About the Author

Christine Garwood studied history as an undergraduate and was later awarded a doctorate in history of science. She has been a Research Fellow at the Open University and is currently a freelance writer and researcher.

Reviews

"An energetic, all-inclusive, and amusing account of man's impressive capacity for self-delusion. Every creationist should read it." ---Steve Jones, author of "Darwin's Ghost
""Highly entertaining and often hilarious." ---"Sunday Telegraph
""The focus of Garwood's impressive research is a forgotten episode
in the history of science." ---"New Scientist
""A glorious romp around the world of Flat Earthism." ---"Daily Express
""Garwood's often hilarious book is a serious look at an aberrant belief and those who took it up in modern times, centuries after the ?at Earth had been scientifically dismissed. . . . Garwood's books shows just how doggedly faith in an unscienti?c idea can hold." ---"The Commercial Dispatch
""[A] quirky and highly entertaining slice of intellectual history. Elicits plentiful laughter and astonishment." ---"Sunday Times
""Wonderful . . . dispassionate, and understanding." ---"Financial Times"

“An energetic, all-inclusive, and amusing account of man’s impressive capacity for self-delusion. Every creationist should read it.” ---Steve Jones, author of "Darwin’s Ghost
"“Highly entertaining and often hilarious.” ---"Sunday Telegraph
"“The focus of Garwood’s impressive research is a forgotten episode
in the history of science.” ---"New Scientist
"“A glorious romp around the world of Flat Earthism.” ---"Daily Express
"“Garwood’s often hilarious book is a serious look at an aberrant belief and those who took it up in modern times, centuries after the ?at Earth had been scientifically dismissed.  . . . Garwood’s books shows just how doggedly faith in an unscienti?c idea can hold.” ---"The Commercial Dispatch
"“[A] quirky and highly entertaining slice of intellectual history. Elicits plentiful laughter and astonishment.” ---"Sunday Times
"“Wonderfu

"An energetic, all-inclusive, and amusing account of man's impressive capacity for self-delusion. Every creationist should read it." ---Steve Jones, author of "Darwin's Ghost
""Highly entertaining and often hilarious." ---"Sunday Telegraph
""The focus of Garwood's impressive research is a forgotten episode
in the history of science." ---"New Scientist
""A glorious romp around the world of Flat Earthism." ---"Daily Express
""Garwood's often hilarious book is a serious look at an aberrant belief and those who took it up in modern times, centuries after the ?at Earth had been scientifically dismissed. . . . Garwood's books shows just how doggedly faith in an unscienti?c idea can hold." ---"The Commercial Dispatch
""[A] quirky and highly entertaining slice of intellectual history. Elicits plentiful laughter and astonishment." ---"Sunday Times
""Wonderful . . . dispassionate, and understanding." ---"Financial Times"

"Complete with eccentric illustrations and a startling simile for every occasion that always hits the mark, this is an original work of an order that rarely emerges in this monochromatic age of political correctness. Read "Escape from Amsterdam" and be amazed, thrilled, and amused by an irreverent expert on a culture that remains an enigma to the rest of the world." ---John Burdett, author of" Bangkok 8
"""Escape from Amsterdam" is pure delight as a romp through the complex, conflicted world that is modern Japan, but its ultimate power lies in the subtle passages where Sherwood gives us an echo of haiku, the faint scent of the geisha, the glimpse of the repentant samurai adrift in the twenty-first century. Poignant, poetic, and fun." ---Eliot Pattison, author of" Prayer of the Dragon
""For readers who like to do their world traveling in bytes on the back of a clever novel, Sherwood is the perfect guide to what weirdness the twenty-?rst century has to offer. This magical bus ride of a story bounces you around inside the illogically con?icting cultures of Japan. You'd better hold on tight." --Colin Cotterill, author of" The Coroner's Lunch
""The story of Aozora, who fights and flounders his way from the ivory towers of Kyoto University to the southern beaches of Kyushu, jumps to life with violence and kindness, humor and desperation. In his carefully woven descriptions, Barrie Sherwood shows great insight into a fast-changing society of disaffected youth and sleazy governance. This book will tell you what it's like to live on the edge in twenty-first century Japan." ---Niall Murtagh, author of "The Blue-Eyed Salaryman
""Japanese theme parks, and Japan as theme park.From its opening mad dash in search of authentic oysters to the hyper-reality of life-size love dolls, this is a fascinating and thoroughly entertaining journey into a postmodern nation. Eclectic, eccentric, and always fun. A wonderful, wonderful read." ---Will Ferguson, author of "Hokkaido Highway Blues"