New Statesman -

The vagabond king

Simon Akam — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:57:04 GMT

When 25-year-old Valentine Strasser seized power in Sierra Leone in 1992, he became the world�s youngest head of state. Today he lives with his mother and spends his days drinking gin by the roadside. What went wrong?

McSweeney�s 30

Simon Akam — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:37:05 GMT

Short cuts to success

Spirit of the woods

Simon Akam — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:37:05 GMT

Simon Akam experiences the calm of an artists� retreat in upstate New York with an impressive visitors� book

Old wound, same pain

Simon Akam — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:12:09 GMT

The conquest of the Wild West left North America�s first inhabitants scattered, diseased and broken. Can they find a panacea at the gambling table?

Somewhere not here

Simon Akam — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:15:33 GMT

Journey Into Space Toby Litt Penguin, 243pp, �7.99

Tsars in their�eyes

Simon Akam — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:02:11 GMT

The Coronation Boris Akunin Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 311pp, �16.99

Peak practice

Simon Akam — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 10:29:07 GMT

Cycling in mountainous, jagged Norway is not for�the�faint-hearted, as Simon Akam discovers

Mad about the boy

Simon Akam — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:09:52 GMT

The Great Lover Jill Dawson Sceptre, 320pp, �12.99

S�o Paulo: the brand

Simon Akam — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:35:41 GMT

Heliopolis James Scudamore Harvill Secker, 288pp, �12.99

Dancing in Harlem's streets

Simon Akam — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 08:50:56 GMT

As the US strolls into a brighter future Simon Akam enjoyed the historic moment in Harlem as black and white Americans celebrated the election of Barack Obama to be president