Today, Tuesday, October 8 is publication day for Paul Conroy’s, Under the Wire: Marie Colvin’s Final Assignment.
To celebrate the publication day and to encourage you to pick up this stunning, inspirational and incredible book, we are hosting a Book Giveaway!
The publisher will send one copy to our randomly chosen winner with an US Address, so please comment below expressing your wish to read a copy. Deadline is Friday, October 11!
Trust me, this is one you’ll want to read.
It’s gripping, and yet, Conroy has also infused subtle humor into this heartbreaking story and all the while writing a wonderful tribute to his beloved friend, Marie Colvin.
From the publisher: Zero Dark Thirty meets 127 Hours — Under the Wire is a riveting war journal from photographer Paul Conroy, who accompanied Marie Colvin (called by her peers “the greatest war correspondent of her generation”) during her ill-fated final assignment in Syria.
Under the Wire: Marie Colvin’s Last Assignment (Weinstein Books; Hardcover; 320 pages;October 8, 2013) is by photographer Paul Conroy. A former soldier with the Royal Artillery, Conroy has worked extensively in combat zones, producing footage from conflicts in the Balkans, the Middle East and Libya.
Marie Colvin, the internationally recognized American foreign-war correspondent who was killed in a rocket attack in 2012 while reporting on the suffering of civilians inside Syria, was renowned for her flair and her fearlessness: she reported from dangerous places no other hard-core correspondent would dare to go. Conroy, who had forged a close bond with Colvin as they put their lives on the line time and lime again to report from the world’s conflict zones, was with her when she died. Under the Wire is Paul’s gripping, visceral, and moving account of their friendship and the final year he spent alongside her.
If that isn’t enticing enough, I’ll include small excerpts below that give reason to why Marie Colvin embraced the dangerous conditions she consistently dropped herself into. She didn’t do this as for adventure-thrills, thrill-seeking acts of selfishness. No, for Marie, reporting from the front lines of many of the deadliest wars was for reason, for purpose and to ensure the world really and truly saw what war did to the innocent – to the civilians of these war-ravaged countries. The excerpts will not only show you the incredible nature of this woman, but will also give you an idea of how wonderfully and powerfully Paul Conroy shares his story:
“In a famous speech she had given at St. Brides on Fleet Street, a church traditionally associated with journalists, a few years earlier, she argued passionately for the need to send reporters to dangerous places. She believed war reporting was a way of speaking truth to power, of holding governments to account by telling the public what their governments were doing in their name. For her, war reporting was about bearing witness to the plight of ordinary civilians so that she could record it for the world and reveal the brutal consequences of decisions taken by men in high places. It sounds grand, but she believed that without war correspondents governments could conduct themselves as if in a vacuum: their lies and propaganda could be conveyed without challenge, allowing them to carry out atrocities far from the prying eyes of the world. In her words, it was about sending back the first rough draft of history and cutting through the sandstorm of propaganda that flares when armies, tribes or terrorists clash.”
Here is a taste of what conditions Paul and Marie experience when sneaking “under the wire” to get to these locations undetected so they can capture the news and photos of what is truly going on:
…we felt exposed as the car inched ever closer into the unknown of the front line. No headlights, no moon, only darkness and silence. The silence was unlike anything I had ever felt before. There was the silent bravery of the drivers risking their lives in order to make our journey possible, Marie’s silence as she faced the unknown, her gaze locked on to the black road ahead, and there was my own silent terror. I felt numb and cold. The car accelerated rapidly, bringing Marie and me out of our individual trances with a start. We exchanged nervous glances in the back of the vehicle. The car soon reached its top speed, leaving the ground as we sped across the pitted, broken roads. That’s when we heard the piercing whistle of bullets. The fact we could hear them over the sound of the engine and noise of the road meant that the bullets were close….More incoming fire. This time I could hear the deep thud of 14.5mm anti-aircraft rounds above the noise of the car engine. The explosive bullets could stop us dead in our tracks, literally. Every seventh round was a tracer. Watching the bright pink glow of the bullet arc like a sprite towards our speeding vehicle was bewitching. The reality of a direct hit was unthinkable.”
Under the Wire is written with great intensity and an edge of your seat anticipation, but it is also a beautifully written story of a trusted and much loved yet amazingly inspirational friend. This friend that lost her life doing what she was most passionate about. I’m halfway through and it’s most definitely a page turner!
Remember to leave your comments below by Friday, October 11! The publisher will mail directly to the randomly chosen winner a copy of Under the Wire: Marie Colvin’s Final Assignment.
