A Fist In the Hornet's Nest: On the Ground In Baghdad Before, During and After the War [Hardcover]

Richard Engel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2004

When war broke out in Iraq, every major U.S. network pulled its correspondents from the scene. Despite the risk, Richard Engel stayed. As our tanks entered Baghdad in April 2003, he was there, bringing the Iraqi war into American homes as a stringer for ABC news. Determined to deliver the whole Middle East story, Engel moved to Cairo in 1996 after graduating from Stanford to learn 'street' Arabic. Then to dig even deeper into the complicated powder-keg of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he settled in Jerusalem. Now as Iraq enters its post-war phase and the Gulf region continues to dominate our nation's consciousness, more and more Americans will come to know and trust Richard Engel- especially in his current role as a correspondent for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. Both analytical and anecdotal, this book leads us through the war in Iraq, dissecting a myriad of Middle East issues, all from the vantage point of someone who is 'on the ground and in the streets' to get the real story.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist Engel's gripping account of the recent war in Iraq begins with himself rushing around in flak jacket and helmet to videotape an attack on Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, a woman journalist nearby shouting, "We're all going to die"; he conveys his shock on learning the hotel, which housed Western journalists, had been fired on by an American tank. This scene is just the first of many vivid depictions of Engel's life in the war zone. Unlike most U.S. correspondents, who covered the war "embedded" with U.S. troops, Engel worked apart from the troops as ABC-TV's main Baghdad correspondent. The world he describes is filled with fascinating, terrible dynamics: he depicts local residents waiting with a strange calm for the fighting to begin; journalists attempting to outwit the Iraqi "minders" assigned by Saddam Hussein's regime to watch over them; Iraqis overjoyed at Saddam's fall but ambivalent about a Western occupation. He also describes the experience of reporting while ducking both American and Iraqi shooting; in one incident, he relates, reporters became "human shields," providing cover for Iraqis firing anti-aircraft missiles at American planes. Engel navigates a tightrope: he conveys the excitement of being a war correspondent without neglecting the horrifying aspects of war. Most important, he manages to convey an accurate, balanced portrayal of Iraq both during the war and after. As a result, this book might restore some of the public's lost faith in journalism.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

When the U.S. went to war in Iraq, the American television networks pulled their correspondents out of the country. But Engel wasn't working for any of the networks; he was freelance, and he stayed right where he was, becoming one of the few journalists of any nationality to report from Baghdad as war engulfed the city. His memoir begins several years earlier and describes how he came to be in Iraq (on a falsified visa, as it happens), and it concludes in the present day, with Engel now a correspondent for the NBC evening news. But it's the middle period that readers will be most interested in, and Engel doesn't let us down. His description of the war in Iraq is vivid, politically astute, and strikes the perfect balance between drama and reportage. The book is essential reading for those interested in an insider's account of the war, and its timely subject should ensure that it gets plenty of publicity. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (February 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401301150
• ISBN-13: 978-1401301156
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #792,551 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > History > Middle East > Kuwait

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, absorbing, vivid, March 2, 2004

By 

L. M. Kaven "Luke Kaven" (Ithaca, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fist In the Hornet's Nest: On the Ground In Baghdad Before, During and After the War (Hardcover)

Richard Engel's "A Fist in the Hornet's Nest" is a stunning book, as absorbing for me as the Richard Halliburton books that I read and reread in my youth. Engel's own saga of living in the Cairo slums to learn the language and the culture is remarkable; and his decision then to move to Iraq without prospects of employment is courageous. The writing is intelligent and illuminating and yet so unpretentious I had the feeling that I was listening to a close friend describing the realities of a living adventure.

I am left with vivid images of the writer's relationships with shopkeepers, drivers, secret agents, terrorists, thieves, Iraqi top officials and the military.

The book is comprehensive, providing as it does, a knowledgeable exploration of the causes, problems and future issues that grip Iraq.

I recommend it enthusiastically.

William H. Kaven , Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Economics and Marketing, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Call the Bee Keeper, April 24, 2004

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fist In the Hornet's Nest: On the Ground In Baghdad Before, During and After the War (Hardcover)

This book is full of youthful exuberance, fear, concern and wonder. It is the story of a rather self-starter of a reporter and his time covering the war in Iraq. The author starts that book with a chapter on how he moved from the US to the Middle East to start a career in journalism. He then jumps into the path he took going into Iraq without a news organization to work for and on a "Human Shield" visa. I could not tell if this very risky adventure was all bravery, desperation or stupidity, but it worked out for the author. It is a lesson in how corrupt and lazy government officials can be paid off for rather small amounts of good old cash.

The author covers the pre war condition in Baghdad and what it takes to survive. The picture he paints is very interesting. It turned on my head a number of the recent impressions I had heard about the conditions in Iraq pre war. He does state it was difficult, but he could find the essentials for life in the markets. I was surprised by some of the rather carefree ways he was able to lose his minders and roam around town talking to whomever he wanted to. It started me thinking that if a young reporter with no experience in Baghdad can do this then why could not professional CIA staff been able to do the same?

The book picks up with the war and the author has some interesting, but not overly exciting experiences to share. As he was not an embedded reporter, he saw the war from the finish line so that once Baghdad fell his brief glimpse of war was over. He then covered the turmoil after the American army took over, the looting and random violence. If you followed the war on TV this reporting was nothing really that new or exciting, but very interesting. Overall the book was good, easy to read and fast paced. It did slow down at the end when the author went from reporting to providing his opinions on what the military and Bush Administration did not do correctly in a Monday morning quarterback style. The book just did not have enough extra to get it to the top of the charts in my opinion.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Fast Read about the War, July 26, 2004

By 

Michael M. McKone (Gold River, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Fist In the Hornet's Nest: On the Ground In Baghdad Before, During and After the War (Hardcover)

This is an interesting account by Richard Engel, who gets my vote for bravery, when he stays in Baghdad as the war arrives. His descriptions of the events, and in particular, the reaction of the people on the streets, shops, and restaurants are surreal. For example, while US bombs are falling on the city, people in the restaurant don't even acknowledge what is going on due to their fear of Saddam's regime. The story seems quite balanced. I was surprised to read his stance on the war, which I won't reveal. Pick it up, you won't be disappointed.