Shooting History: A Personal Journey

Shooting History: A Personal Journey
Jon Snow

The compelling autobiography of one of the great and most committed newsmen of our time: full, frank, and occasionally very funny, Jon Snow’s memoirs are as revealing about the great and the not-so-good as about his own passionate involvement in the reporting of world affairs.Jon Snow is perhaps the most highly regarded newsman of our time; his qualities as a journalist and as a human being – his passion, warmth, intelligence, frankness and humour – are widely recognised and evident for all to see most nights on Channel 4 News and now in the pages of his first book.His vivid personal chronicle is filled with anecdotes and pithy observations, and delightfully records his life and times since becoming a journalist in the early 1970s. He reported widely on Cold War conflicts in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Angola and Central America before becoming a resident correspondent in Washington D.C. in the 1980s, and he has met and interviewed most of the world’s leaders.Drawing lessons from these experiences, he has pertinent things to say about how the increasing world disorder came about following the fall of the Berlin Wall; how the West’s constant search for an enemy has helped unhinge the world; and how and why the media have, in general, been less than helpful in drawing attention to key political and global developments.

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_5391adc7-9fde-5cef-aef1-d140a6b44273)

William Collins

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This edition published by Harper Perennial 2005

First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2004

Copyright © Jon Snow 2004

PS section copyright © Louise Tucker 2005, except ‘Signposting History’ by Jon Snow

© Jon Snow 2005

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Jon Snow asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Lines from ‘On the Pulse of Morning’ by Maya Angelou reproduced by permission of Time Warner Book Group UK

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Source ISBN: 9780007171859

Ebook Edition © MAY 2017 ISBN: 9780008258047

Version: 2017-05-04

PRAISE FOR SHOOTING HISTORY (#ulink_972f3eb0-4346-5fcc-a09c-74940ae201e9)

From the reviews of Shooting History:

‘Snow is the closest we have to a modern-day George Orwell … A vivid, accurate, honest guide to the key world events from 1975’

Independent

‘Pacy, candid and anecdote-laden, Snow’s account of a childhood spent in awe of his father … is a delight’

Daily Mail

‘Shooting History is among my favourite memoirs this year. Snow is a thinker and a generous writer who has done incredible things and has views on them’

MATTHEW PARRIS, The Times, Books of the Year

‘Snow charts his own growth with self-deprecation and a lightness of touch … A fascinating insight into a world in flux’

Time Out

‘Will inspire anyone who wants to know what television is like at the uncomfortable end of the camera when the bullets are flying’

Guardian

‘[Snow is a] witty, mildly eccentric and utterly engaging writer … He cleverly uses his own personal experiences and insights gained while being present at some of the major events in modern world history to argue a particular point … His anecdotes on the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Idi Amin are spot on’

Birmingham Post

‘Opinionated, eloquent … As one man’s take on the history of the past 30 years this is an impressive piece of work. Snow is good at teasing out the often terrible ironies of our times … A well-written, engrossing and surprisingly passionate piece of work’

Sunday Herald

‘Hugely entertaining … and makes you think’

Manchester Evening News

‘Fascinating … this book puts history into startling clarity’

Irish Examiner

DEDICATION (#ulink_95ce03e3-a26b-53d5-8eeb-a8e93e94c632)

To Madeleine, Leila and Freya

CONTENTS

Cover (#u1aed2003-5b4c-5796-9559-071d065802fc)

Title Page (#u92b9b187-52ed-5ac6-a06b-b75d73be7cb1)

Copyright (#ulink_7e07fc91-bb05-5a07-aca8-7743d7cfe68e)

Praise (#ulink_6be7b03e-68f5-5436-9a43-60bf163a04fb)

Dedication (#ulink_c39f8aa3-d4f4-5eb0-b20e-6370407a6770)