What am I doing here

“‘This is a selection (made by himself) of thirty-five of his favourite pieces written over twenty years, and published in various places, some of them obscure. They range the globe from China to Peru, and exhibit the genres from the search fort the Abominable Snowman to the discovery that Mrs Gandhi was simply a little girl who wanted to be Joan of Arc … The erudition is formidable … He was a great traveller and a fine stylist, a good companion, an original nomad, and clearly a nice man. His work will last’ – The Times”