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Summary: A window on the world
Comment: Not only is this a collection of great journalism, but it's a real lesson in modern history. There are a lot of stories in here that happened when I was fairly young - Lockerbie; The Miners' Strike - and which I consequently knew something of, but didn't know particularly well. The articles on these events really enhanced by knowledge of them, and the extraordinary insights and discoveries portrayed within really cast a light on a lot of events in today's world - notably the government's handling of Iraq - and the media's coverage of it.
Anna Politkovskaya's article on Chechnya, Edward Said on Islam, Jessica Mitford on the American funerals industry - a must-read for any fans of Six Feet Under - and Seumas Milne on the Miners stood out in this collection for me, although there's not a bad or dull piece in over 600 pages.
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Summary: A true picture of the modern world
Comment: Books such as Mr Pilger's are absolutely essential in providing a true picture of the world that we are living in today. It makes for uncomfortable reading when you discover the full extent to which western governments (US and UK in particular) will lie and cheat in order to achieve an agenda that is veiled from public view. In many respects this collection of reports is unremittingly bleak, as it reveals man's enormous ability to kill and maim without conscience. However, it is only by exposing these injustices to the wider world that change for the better can be brought about.
Starting with post-Hiroshima Japan, everything in this book is still relevant today, and the powerful pieces on Palestine and Iraq provide a much needed counter-balance to the standard newspaper and TV drivel.
If you don't wish to live in the dark, read this brilliant and hugely important collection and spark debate amongst friends, relatives and colleagues. It is easy to accept the lies peddled by the mass media unless you are given an alternative way of looking at things.
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Summary: The most important book of a generation
Comment: A collection of the best works of investigative journalism from the past 60 years curated by John Pilger, arguably the best of them all.Starting from the Second World War and a report on the aftermath of Hiroshima, through various takes on Vietnam, Iraq and other areas of terrible injsutices around the world, the book is brilliantly edited and written. From a personal perspective I would say it is the most essential, important and terrifying book I've ever read highlighting the terrifying power held in a very few hands and the complete disregard of human suffering meted out by the corrupt regimes of the world. It engenders a feeling of intense rage, yet fills the reader with a desire to do something about it. It should be on a school syllabus to wake up the minds of a generation who may feel helpless by a lack of quality information on how life is being controlled. Essential.
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Summary: An amazing collection which shows the beauty of journalism
Comment: John Pilger is a great investigative journalist himself and so he knows what to look for when putting together an anthology of the best examples of the trade. The pieces in this book are moving eyewitness accounts of events we have all heard of. Yet these reports add so much more to our understanding of the horror and desperateness that the people in the situations felt. It is a shame that when these events are talked about the bare, hard facts are not combined with these descriptions. Prepare to cry as the shocking reality hits you. There is also a great introduction about the current state of journalism from Pilger. It must be admitted that this would probably be considered a 'left wing' viewpoint because of its criticism of a capitalist media, especially Rupert Murdoch. But for those who do not enjoy the introduction then the accounts will surely tug everyone's heartstrings.
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