"The Pale Abyssinian" leaves the moral character of James Bruce in tatters. He has however brought the ruddy, oversexed, 6 foot 4 inch Scotsman, vibrantly to life.

Mackintosh-Smith is not just immersed in this history, he has been endangered by it. Alongside his fellow citizens of Sanaa, he has witnessed the violence and individual tragedies of three Yemeni civil wars, evidence of which is sadly etched in the book's dedication.