Overview
"I am a traveler by profession, and commute to work; but my job tends to be carried out in outlandish and difficult placesAfghanistan, the Middle East, the darker parts of Africa, and Latin America. As a result I have had a rather larger acquaintance with deranged dictators, ethnic cleansers, bandits, and terrorists than seems altogether reasonable. Quite a number of them will make an appearance in these pages: Ayatollah Khomeini refusing to shake my hand, Osama bin Laden offering a disturbingly small amount of money to have me killed, and Fidel Castro assuring me he would abdicate soon."In his role as "professional traveler," BBC correspondent John Simpson has not only made the acquaintance of dictators and terrorists, but also witnessed the pivotal events of the past decades: the riots in Tiananmen Square, the Gulf War bombing of Baghdad, the reopening of Kabul after the fall of the Taliban regime. Occasionally, he becomes part of the story. He and his crew intervened during the Tiananmen Square riots to save a soldier from being killed. His on-the-scene coverage from Belgrade during the 1999 NATO action against Serbia created intense controversy in England. He was among the first journalists to enter Kabul after the Taliban were deposed; his offhand joke that "The BBC liberated Kabul" again stirred up controversy.
In Simpson's World, Simpson tells the stories behind the news clips. With characteristic wit and inexhaustible curiosity, and an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time, this collection of episodes from his remarkable life offers a ringside seat at every major event in recent global history.
Synopsis
In his role as "professional traveler," BBC correspondent John Simpson has not only made the acquaintance of dictators and terrorists, but also witnessed the pivotal events of the past decades: the riots in Tiananmen Square, the Gulf War bombing of Baghdad, the reopening of Kabul after the fall of the Taliban regime. Occasionally, he becomes part of the story. He and his crew intervened during the Tiananmen Square riots to save a soldier from being killed. His on-the-scene coverage from Belgrade during the 1999 NATO action against Serbia created intense controversy in England. He was among the first journalists to enter Kabul after the Taliban were deposed; his offhand joke that "The BBC liberated Kabul" again stirred up controversy.
In Simpson's World, Simpson tells the stories behind the news clips. With characteristic wit and inexhaustible curiosity, and an uncanny knack for being in the right place at the right time, he offers a ringside seat at every major event in recent global history in this collection of episodes.
The Washington Post
Which brings me back to Simpson and his highly entertaining book: part travelogue (he has been everywhere), part philosophy (he is smart on the ambiguities of "evil"), part self-analysis (he appears to be conscious of the dangers posed by his own arrogance). Though far from fearless, he seems to have a compulsion to place himself in danger—anything to get the story first.—John R. MacArthur