Blending travel writing, history and reportage, Crossed off the Map:
Travels in Bolivia journeys from the Andes to the Amazon to explore
Bolivia's turbulent past and contemporary challenges. It tells the story
of the country's profound and unexpected influence on the wider world
over the last 500 years - fragments of history largely forgotten beyond
its borders. Once home to one of the wealthiest cities on Earth, Bolivia
kickstarted globalisation, helped to power Europe's economic growth and
trigger dynastic collapse in China, and played host to everyone from Che
Guevara to Butch Cassidy.
The book also explores how ordinary Bolivians in and around the world's
highest city, largest salt flat, richest silver mine and most biodiverse
national park are coping with some of the touchstone issues of the 21st
century: the climate emergency, populism, mass migration, indigenous
rights, national identity, rapid urbanisation, and the 'war on drugs'.
In its pages, award-winning journalist and travel writer Shafik Meghji
illuminates the dramatic landscapes, distinct cultures and diverse
peoples of a country that - in the words of one interviewee - 'was the
building block of the modern world, but is now lost in time'.