Author Description

An old man died. The name on his passport is Max Vail. Born in humble circumstances in St Petersburg at the turn of the century, he moved relentlessly up the ladders of power to Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London. During the thirties he made America his permanent centre operations, though he continued to spend much time in Europe. He has left a journal. More than a personal testament, it is a secret history of the century's buried liaisons and fatal indiscretions, plots, deceptions, fateful meetings and stolen romances. We see Jackie Kennedy with Muhammad Ali, Hitler and the Windsors, Lord Lucan and Martin Bormann, Princess Di and Prince, Elvis and Bill Clinton, Idi Amin and Queen Elizabeth II. And Max Vail himself, the eternal loner who is their missing link. With 84 colour images and captivating narrative, this work is a tour of the century's psyche.