In an era full of war-reporter memoirs, this is one of the better ones. It comes across as honest and objective, which is an accomplishment given the emotional nature of the author’s job.
Born and raised during “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland, Ferguson learns about war before most of us do. As a young journalist scrounging to break into the business despite the drawback of being a female with only average looks, she knows the odds of getting paid to cover wars for television are long. But she perseveres, along the way falling in love with pre-war Yemen and never losing sight of the goal, which is to cover not wars, but the people in them.
Ferguson’s personal journey aside, this book serves as a refresher on recent Middle East history, from a still-functioning Lebanon to the glorious hopes of the Arab Spring and the crushing weight of entrenched autocratic tendencies. All of this is synthesized and served in a way that won’t alienate history-challenged readers. I give it the proverbial two thumbs up.