Like many international news reporters, Martin Fletcher spends his time bearing witness to world events, be they violent, touching, tearful, devastating, or all of the above. But unlike most news reporters, he writes about them with such immediacy and pungency that he brings them not only into our living rooms, but directly onto our laps.
Now Fletcher tells the story behind the stories, revealing the searing side of a life of adventure that continually plunges him headlong into danger and life-threatening peril. For the last thirty years, he has reached across continents to cover events of international consequence as a TV war correspondent for NBC News, and now we are invited to go along with him to Africa, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and the war-torn Middle East to experience the turmoil and intrigue with him, learning first-hand what goes on behind the cameras while they record monumental global events.
Although this is called a memoir, it is as far from a collection of memories as can be; it is as alive as if it were happening in the moment. Fletcher’s on-the-scene accounts of the events he has witnessed are informed by his family’s Holocaust history and although they are sometimes hard, sometimes soulful, they always have the unmistakable ring of truth. Photo insert.
Linda F. Burghardt is a New York-based journalist and author who has contributed commentary, breaking news, and features to major newspapers across the U.S., in addition to having three non-fiction books published. She writes frequently on Jewish topics and is now serving as Scholar-in-Residence at the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County.