Kidnapped: And Other Dispatches [Paperback]

Alan Johnston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

When Alan Johnston, the last Western journalist who dared to remain in Gaza, was kidnapped by terrorists, millions of people around the world felt the need to express their anger and determination to set him free. His captivity was an attack on the freedom of speech, and this collection of Johnston’s dispatches is the long-awaited and moving account of life in Gaza, his ordeal, and his release.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

BBC correspondent Johnston really gets involved in the story in this absorbing collection of reports, originally for broadcast, from Gaza and other Middle East hotspots. In 2007, he was seized in Gaza by an obscure Palestinian militia and held for 114 days by moody guards who subjected him to death threats and occasional violence; he persevered with a determined, positive-thinking regimen and support from an international campaign. It's a tale that Americans who think of Gaza only as an incomprehensible hellhole might expect, except that Johnston embeds his ordeal amid nuanced, sympathetic reporting that makes the region's travails all too understandable. He introduces Palestinians and Israelis hardened in their hatreds of each other, observes families grieving over children caught in the crossfire and takes us to a beach where Gazans get a break from Gaza. Johnston includes dispatches from Afghanistan under Taliban rule, in which he elegizes Kabul's once vibrant university and dodges Taliban beard inspectors. And he reports from Central Asia on Samarkand's architectural splendors and Mongolia's undying nomad culture. These radio pieces are a bit slender and out of date, but they intimately convey the human reality behind the dire headlines. Photos. (May)
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Review

“What shines through, even in horrific moments, is Johnston’s balance, decency and humour.”—Bloomberg

"Johnston distills the nightmare into about sixty vitally exciting pages, especially moving on the mind control strategies Johnston devised in the dark, and on the comfort he took from messages of support heard on the World Service."-Evening Standard

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Profile Books (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846681421
• ISBN-13: 978-1846681424
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,662,233 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reports from the BBC Correspondent, February 24, 2009

By 

Helen Hancox "Auntie Helen" (Essex, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kidnapped: And Other Dispatches (Paperback)

The kidnapping of Alan Johnston in Gaza was, of course, a significant media event, Alan being the BBC's Gaza correspondent. The global campaign for his release, which was successful after four months, brought someone who perhaps few people had noticed into the limelight. Since his release Alan appears to have moved away from the publicity and returned to relative obscurity, not writing a huge book about his experiences but instead writing a piece just 20 pages long about his experiences that is included in this book.

The book also contains articles written for the BBC 'From our own correspondent' radio feature during the three years that he was in Gaza. These work to set the scene and it's quite spooky to read about his fears of kidnapping, knowing what happened afterwards. He gives a good description of life in Gaza, the everyday life for thousands of people trapped in what is effectively a war zone. The book also contains a short interview with Alan after his release and some of Alan's other reports from Afghanistan and Central Asia before he went to Gaza.

This short book was good, with Alan's writing and sense of description up to the BBC's usual high standard. I was surprised how brief the section on his kidnapping was, but it was well balanced and helped to give an insight into his mind. I was left with the sense that Alan is a very private man and I didn't really know him any better after reading this book; however I did have more of an understanding of the situation in Gaza and sympathy with the ordinary people there.

Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2009