. But a modern-day print-based travelogue was what our book club leader assigned for our next book. That is how I came to read "The 8:55 to Baghdad" by Andrew Eames. I am glad I did.

In 2003, on the eve of the second Gulf War, seasoned English travel-writer Andrew Eames retraced the famous train trip that Agatha Christie made 75 years earlier on the Orient Express from London to Baghdad. Thus this book is a delightful hybrid--part history and biography of Christie, part travelogue concerning a unique trip through parts of the world where few Westerners choose to travel, and part transcribed candid conversations with strangers and interviews with local dignitaries that the author hooked up with during this travels.

Thankfully, Eames knew better than to bore us with the familiar. Most of the travelogue deals primarily with the wholly unique--parts of the trip where the typical Western traveler has little to no experience. I am speaking of countries like Croatia, Serbia, Syria, and Iraq, as well as little travel portions of Hungary and Turkey.

Personally, I was only mildly interested in the Christie history. What interested me most was the candid conversations that the author was able to have with strangers everywhere along his travels. These conversations often open up a whole new perspective on world politics. Eames was able to pick up some amazingly straightforward points of view about important topics from complete strangers. This is what kept me glued to the book.

Take for example:

1) The conversation Eames had with a Belgrade businessman who genuinely felt that what Serbia needed was another war in order to jump start its stagnant economy. The man says: "Today, Serbia is old news. Now there's 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq, we're not important any more. Everyone's left or leaving and all the money is going elsewhere. That's why we need another war. To bring back the budgets." The author politely inquires against who the war should be. "Dunno. Someone will pop up. They always do" (p. 141).

2) The conversation Eames had with a fellow train traveler in rural Turkey about President Bush: "You have traveled. I have traveled. We understand each other. But President Bush? Has he traveled? What is that expression--travel broadens the mind? I wonder if he would still be demonizing the Islamic world if he'd come here on his holidays" (p. 205). A few pages later, while the author is still conversing with the same Turkish passenger, they start talking about Iraq. The man says: " Iraq will probably be a better place without Saddam Hussein, but the war must not go on for too long. Might is only right for a limited time; look at Genghis Khan. Justice, that is the important thing. If the U.S. treats Iraq with justice, then I don't think there'll be any backlash from here. But if America shows itself to be greedy, then it'll be a problem. A real problem." Then the conversation turns naturally to Israel and we get this candid comment: "There you see it, comes the problem of justice. There is no justice, not for the people of Palestine. For them Israel sets the parameters and inflicts the penalties. Imagine if a foreign power claimed the heart of London, and you could do nothing because it had a big, powerful bully of a friend. Well...I have Jewish friends, but we can't talk about it. It is such an injustice, and it is deeply felt elsewhere in the world. Deeply felt" (p. 209).

3) Or the conversation he had with a Canadian engineer on the border between Turkey and Syria. Eames asks the man if he thinks there is going to be a war. The man who builds grain silos for a living says that he does not think so, "Don't think the Syrians do either. How could there be, with so little pretext?" But what about the oil, the author asks. "No way; Even Big George wouldn't do anything so cynical. No, I tell you what...I predict that water, not oil, will be the next big justification for war. The Syrian aquifers are going down at a rate of fifteen feet a year. That's serious for Syria, and it's even more serious for Iraq...you know what Mesopotamia means? It means land between two rivers. The Tigris and the Euphrates. They both originate in the mountains of Turkey. Without those two rivers Iraq would not, could not exist." They go on to discuss the Turkish Central Anatolian Project to construct 20 dams on the Euphrates and the Tigris by the year 2020. "Those dams will pull the plug on Iraq...the poor buggers will die of thirst. They don't have any other source of water" (p. 251-2).

If you like reading that kind of candid dialogue, you'll love this book. I did, and it opened my eyes.

By Mark V. Rose, author of BANGKOK, OH BOY!

Andrew Eames' THE 8:55 TO BAGHDAD evokes exquisite nostalgia for train lovers in search of exotic destinations. But Eames does much more. He personally traveled the same rail routes taken by Agatha Christie as she developed ideas for Murder on the Orient Express and many other popular mystery novels often while traversing Europe to Istanbul, Syria and finally Iraq. Simply, it is a traveler's treat.

Years after the famed mystery writer's own far-reaching travels, Eames, took his travel cues from Christie's autobiography and memoir. While the train cars had long ago been replaced or refurbished, the terrain remained similar enough, and in some areas such as Bulgaria, Serbia still remained the same. Eames stayed in hotels where Agatha had, walked the same streets and even talked with several people who had met her--one in Aleppo, the other in Ljubljana.

Given the relative slowness of trains in today's fast-paced world and the comfort and ambience of the coach's interiors, Eames recreates the sense of leisure that Christie must have felt, almost to the point of giving a sense that time has stood still. It was probably that very freedom that allowed Christie to think about what she would eventually write about.

Besides interesting, brief, useful historical backgrounds of the countries he passes through, Eames supplies enticing illustrations and maps, helping the reader to feel a part of the journey. One learns much from Eames' generous narrative. Given Christie's adventurous spirit, it is not too surprising that she sometimes traveled alone. For me, the most astonishing information is that her first solo voyage in 1928 followed the disappointing end of her first marriage to Archie Christie. Perhaps the Orient Express would ease the sad and lonely young author's pain as her philandering husband had just divorced her to marry another woman. She took the 8:55 out of London for Baghdad. It is in the figurative sense, as one train never went all the way, Istanbul being the last stop on the Express which she had boarded on the continent. From Turkey travelers take yet another "Express".

Christie more than succeeded in her quest to discover "what sort of person I was--whether I had become entirely dependent . . ." Through friends in Iraq she met her second husband Max Mallowan--an archeologist thirteen years her junior whose life and work she happily shared. They spent many winters on important digs in both Syria and Iraq. Eames reports that Christie adored working in archeology, quoting from her archeological memoir COME TELL ME HOW YOU LIVE if she had not become a writer that would have been her profession. Eames did his amazing homework and then some! Highly recommended. MARK ROSE, Author BANGKOK, OH BOY!

Part travelogue, part history (of the Balkans and the Middle East, most notably), part Agatha Christie biography, the book satisfied this reader on all three levels. Eames sometimes tried too hard to coin meaningful metaphors, but those instances were easy to overlook. What wasn't easy to overlook was his mis-categorization of Syria as part of President Bush's axis of evil which, as far I know know, included Iran, Iraq, and North Korea. It seems that would have been a relatively easy fact to check. One suggestion for any future editions would be to include more maps, perhaps one at the head of each chapter. Overall, an extremely enjoyable read.

This wonderful piece of travel literature is a good quick, fun, enlightening read. It follows the Orient express from London, to Trieste, through Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and on to Iraq. Many interesting people are met along the way and the fascinating history of the various countries is told in a new fresh light. Also Agatha Christies `secret' life is brought to light. Topics include, sex in Serbia, Tsar Boris and his love for trains, genocide in Croatia, and the history of Trieste and the Orient Express. A wonderful book, that makes excellent reading as a companion to any trip to eastern Europe or Turkey as well as a good companion on any trip.

Seth J. Frantzman

While not a mystery, dedicated fans of Agatha Christie's works won't want to miss Andrew Eames' The 8:55 To Baghdad: From London To Iraq On The Trail Of Agatha Christie: it's the perfect nonfiction accompaniment for Christie fans. In 1928 Christie was a thirty-something single mother who changed her mind from taking a Caribbean holiday and instead proceeded to Iraq. Eames followed her journeys, taking his own trip from London to Baghdad and describing the places and events which appeared in her fiction. What emerges blends a travelogue with insights into Christie's stories and should delight both armchair travelers and Agatha fans alike.

I would definitely recommend borrowing this from the library as opposed to purchasing. The author attempts to follow the route that Agatha Christie would have taken en route to the Middle East via the Orient Express. He provides bits and pieces of information both about Christie and the various points where she may have stopped along the way. Unfortunately, they are just that - bits and pieces.

The vignettes about Christie are interspersed with a modicum of detail about the various countries and points of interest. Perhaps there is more detail at the beginning of the trip but by the end of the journey he almost seems to gloss over the countries and archaeological sites in favor of discussing his rather unfortunate fellow travellers.

There are a few black and white pictures interspersed: some of Christie and her husband Max Mallowan, some of the ancients sites as they are today.

The ending is a complete let down - after arriving back at his initial inspiration, Aleppo, the book just ends. Nothing further to fill out what happened with his fellow bus companions, nothing about a return journey.

If at all intrigued by either Christie or the archaeology of the area, this might be a beginning overview, but I would suggest looking up more indepth (auto)biographical material on Christie and definitely other "travelogues" or historical works on the wonders of the Middle East.

...it's a great piece of mind candy. This is not an in-depth look at Agatha Christie or her works or a socio-politcal analysis of the many regions Andrew Eames travels through. It does not profess to be. What you have here, in Eames' "The 8:55 to Baghdad: From London to Iraq on the Trail of Agatha Christie and the Orient Express" is a quirky, wry, and sometimes poignant retracing of Christie's 1938 journey from London to Baghdad and how it reflected in some of her works. I loved Eames' witty and sometimes barbed observations of the complacent and, more often, irritable British passengers who ride with him. The second half of the book takes a slightly more somber tone that provides some new, thought-provoking looks at our attitudes to the middle east versus the reality that he witnesses.

My only negative comment, which previous reviewers have mentioned, is that, as a part travelogue and part biography, some more illustrations and maps would have enhanced the book. Still, it's a great ride.