Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Entertaining Book
Review: ...much better than any movie, although it would make a great one. A real life adventure covering the exploits of a British Adventurer, Diplomat, Soldier and Spy, before and during the Second World War.
Sir Fitzroy MacLean is today a little known personality that enabled the Allies, with the help of Tito's Partisans, to hold quite a few German Divisions tide-up in the Balkan Theater.
The book however is so much more than a depiction of guerilla fighting in the Balkans during WWII, it provides a rare glimpse into the pre-war Soviet Union, the travel restrictions binding a foreign 'traveler', the beauties of Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan among many other places (e.g. France, Iraq, Egypt, North Africa, Italy, etc.). The very culmination of this great life story ends in the volatile Balkans.
This book would truly make a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: oh yes
Review: Dry English wit and a knack for savoring the small delights as well as the large make this a GREAT book, rather than merely very interesting. My original came from TIME LIFE and my daughter, now grown, refuses to give it back! It is one of the seminal books in her education experience.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Interesting
Review: Eastern Approaches documents the extraordinary travels and life of Fitzroy MacLean. Maclean was a British diplomat who while in Russia became one of the first westerners to explore Central Asia during the Soviet rule. He worked with the British special forces in the North African desert and worked on behalf of the allies with the partisans in Yugoslavia during the Second world war. Well written, this book is a worthwhile read for anybody seeking a bit of adventure in their life. These miraculous tales (true none the least) will keep you entertained throughout.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Interesting
Review: Eastern Approaches documents the extraordinary travels and life of Fitzroy MacLean. Maclean was a British diplomat who while in Russia became one of the first westerners to explore Central Asia during the Soviet rule. He worked with the British special forces in the North African desert and worked on behalf of the allies with the partisans in Yugoslavia during the Second world war. Well written, this book is a worthwhile read for anybody seeking a bit of adventure in their life. These miraculous tales (true none the least) will keep you entertained throughout.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I ever read!
Review: Fitzroy MacLean writes a true and entertaining story of his life as a British diplomat escapading around Russia, starting the British version of the Special Forces in the deserts of North Africa during WWII, and, of great interest to current politics, his time with Tito in the former Yugoslavia. He is funny and entertaining presenting a lesson of history. Very honest and easy to read. A must read for anyone into WWII history or anyone in the military today.
Rating: 
Summary: Travels and adventure in pre-WWII and WWII Europe and Asia
Review: Fitzroy McLean has written an exciting account of his largely illegal travels in Stalinist USSR in the late '30's as a daring diplomat and of his service in World War II as an member of the Special Air Service (British Special Forces) in the Sahara and Yugoslavia behind German lines. This would be a wonderful read just for the excitement and suspense. As an added bonus, he prefaces the chapters dealing with his service with Tito's partisans with a short and insightful history of the Bosnians, Serbs, Croates, Herzogovenians, Montenegrans, and everone else in that region in a way that explains much of what is fueling controversy in that part of the world today. His droll wit and penchant for understatement make the pages fly.
Rating:
Summary: Ripping Yarns
Review: For those of you who are not in the know Fitzroy Maclean and his adventures served as the basis for conceiving the original James Bond Novels. Ian Fleming and Maclean worked closely with each other during the war. This is the ultimate book for those who would yearn for the active life --- who wonder what it is like to be trailed by soviet spies; who think of the thrill of sleeping in pine scented forests of the Balkans while being hunted by Nazis; who would don a turban and travel with the real hard men of the Long Range Desert Group (none of those softy American seals, marines and the like) into the Western Desert during WWII --- but are too engrossed in reading to leave their armchairs. Reading this book makes one realise what it really is like to live an active life. Throw away your Anthony Robbins, if you want inspiration read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Was this the real 007?
Review: History may judge him harshly, but this book is an incredible adventure story and worth reading for its coverage of Stalin's purges alone. Fitzroy Maclean was apparently Ian Fleming's model for his most famous creation, James Bond. Whether stooging quietly around the back of beyond in Stalin's Soviet Union, sneaking across the Sahara to launch raids far behind German lines in World War Two or hiking through the vertical mountains of Yugoslavia Maclean is both modest and reticent. But the adventures he has are so outrageous that anything but a self-deprecating approach would seem both boastful and wildly improbable. With Eric Newby and Wilfred Thesiger, this man was the last of a particular breed of Englishmen. The world will be a poorer place for their passing.
Rating:
Summary: Eastern Approaches
Review: I read the original issue of this book about 15 years ago. I loved it. I lent it to friends and relatives. They all loved it too. Somebody liked it so much that it was not returned. I found three copies in a used book store. I bought all three and the circle of lending continued. Eventually they all disappeared. The book was out of print and I and another devoted fan were most upset. Now the book has been reprinted and I promptly bougth two. One will be kept in a safe place.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all time favourite books
Review: I want to keep this short, but so much could by said about this book and it's author Sir Fitzroy Maclean. What awes me about this book is that it is a true story . That one man could experience so much in about 8-9 years leaves me spellbound. This book is set from just prior to World War Two until just after. The experiences of the author are breathtaking. From travelling throughout Soviet Central Asia prior to the war, to being selected by Winston Churchill to lead the Allied Mission to Yugoslavia during the war. The panache, vigour, and willingness to experience life that the author displays should be lessons to us all. This book can be read purely as a very informative and enjoyable military history of the period. But, I believe it is much more valuable as a pure testament to the value and benefits of a positive outlook towards life and keen willingness to travel and learn about the world and the people and the cultures that it comprises. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
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