if you care about what goes on in this world - Rated 
I thought this book was excellent.
I was already interested in the coverage of news before reading it, having grown up with reading newspapers and watching TV news;I'm from a family with a journalistic background myself.
However I think this book would be great for anyone that is interested in the way things really are in this world; the recent history of wars in both the Middle East and in Europe,and in how vitally important it is that we see good news coverage of it.
Jeremy Bowen doesn't try to sanitise anything or pull his punches, and thank goodness for it; you get the human side of the conflicts he has covered.
Without news journalists and photographers prepared to put their lives on the line to cover whats really happening in the world, especially in areas of war and /or oppression (and many have lost their lives doing it),all we'd have would be hearsay and political spin.
I found this book to be a riveting read.
No wonder he didn't present breakfast telly for long - Rated 
Where do you start with this book? Firstly it's a psychiatrist's dream: an obsession with war zones, suffering, crimes against humanity etc. Even when Jeremy is offered the safety of the breakfast TV couch he is gone in under two weeks to cover the intifada, leaving behind a pregnant fiancee and a houseful of guests who had organised a "welcome home" party. Jeremy doesn't mince his words about war zones: dimembered bodies, rotting corpses and the unluckiest of all, the survivors who have suffered rape or mutilation. After seeing the worst of humanity why does he want to continue and what creates this "addiction"? A bit more on Jeremy's childhood and upbringing may have helped but overall this book is about the fighting. The justification that probably all journalists use is that The World Must Know. The problem is in today's media climate any reports of atrocities in far flung parts of the world will be watched/read by a few handwringers and then forgotten as the media concentrates on the latest Blair vs. Brown trivia or a report on the quality of school meals. Today the news is freeze dried and shrink wrapped: anything too violent cannot be shown, and Bowen probably wouldn't even be sent to El Salvador if a war broke out there tommorrow (as he was 20 years ago) because there is no British interest and no chance for warm hearted stories about working class British soldiers handing out aid packages or deposing "the baddies". Above all the process of embedding reporters with "our" troops must end. Independent journalists should be there to document the truth, even if it involves implicating our troops and their allies in war crimes.
Tough - on himself and the world - Rated
Foreign correspondents often produce fascinating and well written memoirs, which is hardly surprising as they live such varied and action packed lives and are typically professional writers.
Bowen's book is noteworthy in this genre for its startling and occasionally brutal honesty. He is never afraid to record his own failings, fear and by his own account (I suspect overly modest) inadequacy in the face of the appalling horror and violence that is often nothing short of his living.
Bowen is particularly good on this perpetual conflict between being appalled by what he sees and yet simultaneously drawn to it and in need of it professionally.
In summary, excellent, if not as literary as John Simpson at his best, and Bowen comes across as well as he does on the television, seeming likeable and honest.
Good book, but preferred John Simpson - Rated
I came to this on the back of having enjoyed similar tomes from John Simpson. Bowen's book makes an enjoyable read, and his tales of Sarajevo and Afghanistan tell of a man committed both to his work, and to improving the world we live in.
My one criticism is that it lacks the gravitas of Simpson's work, which just seemed to be able to capture the spirit and life of the areas he visited.
That said, this is a good book in its own right, and if this is an area of interest, one you would enjoy.
A book of sorrow - Rated
This book will undoubtedly captivate you. Other reviewers have accurately portrayed the contents of the book but I feel that they have missed the point when doing so. Bowen was as much a captive as were the combatants of the wars in which he placed himself. He describes his love affair with being at the front of trouble; but it seems to me that he wants us to feel the futility of it all. If that was his purpose then I can safely say that he has done a good job upon me.
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