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Ambushed: A War Reporter's Life on the Line | 
 enlarge | Author: Ian Stewart
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $1.41
You Save: $23.54 (94%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 879269
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 1565123808
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.4333092
EAN: 9781565123809
ASIN: 1565123808
Publication Date: August 26, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Ian Stewart has reported from some of the most dangerous places on earth, but none more dangerous than Sierra Leone. When he was named West Africa bureau chief by the Associated Press, Stewart accepted his new assignment with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He was one of the AP's youngest bureau chiefs, and over the next year he reported from the front lines of the war-ravaged countries of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone and coordinated news coverage of some twenty-three others. AMBUSHED is a fascinating, in-depth look at the extraordinary day-to-day life of a war correspondent. Stewart presents a compelling portrait of the often surreal world that journalists inhabit as they bear witness to violence and give voice to the unspeakable. Appalled by the level of cruelty he witnessed, Stewart was shocked by the indifference of the outside world. Though his stories were sometimes buried deep inside the daily papers, or published not at all, he kept reporting the truth. When armed rebels entered Sierra Leone's besieged capital of Freetown, Stewart and two of his colleagues were ambushed while driving down the street on assignment. One of his colleagues was killed instantly, and Stewart, shot in the head, had a twenty-percent chance of surviving. Astonishingly, he did. With frankness and courage, Stewart tells the story of his extraordinary recovery and the tremendous risks he and other journalists take to give us the news.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Self centered and biased October 21, 2006
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Stewart does give a number of experiences in shocking & vivid detail, but I was hoping for more time spent on the experiences of the people in Africa, opposed to HIS experience of Africa and five entire chapters on his own experience of being shot.
The horrible experiences of the people he sees deserve much more attention than a decadent (an example on page 159) Western reporter who meets an unfortunate experience. On top of this he brings slanted and self-admitted ignorant views on Africa ("The more I discovered, the more I grew angry and disgusted at Africa's recent colonial experience, but I still knew little about African history" page 35).
Stewart makes a few blanket accusations against the West for all that is wrong in Africa ("Europe demonstrated to Africa that self-serving greed outweighed all else" page 129) with no mention to the equally ruthless Arab slave traders who oppressed Africa before the white man. The book makes Stewart seem more self centered than compassionate. His criticism of the west is best re-directed to his own book: "the West's luxury and comfort comes before the human rights of African citizens" page 130.
 A good introduction to life in the war zone December 1, 2004
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Ian Stewart's "Ambushed" is a commendable book worthy of use as a introduction to life behind the lines, however it falls short of the actual horrors of war. Stewart's writing is linear, easy to read, and palatable for most readers and the stories he has to tell are courageous. However I am a bit reticent to give his book four or five stars because he, albeit probably unintentionally, doesnt portray the soul-crushing horrors of war as they really are. Having worked and witnessed the atrocities in Sierra Leone, the DRC, and Cambodia myself I sympathize with Ian but I can assure you his book is a trip to Disneyland compared to the actualities of the situation in these war torn countries. I'm glad that his book brings light to the Sierra Leone situation (which fortunatly is being extinguished) to the public. If one wants a more to real life of todays modern and barbaric wars I suggest reading Jon Steele's "War Junkie". This horribly named book was written by an ITN news photographer but he should have been a journalist. Jon has covered twice as many wars as Ian(not that this is a comparision) however no book has ever given me nightmares or brought more emotion to what really happens behind the lines as his book has. Read it with caution, I can still smell the stench of Rwanda's murdered...
 The true story December 2, 2003
In this book you get the information you will not see on any TV station. You recieve first hand the experience of a war reporter. The author is very good about telling you the situation before he travels to his destination. He doesn't hold anything back. He makes the story come alive with his descriptions.
My favorite part of the book was his recovery period. He had to work so hard to find out who he truly was and what he had to overcome was amazing. It opened my eyes to the dangers that reporters face to bring us the news.
 Same as Penguin Canada Freetown Ambush? January 25, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read Freetown Ambush published by Penguin Canada. If this is the American version of the same book, I highly recommend it.
Stewart's description of Ivory Coast and the disintegration of a society is compelling and the descriptions of the inside workings of the AP is very interesting. The touching story of his recovery is short and sweet. His writing style keeps moving and he explains the confusing situation in West Africa very well.
"Ambushed" has something for everyone December 25, 2002
When I first picked up Ian Stewart's "Ambushed: A War Reporter's Life on the Line" I had some trepidation. I worried I would finish it with the same feeling I had when I read "All the President's Men." I enjoyed that book, but I had a feeling it was only really compelling to people interested in history, politics or journalism. Not that those topics are boring - they just don't always have much heart or soul.
With Stewart's book, I was pleasantly suprised. Although a good portion of the book focuses on the political climates he faced as a war correspondent, it also gets to the heart of how war affected people in the places he covered. With relative grace, Stewart manages to balance the bare-bones reality of war with the personal struggles he had covering it as the Associated Press' West Africa bureau chief. He brings real emotion to the book by describing both fighting in the streets and the reactions of children who see it every day.
But the real heart of the story is apparent in the final third of the book, after Stewart has been shot in the head by rebels in Sierra Leone. As he describes the rehabilitation process following his injury it becomes more and more evident what war reporters really face. It's really compelling to analyze, along with Stewart, why those journalists do what they do and whether it is worth the sacrifice.
In the simplest terms, the book is interesting because it tells one person's story in a way that most people, not just journalists or history and politics buffs, can relate to. By showing how Stewart covered war and how he dealt with it personally, "Ambushed" opens a window into war that most of us will never get to experience first-hand.
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