The Land of the Left details the authors travels in a number of socialist or leftward leaning countries throughout the globe examining the effect of their system of government on both the economy and the lives of average citizens. It is as much about the people and places visited and the various travails of international travel as anything else. It is a personal journey where the authors own beliefs are tested in the real world. A journey from the step back in time that is Fidel Castro's Cuba, to the terminal decay of modern Russia and the brash modernity of China before delving into the effects of idealism in Vietnam and Cambodia.