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Burnett, John Where Soldiers Fear To Tread ISBN 13: 9780434012077

Where Soldiers Fear To Tread - Hardcover

 
9780434012077: Where Soldiers Fear To Tread
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"If you've ever sent 20 bucks off to a relief organization, you owe it to yourself to read this book." Michael Maren The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity. "There is going to be shooting here and it is a toss-up who is going to get the boy's first round. The soldier, about ten-years-old, is jamming the barrel of his gun hard against my driver's face and unless the kid decides to go for me, the relief worker, my driver is going to get his head blown off." In 1998 John Burnett left the comforts of the mainstream and became a UN relief worker. On the lookout for adventure and willing to take a risk, Burnett was nevertheless completely unprepared for the realities of working in a country without government or law where the only authority that matters comes from a loaded gun. From his lack of proper tools and communication gear to the tragedy of watching a baby die of malaria in his arms and the gut-wrenching terror of being held up at gunpoint by a child soldier, the experience of being an aid-worker drastically changed the way he sees the world. It also shocked him profoundly to realize the casualness with which unarmed and untrained civilians were sent into literally explosive situations to try to help, and to understand how even the distribution of aid in the face of catastrophe can be seen as a political act.

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Review:
"A heartfelt hymn, by a true humanitarian, to the pathology of aid!" -- Paul Blezard, Oneword Radio

"He writes well and convincingly . . . with a minimum of jargon and an eye for detail." -- Sunday Telegraph, 3rd July 2005

"If you've ever sent 20 bucks off to a relief organization, you owe it to yourself to read this book." -- Michael Maren, The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity

'Burnett's energy is riveting and his robust style is suited to the narrative, resulting in a propulsive story which never flags. This is a gripping, often sad account of a devastated land.' -- Telegraph

'Haunting ... Burnett's message is simple, and it is not new: being an aid worker in the field is dangerous ... Different is the clarity and passion with which he delivers it.' -- Caroline Moorehead, Sunday Telegraph

'[An] affecting, timely and engaging memoir of life at the blunt end of aid; you can only admire the man for writing it ... This book is a tough and often painful read not simply for its wrenching accounts of human suffering and bureaucratic incompetence, but also because Burnett documents, with admirable lack of self pity, his own loss of innocence through its various stages of shock, bewilderment, incredulity, frustation and contempt.' -- Evening Standard
From the Publisher:
‘In the wake of the G8 summit at Gleneagles, John Burnetts engrossing account of his time as a United Nations worker in Africa is perfectly timed... The new recruit soon discovered the reality of his situation when he was fired at as he stepped off the plane... Burnett is particularly good at evoking the strain this created... His assessments are sure handed. He understands the miox of altruism, adrenaline, financial reward and companionship that drives many aid workers.... He sees the way that the various aid agencies (even competing UN agencies) work against each other to gain credit and press exposure. And he learns, through bitter experience, how savage people can be when they are desperate.’ Sunday Times

‘Part reportage, part memoir, part polemic, Burnett’s account of his misadventures in Somalia is a journey into a heartless darkness. This book is a tough and often painful read not simply for it’s wrenching accounts of human suffering and bureaucratic incompetence, but also because Burnett documents, with admirable lack of self pity, his own loss of innocence through its various stages of shock, bewilderment, incredulity, frustration and contempt... This affecting, timely and engaging memoir of life at the blunt end of aid...you can only admire the man for writing it. Someone should send a copy to each of the G8 leaders, along with a note reading: "Fragile. Handle with care."’ Evening Standard

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  • PublisherWilliam Heinemann Ltd
  • Publication date2007
  • ISBN 10 0434012076
  • ISBN 13 9780434012077
  • BindingHardcover
  • Number of pages368
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9780099464990: Where Soldiers Fear To Tread: At Work in the Fields of Anarchy

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Published by William Heinemann (2007)
ISBN 10: 0434012076 ISBN 13: 9780434012077
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