Island of Blood: Frontline Reports from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Other South Asian Flashpoints

by Anita Pratap

In this distillation of frontline experiences and cultural insights, Anita Pratap, one of the finest journalists India has ever produced, faithfully reports on the consequences of war, ethnic conflict, earthquakes, cyclones, prejudices, and the mindless hatred and fear that has hurt so much of the world. Wherever there was a story to be told--from her native India to Afghanistan and Sri Lanka--Pratap braved the odds to send in reports from the front, managing to track down elusive stories and make headlines. With determined diligence she exposed the terrors inside such frightening regimes as the Taliban, returning home each time with a renewed determination to appreciate and celebrate the ordinary.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Journalism, India, Current Affairs

289 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Was the South Asia Bureau Chief of CNN till January 1999. Covered all the major stories in the region including the nuclear tests, the ethnic war in Sri Lanka, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, conflicts in India's Kashmir and North East and reported extensively from the line of control between India and Pakistan. Was the first television journalist...

Was the South Asia Bureau Chief of CNN till January 1999. Covered all the major stories in the region including the nuclear tests, the ethnic war in Sri Lanka, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, conflicts in India's Kashmir and North East and reported extensively from the line of control between India and Pakistan. Was the first television journalist to report from the 22,000 ft Siachen Glacier, the highest battleground on earth, where Indian and Pakistani armies exchange fire almost daily. Have interviewed all the heads of nations in the region.

Before joining CNN, worked eight years as a correspondent for TIME magazine, covering stories in the region. Before that, worked as a reporter for leading Indian magazine and newspapers including India Today, Sunday and the Indian Express.

Over the past 20 years, in addition to hardcore breaking news, have consistently reported on issues such as population, education, health care, poverty, child, women, cultural and historical issues. Currently working as an independent documentary film-maker, producing and directing films on these issues.

Reviews

[Seán · Rating 4 out of 5]

The LTTE section was superb and the access unparalleled. I was not impressed with the afghanistan section.

[Angela Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

i know i have recommended this one alot

[Haajara Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frontline reports from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and other South Asian flashpoints... (book caption)

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's good information in this book, and much of it is a good read, but I had a hard time with the author. From the time she went on for several pages about how her son had a leech on his foot in a hotel, and she berated the staff for not acting with enough urgency (spoiler, her son was the one who tracked the leeches in, and you just pull them off you), to the section she devoted to explaining how a dirt-poor fisherman was, in her opinion, incomprehensibly greedy for wanting extra money to take her across a strait in rough weather in a flimsy boat not made for such rough seas, to the time she detailed her interview with a mother whose daughter had committed suicide and spent several pages saying the mother was just acting to get attention with her grief, I came away from this book with a very negative view of the author.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book in 2006, haven't been able to complete it cuz of the graphic nature of this book. I had to put it down and pick up something lighter at times. But I'd have to say, that Anita Pratap is so inspiring, made me want to be a frontline reporter, dig up history and interview guerillas. Really amazing.

[Eun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I refrain from reading this book in public places because it makes me laugh out loud I admire Anita Pratap for finding humor in the most unlikeliest places while at the same time preserving the urgency and tragedy of the events and situations that she is covering.

[Asha KRISHNA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been a journalist myself,journalism accounts fascinate me.Pratap does a very good job of not only covering the Srilanka conflict but also narrating it in an easy-to-read manner. It is not only a travel account but also contains light moments which make it an enjoyable read.

[Priya · Rating 3 out of 5]

was ok .. very violent incidents and scenarios, people described very subtly - I was looking for how the natives of Srilanka were at that point than the conditions they were in - more of a personal account from their Point of view .. OK book for a very normal read.

[Akshy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing read. Anita scores a perfect 10 as a journalist and almost a perfect score as a writer. The description of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and her interviews with Prabhakaran, Bal Thackeray and the Baloch leader stand out. I wish the Sri Lankan part could be woven into a separate book.

[Imtiaz Faizi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sri Lankan part of the book was amazing and exciting than a fictional adventure. Anita is a daring women and a true journalist. Worthy of making a movie.

[Pratyush Gupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed history of civil war prone regions around the world. Sri Lankan war couldn't have been described more clearly than this.

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

mainly got Anita Pratap's book Island Of Blood (2003) as background reading for my upcoming trip to Sri Lanka. It delivered on that front in the first section, "Sri Lanka: A Ravaged Nation" but I was equally impressed with the other sections of the book: "Afghanistan: The Doomed Nation," "Ayodahya: The Cycle of Revenge," and "The Survivors: The Faces of Human Tragedy." Pratap has had a long and varied career as a print and TV journalist fro Time and CNN. She has seen some terrible sights in her career and lived to tell the tale of these tragic events. Most notably the civil war in Sri Lanka, but she has witnessed other wars and countless tragedies and has reported admirably. It is a sort of modern history as told by a journalist-which is the best war to have your history told in my opinion. Her writing style is very lively and focuses on people's stories-in this collection often her own-she will relate a story about a vacation in one of her favorite places before going on to explain how horrible Afghanistan was in the late 90s for example. It was a compelling collection of memorable stories she had covered over the years.

[Indu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vitally important, informative book recounting the first hand accounts of a journalist's experiences. The places she covers range from Sri Lanka to Afghanistan to many regions of India; the issues wide ranged, but none any less potent than when she wrote about them.

It is not so much autobiographical as a recounting of the important events and situations that she covered first hand as a journalist. The perspective that this book gives to the history and trajectory of the problems in these lands is immense.

Also must be mentioned that, her courage and undeniable dedication to work is something that impresses and invokes great admiration at every turn of the page.

The writing simple is simple and narrative like, which makes reading it very personal. More than statistics or dry reports, there is a clear human element that runs through the stories and the narration. This ensures that there is no other way to assimilate to this book but emotionally.

[Aravind P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anita Pratap's first person accounts of wars and devastation that rocked South Asia towards the end of last century. Indeed she was one of the daring journalists that India had seen, having gained access into the inaccessible war torn Sri Lanka, Afghanistan etc. Occasionally she deviates from the topic to describe how cozy and comfortable the other side of her life is, which could be overlooked for the sake of main content of the book