We Were There: An Eyewitness History of the Twentieth Century [Paperback]

'Robert Fox has a scholar's instinct and a journalist's eye ... this is superb, revealing and stimulating' --Peter Hennessy

'A magnificent collection' --Andrew Marr

'To have an anthology of first-rate eyewitness material of this kind is both a treat and an education.' --A. C. Grayling, Financial Times

`Addictive and easy to dip into, readers will feel like they are viewing the events featured first hand.' --Soldier Magazine

`Excellent... adds up to a vivid history of the human experience of the 20th century.' --Sue Wingrove, BBC History

'A most wonderful collection...I will put it on my shelf and take it off over and over again' Simon Schama

What was it like to be there at the very moment when great events took place; when great figures strode onto the world stage; when the wonderful, the terrible, the diverting and the just plain curious happened? In this acclaimed collection of eyewitness reportage, Robert Fox brings together accounts from soldiers, journalists, poets, scientists, adventurers, chance bystanders and many more to create a vivid, compelling history of the twentieth century as it happened. Covering two world wars, revolutions, discoveries and the rise and fall of empires across the globe, We Were There reports on the defining moments of the last hundred or so years, from the turn of the last century through the Wall Street Crash and D-Day, to the Vietnam War, Tiananmen Square and 9/11. These evocative reports from around the world - by figures ranging from Vera Brittain to Neil Armstrong and Rosa Parks to the Baghdad blogger - show that the very best eyewitness reporting is as gripping as it is invaluable.

'Superb, revealing and stimulating' Peter Hennessy What was it like to be there at the very moment when great events took place - when the wonderful, the terrible and the just plain curious happened? In this magnificent collection of eyewitness reportage, distinguished reporter, author and broadcaster Robert Fox brings together accounts from soldiers, journalists, poets, scientists, adventurers, chance bystanders and many more to create a vivid, compelling history of the twentieth century as it happened. Covering two world wars, revolutions, discoveries and the rise and fall of empires across the globe, We Were There reports on the defining moments of the last hundred years, from the turn of the century through the Wall Street Crash and D-Day, to the Vietnam War, Tiananmen Square and 9/11. These evocative reports from around the world - by figures ranging from Vera Brittain to Neil Armstrong and Rosa Parks to the Baghdad blogger - show that the very best eyewitness reporting is as gripping as it is invaluable. 'To have an anthology of first-rate eyewitness material of this kind is both a treat and an education.' A. C. Grayling, Financial Times

Robert Fox has been a professional reporter, commentator, author and broadcaster for nearly 40 years. He has reported from the front in the Falklands (for which he was awarded an MBE), the Middle East, including Iraq and the Palestinian territories, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. He is defence correspondent for the Evening Standard and senior associate fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, London. He regularly comments for the BBC and Sky, and writes online for the Guardian and The First Post and in print for publications including the TLS and the Tablet.