Ambushed: a war reporter's life on the line

by Ian Stewart

"Ian Stewart has reported from some of the most dangerous places on earth, but none was more dangerous than West Africa's Sierra Leone. When armed rebels entered its besieged capital in 1999, Stewart and two of his Associated Press colleagues were ambushed while driving down the street on assignment. One of them was killed instantly, and Stewart was shot in the head. He had a 20 percent chance of surviving. Miraculously, he did. With frankness, Stewart tells the story of his own remarkable recovery as well as the extraordinary risks he and other journalists take to report the news from remote war-ravaged countries." Ambushed is a glimpse inside the often surreal world journalists inhabit as they bear witness to violence and give voice to the unspeakable. From a dusty parking lot in Sierra Leone, he struggles to find words for his report on a young girl kidnapped by rebels who chopped off her hands when she refused to tell them her family's whereabouts. In a dark hotel room in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he interviews senior commanders who orchestrated the massacre of some two thousand ethnic Hutu refugees. Though his stories are sometimes buried deep inside the daily papaers, or not published at all, Stewart keeps reporting. What finally stops him is a bullet. With the same determination and courage that served him well as a journalist, he overcomes a brain injury that could have been debilitating.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sierra Leone, Africa, History, Memoir

310 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2002

About the author

Ian Stewart was a war reporter who survived a gunshot wound to the head. He is now a public speaker on war, journalism, and disability.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See other authors with similar names.

Reviews

[Nadia Amina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the saddest and scariest books I have read so far. The events reported on take place in Africa in the 1990s. At the same time, my own father was working for the press in Africa.
Ian Stewart describes the events in frightening detail, but in such a gripping way that you don't want to put the book down.
Myles, who was killed in the assassination, was a good friend of my parents. My parents describe him as a happy person who needed the adrenaline. When I read about Myles' murder, the first thing I had to do was write to my father and tell him how incredibly glad I am that he got out of there safe.
Ian Stewart's "Ambushed" is an incredibly important work on the work of journalists in war zones. Even though I don't remember Myles as I was just born, I love how his memory lives on through this book.

In memory of Myles Tierney (1964-1999)

[Krystal Blanchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly written story. This book gave me a greater respect for Journalists. At times this book was hard to read because you are reading about the devastation and know that this is real life. Ian tells his story with honesty and historical background to make the reader feel engaged. Would definitely recommend this book

[Toss]

I BELIEVE THAT ITR WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD IF IAN STEWART COULD BE HERE TO TELL HIS STORY FIRST HAND TO MOST OF THE YOUTHS AND CHILDREN THAT WERE NOT BORN YET OR THOSE THAT DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. THANKS FOR THE BOOK...

[lauren g · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have never wanted to take a narrator and slap him around more than the author of this book, and I just finished "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" right before this. The first half of the book is excellent behind-the-scenes news business stuff, and gives great background to the conflicts of West Africa and the history behind them. The second half of the book is devoted to the author's recovery from the ambush that left his brain riddled with metal. Really wanted him to be more introspective about how he ended up in the predicament; his arrogance and heartlessness is nauseating at times, but is left unexplored. It finally devolves into a list of all the awards and accolades he receives as a result. Totally aggravating point of view, but gives a lot of insight into the filter that America the Imperial receives its "news" through.

[T. Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, well written. Ian Stewart tells how as a foreign journalist in West Africa he got caught up by the compulsion some war journalists develop for chasing dangerous stories. This led him to foolishly get too invovled in being in the conflict zone in Sierra Leone where he was shot in the head and his companion journalist killed. His struggle to regain his health, both physically and emotionally is also well told.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. This account tells the experience of a reporter's life in a conflict area. What is alarming is that there are many reporters out in the feild reporting from war zones, where the conflict itself only gets a small blurb on some website or hidden in the backpages of a newspaper or magazine. This book gives respect to those reporters who report from hostile areas.

[Will · Rating 1 out of 5]

Generic journalist-explains-Africa-in-a-single-book-after-going-there-once kind of a book. The author had a rough time of it, but the book is very light on context or events of interest (apart from the author getting shot, which sucked I'm sure).