Refugee World is a classic book on a current issue, by a highly respected journalist and author.When Robert Kee wrote Refugee World in 1961, prosperous nations seemed determined to ignore the plight of refugees. Then, as now, despite the expenditure of much money and many words, there was no coherent solution to the crisis or even agreement on how it should be tackled.In this, the book that brought a crisis out of the shadows, Kee illuminates a recurrent problem and analyses (not always generously) the official responses to it.An intelligent and thought-provoking book by a highly respected writer, Refugee World contains much for modern readers with an interest in politics and international affairs.Born in 1919, Robert Kee has a history degree from Oxford and has been writing ever since he left the RAF, in which he was a bomber pilot, in 1946. He has worked for Picture Post, the Observer and the Sunday Times, and has been a literary editor of the Spectator. He has also worked with the BBC and ITV on current affairs programmes and documentaries, and is well known for the award-winning BBC series A Television History. 1945: The World We Fought For, his ninth book, is the sequel to 1939: The World We Left Behind.
Robert Kee, CBE was a broadcaster, journalist and writer, known for his historical works on World War II and Ireland.
He was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham, and read history at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was a pupil, then a friend, of the historian A.J.P. Taylor.
During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force as a bomber pilot. His Hampden was shot down by flak one night while on a mine-laying operation off the coast of German-occupied Holland. He was imprisoned and spent three years in a German POW camp. This gave him material for his first book A Crowd Is Not Company. It was first published as a novel in 1947 but was later revealed to be an autobiography. It recounts his experiences as a prisoner of war and his various escapes from the Nazi camp. The Times describes it as "arguably the best POW book ever written."
His career in journalism began immediately after the Second World War. He worked for the Picture Post, then later became a special correspondent for The Sunday Times and The Observer. He was also literary editor of The Spectator.
In 1958 he moved to television. He appeared for many years on both the BBC and ITV as reporter, interviewer and presenter. He presented many current affairs programmes including Panorama, ITN's First Report and Channel 4's Seven Days. He was awarded the BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award in 1976.
Kee wrote and presented the documentary series Ireland – A Television History in 1980. The work was widely shown in the United Kingdom and the United States and received great critical acclaim, winning the Christopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize. Following its transmission on RTÉ, the Irish national broadcaster, Kee won a Jacob's Award for his script and presentation.