Author Description

Dr Paul Moorcraft has covered most of the wars in the last 20 years on four continents. An experienced war correspondent, he shows the other - lighter - side of many of the major conflicts of our time, from Afghanistan to the Balkans, with a unique mix of acute analysis, front-line experience, tragedy and humour. More interested in flying buttresses than flying bullets, the dangers are underplayed as the writer is constantly distracted by bizarre characters, strange places, odd traditions, odder food and his habit of being sucked into eccentric debate with the locals. Told with passion, pace and wit, readers cannot fail to identify with his exploits as he walks to Kabul with holy warriors and a camel who hates him, gets lost on a motorbike with psychopaths in central Mozambique, falls down drunk in a Soweto shebeen, or like everyone else becomes totally frustrated with the politics of Lebanon and the Balkans. An account of personal adventures and the amusing mishaps of war reporting, What the hell am I doing here? combines travel and danger with the sharp observation of a professional journalist. The author's curiosity and sense of fun shine through the fog of battle and, just as often, a bar-room fug.