Up till 2006 a British Ambassador leaving his post was encouraged to write what was known as a valedictory despatch, to be circulated to a small number of influential people in government. This was the parting shot, an opportunity to offer a personal & frank view of the host country, the manners & morals of its people, their institutions, the state of their cooking & their drains. But it was also a chance to let rip at the Foreign Office itself & to look back on a career spent in the service of a sometimes ungrateful nation. Combining gems from the archives with more recent despatches obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, ” Parting Shots” is a treasure trove of wit, venom & serious analysis. Astute & often gloriously non-politically, they shed light on Britain`s place in the world, & reveal the curious cocktail of privilege & privation which make up the life of an ambassador.