Description
Book SynopsisGeorgia 2001. "Your mission, Jo, should you choose to accept it, is to find out what young Georgians want," said the man from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, or words to that effect. "We're keen to know what will happen when President Shevardnadze moves on." Jo Seaman went to the South Caucasus as director of the British Council in Georgia at a time of political uncertainty and turmoil. In attempting to fulfill her mission of cultural diplomacy she rubs shoulders with ballerinas and border guards, ambassadors and activists, ministers and musicians, despots and dodgy officials. Jo's intimate descriptions of a culture only relatively recently emerged from the shadow of the Iron Curtain are underpinned with a genuine warmth and compassion for the Georgian people. A consummate diplomat, Jo needs all her skills as she ventures out into the fraught and often amusing sphere of international relations, and is drawn into the heady events of the Rose Revolution. And life at home is far from uneventful...
Trade Review"Wow, what a story!; Roses down the Barrel of a Gun is an incredible memoir of one British woman’s experience working and living in a tumultuous Georgia. In addition to not knowing much about Georgia, I’m also unfamiliar with the work carried out by foreign embassies and initiatives like the British Council. I enjoyed finding out about the exhibitions and performances and I think that this book highlights the vital importance of the arts to society. The book is a fascinating insight into a country that I knew little about and I highly recommend this book." LoveReading (the UK’s leading book recommendation website); “Are you looking for a masterclass in running an office in a foreign country with 18 hour-per-day power cuts and random gunfire in the street; or a love story with tears and laughter; or tales of a Revolution which might have ended in a bloodbath – but didn’t? If so, read this book! It’s not fiction. It all happened!!!” Chris Lakeman Fraser;“A beautifully crafted tale that intertwines the true story of a little reported revolution, the workings of British diplomacy, and a good old-fashioned love story. A great read.” Adrian Paul;
