BOOK REVIEW
Title Twenty Tales From The War Zone;
Author John Simpson
John Simpson was born in London in the 1940, he went to Cambridge University he joined the BBC as a
Sub-editor in the Radio Newsroom in 1966 he soon become a political reporter and then a war
Correspondent.
He spent over forty years covering wars all over the world, this book is a short account of some of the
events he has covered for the BBC.
The book gives the reader a inside into war and all it’s terrible affects on people and countries.
The story begins in Belfast in the 1970 and gives the reader a good idea of just how easy it was to get into a lot of bother at that time in Belfast .
A simple thing like the way he was dressed put his life in danger John survived being shot as a spy .
He went on to cover wars all over the world from Europe to Africa to the middle east.
In this book he gives a brief account of some of the people he interview from soldiers to princess and even one of the greatest men of our time Nelson Mandela .
I found the book very good he has a brilliant way of telling a story
I really liked how he described Osama Bin Laden crying with frustration because he wasn’t allowed to kill him, or how Gadhafi was farting all through the interview .
The book also describes just how hard a war correspondent job can be, the constant danger and the possibility that he might get killed at anytime.
When he was reporting from Iraq in 2003 with the North alliances the convoy he was traveling with came under what is called friendly fire, instead of the enemy killing you, it’s your own side.
This chapter in the book shows war really is a dirty business.
Being a war correspondent he must put his life on the line all the time, John Simpson must be a very lucky man.
They say every man has an animal he can be compared to if that’s the case John would be a cat, because he certainly has nine lives.
This book is well worth reading
