Pico Iyer reveals his knack for showing how countries affect his soul. In this top-drawer collection of essays, he writes about 'places that have no seat at our international dinner tables." He experiences Iceland as "a mystic poet in the corner." He marvels at Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas that has "a gift for keeping the world at arm's length." Vietnam, Paraguay, North Korea, and Australia round out these lonely places of the world which are "all marching to the beat of a different satellite drummer."