Peter Fleming was in many ways Ian Fleming (James Bond)'s more accomplished brother. Peter was the older brother, and a writer who enjoyed some success with travel writing. These are essays written by Peter for the Spectator Magazine, relating to Great Britain's retreat from the status as the greatest imperial power. They are, as the writer intended, gentle and amusing while being quite informative about that retreat. As well as being a travel writer, Peter served as a WWII expert on urban guerrilla warfare , and ended the war in a bureau dedicated to deceiving Axis military Intelligence. ( )