The Last Human Cannonball:

And Other Small Journeys in Search of Great Men

Byron Rogers' latest collection of travel pieces follows the winning formula of his first book for Aurum, "An Audience with an Elephant": in search of - and finding - a remarkable array of quirky, whimsical and singular individuals. But as well as such characters as the pensioner on a Saga holiday who decided to swim across the Amazon, this book sees for the first time Rogers meeting a number of undeniably famous people: Hollywood stars, legends of children's radio serials he had idolised in childhood - even rock stars like Mick Jagger. But, as one might expect, Rogers' encounters with a celebrity have their own unexpected outcomes. Burt Lancaster rants to him about trans sexuality. Rita Hayworth is most worried about her neighbour's TV aerial. A retired star of the silent screen turns out to live in Henley-on-Thames. Rogers' last book for Aurum, "The Bank Manager and the Holy Grail" (1 85410 949 9) received excellent coverage and was reprinted twice; and his biography of J.L. Carr, "The Last Englishman" reprinted four times and was hailed by Simon Jenkins as "a miniature masterpiece".