Blood and Sand: And Ireland - Softcover

Frank Gardner

Softcover

ISBN 10: 059305699X ISBN 13: 9780593056998

Publisher: Transworld Hardbacks, 2006

Synopsis

On 6 June 2004, Frank Gardner and cameraman Simon Cumbers were in a suburb of Riyadh, filming a report on Al-Qaeda when they were confronted by Islamist gunmen. Simon was killed outright. Frank was brought down by shots in the shoulder and leg. As he lay bleeding in the street, a figure stood over him and pumped four more bullets into him at point blank range… Against all the odds, Frank Gardner survived and this is his remarkable account of the agonizing journey he has taken - from being shot and left for dead to where he is today, partly paralysed but alive. It is a journey that really began 25 years earlier when a chance meeting with explorer Wilfred Thesiger inspired what would become a lifelong passion for the Arab world. This would take him throughout the Middle East and eventually lead to his becoming a BBC journalist. And, in the wake of the events of 9/11, this passion sent him on the journey that came to dominate - and nearly end - his life: his coverage of Al-Qaeda. Honest, moving and inspiring, his story - now updated for this paperback edition - reveals a deep understanding of the Islamic world and offers a compelling analysis of the on-going ‘War on Terror’ and what it means in these uncertain times.

About this title

About the Author:

Frank Gardner is the BBC's fulltime Security Correspondent, reporting for TV and radio on issues of domestic and international security, notably on Al-Qaeda-related terrorism. In June 2004 he survived an assassination attempt in Saudi Arabia. A fluent Arabist, with a degree in Arabic & Islamic Studies from Exeter University, he was previously BBC Middle East Correspondent based in Cairo and before that in Dubai. He has written for the Economist, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Time Out and his travel writing has been published in The Best of Sunday Times Travel Writing. He was awarded an OBE in 2005 for services to journalism. Frank Gardner is married with two children and lives in London.

Review:

"Gardner is a superb reporter; his terrible experience only make his analysis all the more telling." —Evening Standard

"Gardner tells his remarkable tale well and bravely, with an astonishing lack of anger and enduring love and respect for the Islamic world." —Sunday Times

"Chilling, graphic and admirably unsentimental. . . Gardner comes across as a modest, thoroughly decent man. . . an exemplary foreign correspondent." —Guardian

"A witty, self-deprecating, inspiring testament." —Daily Telegraph

"Vivid detail. . . entertaining anecdotes. . . Gardner is a tremendous model for what relations between East and West can be. . . a fine introduction both to journalism and to the culture of the Middle East." —Independent

"What makes Gardner's moving, often humorous, deeply personal story so important is the fact that he has woven into it a brilliantly dispassionate, clear-eyed account of the Islamic world." —Scotsman

About this edition

• Publisher: Transworld Hardbacks
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 059305699X
• ISBN 13: 9780593056998
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320