What do you think?
Rate this book
Deep Field
‘Deep Field’ is a UN term for humanitarian operations that take place in extremis – amid the destruction caused by war and natural disaster. In Deep Dispatches from the Frontlines of Aid Relief Australian aid worker Tom Bamforth takes you with him as he responds to the challenges of delivering humanitarian aid under extreme circumstances travelling to some of the most dangerous and difficult regions of the world.
‘It reads as if Don Delillo had been sent to Darfur,’ John Freeman, Granta .
Full of amazing real life characters as well as Tom’s insightful commentary, full of irony and intelligent reflection, Deep Field is an intensely human story, not only of current affairs and people in crisis, but of Tom himself and how someone’s life can change so completely when they find themself in the wrong place at the wrong time ... or is that the right time?
Deep Field is an inspiring adventure a unique and humanising view of the events that hit our headlines.
Shortly before breakfast on a Saturday morning in 2005, 83000 people were crushed to death in a major Kashmir earthquake. A further three million were instantly rendered homeless across the hills of the Karakorum and the Himalaya. For Tom Bamforth, on an archaeological tour in Pakistan’s North West Frontier, this was no distant event. He felt the ground shake violently, and took cover under his bed as plaster fell from the ceiling, the walls cracked and furniture crashed around him.
The numbers rose slowly, like a cricket innings, and the commentators droned. There was little new information and the television news recycled the same pictures, overlaid with a boxed scorecard showing a slowly growing body count. An apartment complex in Islamabad had fifteen people missing. An hour later it had turned to twenty-five; by midafternoon it was 150. The army had been called up, and stood around with guns looking helpless as rapid-reaction teams with sniffer dogs arrived to pull the living from the vast pile of concrete and dust. With every news update, the death toll rose steadily and threatened to continue.
‘It reads as if Don Delillo had been sent to Darfur,’ John Freeman, Granta .
Full of amazing real life characters as well as Tom’s insightful commentary, full of irony and intelligent reflection, Deep Field is an intensely human story, not only of current affairs and people in crisis, but of Tom himself and how someone’s life can change so completely when they find themself in the wrong place at the wrong time ... or is that the right time?
Deep Field is an inspiring adventure a unique and humanising view of the events that hit our headlines.
Shortly before breakfast on a Saturday morning in 2005, 83000 people were crushed to death in a major Kashmir earthquake. A further three million were instantly rendered homeless across the hills of the Karakorum and the Himalaya. For Tom Bamforth, on an archaeological tour in Pakistan’s North West Frontier, this was no distant event. He felt the ground shake violently, and took cover under his bed as plaster fell from the ceiling, the walls cracked and furniture crashed around him.
The numbers rose slowly, like a cricket innings, and the commentators droned. There was little new information and the television news recycled the same pictures, overlaid with a boxed scorecard showing a slowly growing body count. An apartment complex in Islamabad had fifteen people missing. An hour later it had turned to twenty-five; by midafternoon it was 150. The army had been called up, and stood around with guns looking helpless as rapid-reaction teams with sniffer dogs arrived to pull the living from the vast pile of concrete and dust. With every news update, the death toll rose steadily and threatened to continue.
- GenresNonfictionAsia
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2014
4 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 15, 2014
This is a perfect length book. Tom manages to give you just enough insight into the complexity of the the humanitarian, it's challenges, the conundrums, the juxtapositions. There is just enough there to make you shift uneasily in your chair, stop and reflect without it being rammed down your throat. It is also grounded with a very wry sense of humour. You also never lose sense of his humanity, and why he is there. A perfect read.
May 9, 2019
Interesting read
Enjoyed the combination of personal account & background script. Interesting combination of life experiences and definitely worth reading right to the end
Enjoyed the combination of personal account & background script. Interesting combination of life experiences and definitely worth reading right to the end
November 14, 2014
Fascinating insight into the world of aid relief, as well as interesting look at some other countries. I'm sure this guy has some great stories to tell.
January 22, 2016
An essential read for anyone waning to see aid beyond the politicized hype of the media.
Beautifully written, it is more novelesque than documentary.
Beautifully written, it is more novelesque than documentary.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews