The book gives a colourful collection of fascinating personal memoirs. Sidney Nowill OBE recounts his carefree childhood in Moda & the idyllic village of Bournabat outside Smyrna & how this blissful innocence was cut short when he was sent off to boarding school in Engl&. Not long after the outbreak of World War II Sidney found himself recruited for duties with MI6; he was even asked to continue this role in a different capacity after the war had ended but saw no reason to continue such work. After the war Sidney began working for his fathers import business before he set up independently manufacturing a range of products. The business required that he undertook sales tours extensively throughout Turkey & this gave Sidney the unique opportunity to get a feel for the understanding & opinion of the average provincial Turkish male. There follow some amusing tales: how Sidney managed to scramble out onto the dome of the Hagia Sophia by clutching onto a rusty Byzantine chain; how he & the Turkish Police chased a gang of counterfeiters; how he hung from a chicken-wire cradle during the construction of the first Bosphorus Bridge; & how he managed to amass a fortune on the nascent Turkish Stock Exchange. Many other amusing & colourful stories are told in the book. In the early 70s Sidney became an External Economic Advisor to the Shell group of companies in Turkey & was frequently sought for his advice on Turkeys financial affairs by people ranging from Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel to workshop meetings in the World Economic Forum. Sidney finally retired to England in 1993.