Middleton is a geographer who once visited the hottest, coldest, driest and wettest towns in the world. "Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers" is a slightly different kettle of fish; a ramble through a Mozambique that had recently emerged from civil war.

Middleton has an old, pre-independence travel guide that he uses to find himself in some once-touristy locales, including a hotel way past its once glorious state, and staff who seem to be very surprised to hear that Middleton wants to stay there.

He also covers the civil war between the Communists and their rather odd foes, who happily used witchcraft in their fight to rid their homeland of Communists.

"Kalashnikovs and Zombie Cucumbers" is no doubt somewhat out of date these days but it still gave me the urge to visit the land Bob Dylan sang so enthusiastically about. ( )