Written from Gstaad, Puerta Vallarta, Rome, Los Angeles, various locations in Yugoslavia, Budapest, London and on board the Kalizma.
Includes discussion of: the filming of The Battle of Sutjeska in various locations in Yugoslavia; visiting Marshall Tito and his wife on the Brioni (Bijuni) islands near Croatia and subsequent meetings with Tito; attempts to learn Serbo-Croat; filming The Assassination of Trotsky in Rome; filming Bluebeard in Budapest; feelings about acting and attitude to press coverage that admonishes him for having deserted the theatre; Laurence Olivier and his attempts to persuade Burton to take over as Director of the National Theatre and various retrospective reflections on his career including memories of his time stationed in Canada with the RAF and references to his contracts with Alexander Korda and then with Fox Pictures, and to the productions My Cousin Rachel, Look Back in Anger, Bitter Victory, Time Remembered and Camelot.
Entries also includes some reflections on the political situation in Yugoslavia; observations on the Slav people and on communism; mention of writing an autobiography and an idea about writing a novel based on the history of the Peregrina pearl (supposedly once owned by Mary Queen of Scots and now owned by Elizabeth Taylor); being approached (under a Royal Command from Princess Margaret) to appear in a television play directed by Lew Grade and donating £100,000 pounds to the St John's Ambulance; party at the house of Guy and Marie-Helene Rothschild; neighbours in Gstaad; critics Harold Hobson and Kenneth Tynan; Frank Sinatra; Peter Sellars; Julie Andrews; David Niven; Wolf Manciewicz; Stephen Spender; life on board the yacht Kalizma; friends and family especially Ivor in hospital, Sarah Taylor (mother of Elizabeth) and the children.
Also notes his reading: Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son; James Joyce, Ulysses; Anthony Powell, A Dance to the Music of Time; Marcel Proust, A La Recherche du Temps Perdu; poetry of Baudelaire; biographies of Trotsky, David Lloyd George and Lord Palmerston; Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West; autobiography of David Niven.
Also includes 5 letters and telegrams inserted within the pages of the diary. These comprise: letter (dated 5 July 1971) from George Thomas MP to Richard Burton regarding Harlech Television; telegram from Beatrix Miller (Editor of Vogue) to Richard Burton relating to his article; letter (20 July 1971) from Richard Burton to President Tito regarding his role as Tito in The Battle of Sutjeska; telegram to Sarah Taylor from Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor; letter (10 December 1971) from Gordon MacKenzie (Executive Editor, Daily Mail) to Richard Burton requesting that he write a short story for publication in the newspaper.
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