Frontlines: Snapshots of History (Reuters): Amazon.co.uk: Nick Moore: Books

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"This is eye witness history but something more -- a personal group portrait bybrave and committed journalists."
Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

"If you are a news junkie, journalist, or just someone who likes to know the behind-the-scenes detail, this book will be a favorite in your library for many years to come. "

Barnes & Noble.com customer

"C19? That’s the execution cell. You’re lucky, mate, to come out of there alive." Sandy Gall, on being held in a Ugandan death cell "The US Air Force at Wiesbaden was claiming that one of its aircraft had been shot down over East Germany. Bonn's debonair request was: could I please find it?" Frederick Forsyth, on outwitting the East German stasi secret police "I left Beirut a week after the shooting, the bullet still in my back…censorship by bullet and death threat was working." Bernd Debusman, on the attempt to assassinate him in Lebanon "Two hooks with all Frazier’s weight behind them caught Ali’s jaw and seemed to work their way down to his legs… Imelda Marcos looked down at her feet and her husband winced." Rick Norsworthy, on the Thrilla in Manilla "…soldier-assassins jumped from an army truck and ran towards the dais where Sadat sat. They lifted their rifles above the parapet, pumping round after round into his torso. Too vain or too brave, he wore no bullet-proof vest." David Rogers, on the assassination of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt When important events happen, Reuters is almost always there. In this fascinating book, the men and women who broke some of the biggest stories in modern history tell us how they got them, and what happened behind the scenes. This is eye witness history but something more -- a personal group portrait by brave and committed journalists. Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Much more than snapshots - these are the first drafts of history. This is journalism at its finest, the hallmark of the Reuters legend. Peter Sissons, Broadcaster.
"The Soviet plane…opened its doors and Khrushchev appeared, a small, squat waddling creature in a baggy, creased light grey suit." John Earle, on Khrushchev’s visit to Yugoslavia …."I do not remember the sound of the anti-tank mine… I only recall an almighty kick and a black cloud that blotted out everything. Like dying, presumably." Hugh Pain, on surviving a Bosnian landmine.

Product Description

Frontlines: Snapshots of Historyis an inspired compilation of first-hand accounts of the events and individuals that have shaped and shaken our world. Think of the major news stories of the postwar era. Think of the places: the D-Day beaches, Everest, Vietnam, Hollywood, Berlin, and Tianenmen Square. Reuters journalists were there. Think of the personalities of the last sixty years: Nelson Mandela, Jackie Kennedy, Che Guevara, Idi Imin, Charles de Gaulle, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Margaret Thatcher. Reuters journalists met them. Frontlines relates the personal stories of those correspondents who have found themselves in the most remarkable situations. What was it really like to tread on Chairman Mao s toes, meet Elvis, or report ringside from a Muhammed Ali fight? How does it feel when, in the turmoil of post-colonial Africa, you hear someone being executed outside your prison cell, or when, reporting on the war in Yugoslavia, your jeep is taken out by a landmine? Written by award-winning Reuters journalists - many of whom have gone on to achieve celebrity status - and supported by breathtaking photography, Frontlines offers eyewitness accounts of the stories behind the pictures the world has seen, as well as providing a fascinating insight into the life of a foreign correspondent.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

an excellent coffee table book 31 Oct 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

wonderful pictures of some of the most significant events of the last 150 years supported by indept summries. Highly reccommended for all age groups. A good edition for any home library.

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Reuters Foreign Correspondents Tell How They Got the Story 8 May 2004

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAME TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

Frontlines will appear to many to be a book of photography, and the book certain does contain several dozen fine images of world-significant events since 1944. However, the bulk of this intriguing volume tells the story behind the story by 40 on-the-scenes correspondents for Reuters who broke the news. In most cases, these essays will provide new details to you that will put much of recent history into a different perspective.

"Where the action is, Reuters is always there . . . ." You will be impressed by the derring-do of the correspondents here. For example, Doon Campbell was born with one arm. Despite that, he came in on an LST with the first wave of Royal Marines on D-Day, and crossed the Rhine with the first gliders (being considered unable to parachute by the authorities).

Although the book covers a tremendous number of world-shaking events (D-Day, the bombing of Hiroshima, the first landings over the Rhine, the Six Day War, building and tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the Iranian Revolution, OPEC's price increases and the Arab Oil Embargo, and space feats), it also covers many many areas of mass culture (Elvis in Germany, over the hill celebrities in Hollywood, and the Thrilla in Manila).

To me, the most interesting essays were the ones that covered getting the story in Communist countries. Usually, the local laws had to be broken to get the story, broken again to get the story out, and then the correspondent had to deal with the angry officials afterwards. You will be moved by the many times that these reporters faced long-term sentences in prison or even execution for covering important stories. One of the most interesting stories is by thriller writer Frederick Forsyth who recalls getting a story about an American bomber shot down in East Germany after World War II. His tale of getting the story and getting out seems just like one of his novels, and you will read those novels differently in the future realizing that he has been there and done that.

The book also has a lot of humor, such as the description of the failed American test of a "space loo" which was wired the wrong way and ejected the material involved instead of sucking it in. One of the funniest was the story of accidentally stepping on Chairman Mao's toes.

If you are a news junkie, journalist, or just someone who likes to know the behind-the-scenes detail, this book will be a favorite in your library for many years to come.

After you finish enjoying the book, I suggest that you take events that most interest you and find the latest books on them. In that way, you can combine perspectives to get a better flavor of what interests you.

Look carefully to see the art and courage behind the bare bones design!

Fascinating summary from a unique perspective 11 Nov 2001

I couldn't put this book down. Reuters is going from strength to strength - first The Art of Seeing, now Frontlines. Frontlines takes you into the mind of a journalist, catching a glimpse of an almost James Bond lifestyle. Not a light read, but tantalising all the same.

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Frontlines: Snapshots of History (Reuters) [Hardcover]

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