Book description
In a memoir of staggering power and candour, award-winning journalist
Fergal Keane addresses his experience of wars of different kinds, some
very public and others acutely personal.
During his years of reporting from the world's most savage and
turbulent regions, Fergal Keane has witnessed the violence of the South
African townships and the terror in Rwanda, the most extreme kinds of
human behaviour, the horror of genocide and the bravery of peacekeepers
faced with overwhelming odds. As one of the BBC's leading
correspondents, he recounts extraordinary encounters on the front lines.
Alongside his often brutal experiences in the field, he also describes
unflinchingly the challenges and demons he has faced in his personal
life growing up in Ireland.
Keane's existence as a war reporter is all that we imagine: frantic
filing of reports and dodging shells, interspersed with rest in
bombed-out hotels and concrete shelters. Life in such vulnerable areas
of the globe is emotionally draining, but full of astonishing moments of
camaraderie and human bravery. And so this is also a memoir of the human
connections, at once simple and complex, that are made in extreme
circumstances. These pages are filled with the memories of remarkable
people. At the heart of Fergal Keane's story is a descent into and
recovery from alcoholism, spanning two generations, father and son; a
different kind of war, but as much part of the journey of the last
twenty-five years as the bullets and bombs. 'Keane's real distinction
was in his reporting talents, which as this book shows, are
considerable.' Evening Standard
'His book is a memoir but it is so much more than that…a volume of the
most exquisitely written and moving truth and honesty.' TLS
'A completely honest account of reporting conflict.' Independent
'An empowering story of triumph over adversity.' Irish Times
'Profoundly honest.' Observer Fergal Keane OBE was born in London and
educated in Ireland. He is one of the BBC's most distinguished
correspondents, having worked for the corporation in Northern Ireland,
South Africa, Asia and the Balkans. He has been awarded a BAFTA and has
been named reporter of the year on television and radio, winning honours
from the Royal Television Society and the Sony Radio Awards. He has also
been named Reporter of the Year in the Amnesty International Press
Awards and won the James Cameron Prize and the Edward R. Murrow Award
from the US Overseas Press Association.
