It's no surprise that Collings earned his credentials as a reporter for Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, and CNN and eventually won an Emmy for his reports on the Oklahoma City bombing. This groundbreaking account is told with an immediacy that could only have come from a reporter skilled in the techniques of "guerrilla" journalism. Here, he shares the courageous stories of the men and women who bring us the news from the frontlines of our global hot spots. The commitment Collings shares with the journalists he profiles is awe-inspiring, and the life-threatening risks that they take to maintain the ideals of a free press will shatter the skepticism with which most Americans view our media. Journalists can be assassinated (34 in 1999), imprisoned, tortured, and held hostage, and many jeopardize their careers and comfort for their determined refusal to be censored. Collings's extensive notes and bibliography provide further evidence that the fight to maintain and preserve a free and unbiased press is universal. Recommended for all journalism collections and libraries supporting interest in contemporary world events. Denise S. Sticha, Murrysville Community Lib., PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"An absorbing, rich rendition of courageous journalism in places where a free press is not taken for granted. Journalists die every day, at the hands of dictators, drug lords and terrorists. Tony Collings knows their business and tells their stories with a style that keeps the pages turning."
-Ken Bode,Dean of the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, and Former Moderator, PBS's "Washington Week in Review"
"Tony Collings has performed an invaluable service for brave and determined journalists all over the world with his extraordinarily comprehensive compendium of the threats and dangers they face in doing the kind of accountability reporting we take for granted in the free press of the United States. Those dangers, and many, too many, deaths, are all too real; the light that Tony shines on them should spur efforts like those of the Committee to Protect Journalists to help our brave brothers and sisters safely do the jobs to which they have selflessly dedicated themselves."
-Leonard Downie Jr.,Executive Editor, the
Washington Post"Journalism shorn of alleged glamour is seriously hard and, too many times, deadly work. Collings documents this—well."
-Bernard Shaw,Former CNN Principal Anchor
"Words of Fire is a breathtaking story of courageous journalists who dare to dare. It is humbling, terrifying and exhilarating. It is a celebration of the freedom to speak and the durability of the human spirit."
-Howard Bossen,Professor and Assistant Director, School of Journalism, Michigan State University
"With gossip and insignificant events often dominating today's news, we tend to forget the important role reporters can play in society. Anthony Collings, who worked for many years in print and television, demonstrates how journalism should rise above trivial pursuits and can influence what happens in the world."
-Christopher Harper,Roy H. Park Distinguished Professor, Ithaca College; Producer, ABC's 20/20; Bureau Chief, ABC News, Rome and Cairo; Bureau Chief, Newsweek; Beirut Correspondent, Newsweek, Washington, and Chicago
