It was a worldwide bestseller that catapulted Essad Bey back into the international spotlight: Tom Reiss's "The Orientalist" brought to mind a colorful figure surrounded by mysteries and false trails that are only slightly less intriguing than those surrounding B. Traven. Essad Bey's successful novels, such as "Nino" and "Ali" - published under his second pseudonym Kurban Said - continue to find their audience to this day. However, his significant contributions as a non-fiction author are less in the spotlight. He was particularly passionate about no country in the world more than Georgia - for him, the wonderland that overshadowed all other countries, not just those in the Caucasus: "Georgia, a land of fairy tales, a wonderland. The phrase 'paradise on earth' is often misused. Here it is appropriate, for if there is a paradise on earth, it is Georgia, the small country between the plains of Azerbaijan.".