For the manner in which this work continues to complicate and develop our understanding of the history of imperialism and colonialism, and especially its focus on such 'in between' interlocutors as the Poles, Patton's work is a wonderful addition to the field.

Slavic Review

[Raymond Patton] explores the central concepts of postcolonial theory and their usefulness and translation in the context of Eastern Europe, confirming the book's impression as a highly considered and highly interesting contribution to the debate on the postcolonial turn in Eastern European studies.

H-Soz-Kult [Bloombsury translation]

Ranging across more than a century of travel writing, this work provides a wonderful array of insights into the complex 'inbetween' cultural geographies of Polish writers, from identification with native populations, to collective colonial fantasies, to orientalist traditions and Eurasianism. Equally, it brings an impressive array of original thematic arguments to bear, around white fragility, the 'imperial gothic', critiques of masculine imperialism, globetrotting celebrities and socialist 'anti-colonial colonials', in order to explore the ways in which a culture, often peripheralised and subordinated within Europe, has made sense of its place in the world. A rich feast from which to consider the evolving nature of Polish writers' global perspectives and imagination.

James Mark, Professor of History, University of Exeter, UK