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War Stories
 
 

War Stories (Hardcover)

by Jeremy Bowen (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd (6 Nov 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0743230949
  • ISBN-13: 978-0743230940
  • Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.8 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 300,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

Having joined the BBC as a trainee in 1984, Jeremy Bowen first became a foreign correspondent four years later. He had witnessed violence already, both at home and abroad, but it wasn't until he covered his first war -- in El Salvador -- that he felt he had arrived. Armed with the fearlessness of youth he lived for the job, was in love with it, aware of the dangers but assuming the bullets and bombs were meant for others. In 2000, however, after eleven years in some of the world's most dangerous places, the bullets came too close for comfort, and a close friend was killed in Lebanon. This, and then the birth of his first child, began a process of reassessment that culminated in the end of the affair. Now, in his extraordinarily gripping and thought-provoking new book, he charts his progress from keen young novice whose first reaction to the sound of gunfire was to run towards it to the more circumspect veteran he is today. It will also discuss the changes that have taken place in the ways in which wars are reported over the course of his career, from the Gulf War to Bosnia, Afghanistan to Rwanda.


From the Inside Flap

`This is the story of a love affair that went wrong. It isn't
over. It still has its moments and it might go on for many more years. But
it will never be what it was when it started.'

Jeremy Bowen is not talking about a woman. He was in love with a job:
addicted to reporting wars. `It sounds a little sad, and in a way it was,
though it was also compelling and passionate and fun and it never felt like
work. I have written this book because many people have asked me why
journalists risk their lives to go to war. The answer is complicated, and
different people have their own reasons. But these were mine.'

From joining the BBC as a trainee in 1984, Bowen quickly rose through the
ranks to become one of the Corporation's most recognisable faces, a
mainstay of news bulletins as he reported from the front lines of various
hot-spots around the world. From his first war in El Salvador in 1989, he
has covered wars in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Rwanda, among other places,
and worked extensively in the Balkans and the Middle East throughout the
1990s, including reporting the First Gulf War from Baghdad.

In 2000, however, everything changed. The violent death of a close
colleague and the birth of his first child made Jeremy re-assess his
hazardous occupation, and ultimately decide that he owed it to his growing
family to do something less dangerous. But the fascination remained, and in
this riveting memoir he attempts to come to terms with his own infatuation
as well as exploring the uncomfortable truth of the job - that as a war
correspondent, for you to have a good day, someone else has to have their
worst day.

Candid and compelling, War Stories charts the progress of a young novice
whose first reaction to the sound of gunfire was to run towards it to the
more circumspect veteran he is today. It is also an extraordinarily
gripping account of some of the late twentieth century's most divisive
conflicts, and a thought-provoking insight into how technology has changed
our attitude to breaking news.


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Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
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 (5)
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read, 10 Jul 2007
By R. Sampat "Ravin" (Camden Town) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: War Stories (Paperback)
Jeremy Bowen, like his journalistic traits, writes this excellent book that nobody would be able to put down. i really cannot recommend this enough. i bought this book at Gatwick Airport last week whilst on my way to a 4 day holiday. i finished it in 2..!

Bowen's writing skills are definetly well worked, and he shows his ability to take the reader on his enchanted journey with great descriptions of his experiences in Sarejevo, Lebanon, Jersualem etc etc.

My favourite chapter occurs whilst in Afghanistan..his description of engagements with the Afghan Mujahadeen during the 1980's is so vivid and interesting.

not everybody may like Bowen's book, but judging by the last two reviews, i think its fair to say this book is a must read for anybody interested in journalism, living life to the max, war, peace, politics, and Jeremy Bowen!

if anyone likes Jeremy's journalistic style as the BBC's Middle East editor, you almost feel the famous moustache of his everytime you turn a page! this book is as important a book for current affairs and international relations then any academic book.

i also recommend his book Six Days, which analysis the 1967 Arab Israeli War.
enjoy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars if you care about what goes on in this world, 8 Jun 2008
This review is from: War Stories (Paperback)
I thought this book was excellent.
I was already interested in the coverage of news before reading it, having grown up with reading newspapers and watching TV news;I'm from a family with a journalistic background myself.
However I think this book would be great for anyone that is interested in the way things really are in this world; the recent history of wars in both the Middle East and in Europe,and in how vitally important it is that we see good news coverage of it.
Jeremy Bowen doesn't try to sanitise anything or pull his punches, and thank goodness for it; you get the human side of the conflicts he has covered.
Without news journalists and photographers prepared to put their lives on the line to cover whats really happening in the world, especially in areas of war and /or oppression (and many have lost their lives doing it),all we'd have would be hearsay and political spin.
I found this book to be a riveting read.
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12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Remembrance of Wars Past and Present, 31 Jan 2007
By Jason Parkes "We're all Frankies'" (Worcester, UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
I've always liked Jeremy Bowen, possibly due to the excellent moustache he once had and that he was quite an amiable presenter on the BBC's Breakfast News programme in the years when I watched it. He's probably quite well known as that bloke who pops up with fellow news team presenters to perform cringe worthy cover versions for charity - I felt bad when I saw him playing bass in a Bond-karaoke medley. I wondered if it was the fact he is the Middle East editor and the terrible attack on the Lebanon by Israel had occurred recently. That and I probably have no sense of humour?

Bowen is more interesting than cheesy charity shows and Dickie Davies style `taches, his book on the Six Day War was excellent and the BBC documentary he did on news reporters in war zones was extremely disturbing and interesting in equal measures. `War Stories' is the biographical extension of that BBC documentary , opening in 2000 as Bowen's colleague Abed Takkoush was killed by the IDF as Israel left Lebanon. This event and impending fatherhood made Bowen reconsider his addiction to war reportage and send him to the entertainment side of the news world many probably know him from. Looking at the photographs from war zones in the centre of the book, or the many names this book is dedicated to, you are reminded how dangerous this work is and how the journalists, crew members and fellow colleagues put themselves in great danger to bring us news. I'm glad they are willing to take such risks, since the embedded notion of journalism the US military seem to prefer has the whiff of propaganda, a lack of independence, and isn't the kind of journalism we're used to in this country. It should be noted that this book is partly dedicated to ITN's Terry Lloyd, who was covering the Iraq War in the same style he always had (& Bowen does throughout this book), and ended up getting killed in dubious circumstances by the US military. If you thought the meticulously staged opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan was "real", you really should read this book...

Following the prologue, Bowen takes us back through his journalistic life - from his roots within the BBC's training course , which surprisingly reveals Bowen to be flawed (admitting many mistakes) and a bit uncertain - until it all clicked and he found himself at home in a war zone. We're taken through major events and wars since the late 1980s, from Bowen's initial work in El Salvador to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and onto more disturbing events in the former Balkans in the 1990s (as well as partly the Iraq War of 1991, though Bowen was apparently not selected amongst the primary list of journalists to cover that). Bowen's memories of reportage from the former Yugoslavia are extremely disturbing, the place sounding like hell on earth - sad that the civilised world decided to do nothing while things like Srebrenica occurred. It was interesting to read Bowen's take on David Owen regarding the problems of the Balkans, since we don't usually get journalists' opinions in the balanced world of the BBC. Bowen did apparently provide evidence for human rights trials relating to acts carried out in the former Yugoslavia.

Bowen also covers the Lebanon in the 1990s and another failed Israeli military campaign `the Grapes of Wrath' - Lebanon is key, from the prologue to the 1990s sections, through to the final chapter centring on Israel's excessive attack on Lebanon, which sent the country back decades, made the premiership of their West-friendly leader less certain, made Hezbollah popular, took over a 1000 lives, maimed people, and left behind a malicious mass of cluster bombs that have lead to censure in a US report to Israel (though we must remember that the US were the primary backer of Israel's actions, along with the UK - tellingly against the rest of the world). This book is extremely up to date, like Robert Fisk's epic The Great War Against Civilisation.

The story is not over yet, and Bowen's addiction to war and interest in the Middle East isn't over either. I think this is an interesting book and an autobiography people should read - anyone with an interest in history or war should probably read this book, though am not sure it matches something like Joan Didion's Salvador or some of the books on Rwanda. So not exactly Anthony Beevor, but a breeze to read (despite the bleak subject matter), and a personal account of events that are international and usually only seen through the TV screen. Highly recommended.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars No wonder he didn't present breakfast telly for long
Where do you start with this book? Firstly it's a psychiatrist's dream: an obsession with war zones, suffering, crimes against humanity etc. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Caterkiller

4.0 out of 5 stars Tough - on himself and the world
Foreign correspondents often produce fascinating and well written memoirs, which is hardly surprising as they live such varied and action packed lives and are typically... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Eric Ambleside

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but preferred John Simpson
I came to this on the back of having enjoyed similar tomes from John Simpson. Bowen's book makes an enjoyable read, and his tales of Sarajevo and Afghanistan tell of a man... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Craig Worth

5.0 out of 5 stars A book of sorrow
This book will undoubtedly captivate you. Other reviewers have accurately portrayed the contents of the book but I feel that they have missed the point when doing so. Read more
Published 23 months ago by T. S. Ward

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read.
Like the previous reviewer I throughly enjoyed this read and he has described its contents perfectly. Read more
Published on 3 April 2007 by B Loughrey

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