The Age of the Strongman by Gideon Rachman: a timely and depressing book
Rachman analyses strategies used by Putin, Duterte and Bolsonaro to hold onto power

“Ever since Dervla Murphy packed a pistol and pedalled from Ireland to India in 1963, recounting her adventures in Full Tilt, there has been a demand for two-wheeled adventure tales,” said Caroline Eden in the FT.
The Slow Road to Tehran is the latest addition to the genre: in it, British journalist Rebecca Lowe describes her year-long, 11,000km trip through the Middle East on a bicycle she names “Maud”. Lowe admits she was unprepared to the point of foolhardiness: she set out having had “zero hours of training”, and didn’t bother to map out her terrain in advance. “We think you’ll probably die,” her family told her.
She proves, however, a “thrillingly single-minded” adventurer, and is “so refreshingly self-deprecating that you cannot help but root for her”. Her book isn’t perfect – she crams too much into it – but her “travel for travel’s sake” ethos is refreshing, and most of her stories are “highly entertaining”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lowe had an inkling that, as a solo female traveller, her experiences would be enhanced by her vulnerability, said James Barr in The Times. This intuition proves largely correct, though it does expose her to much unpleasantness: in Lebanon, a man pulls down the window of his black Mercedes, and says simply, “Sex”; “in Egypt, she is relieved then horrified when a passing tuk-tuk driver who has just slapped her bottom is stopped and beaten up by the policemen who are shadowing her”.
She has a talent for getting people to talk to her, and these conversations form the basis of sharp “vignettes”, said Tom Chesshyre in The Critic. Carefully researched, and laced with wry humour, this is “modern travel writing at its best”. When Lowe finally arrives at Tehran’s airport – and checks in her “much-dented and repaired bicycle – I couldn’t help but whisper: bravo!”
September Publishing 416pp; £18.99
The Week Bookshop
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
To order this title or any other book in print, visit theweekbookshop.co.uk, or speak to a bookseller on 020-3176 3835. Opening times: Monday to Saturday 9am-5.30pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.
-
September 13 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include court-approved racial profiling and America's moral compass
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Crossword: September 13, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashion
In the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fans
The Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'
The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painter
The Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti Gatwa
The Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
-
Art review: Lorna Simpson: Source Notes
Feature Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, through Nov. 2
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is more
Feature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Book reviews: 'Baldwin: A Love Story' and 'The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces'
Feature A loving James Baldwin biography and the drug crimes of two special ops veterans