Description

‘INCOMPARABLE DEPTH AND UNDERSTANDING…AND EXTRAORDINARY COURAGE’ NOAM CHOMSKY

The final work from foreign correspondent Robert Fisk, picking up the story in the Middle East where his internationally bestselling The Great War of Civilisation left off, starting with the aftermath of the Iraq invasion in 2005.

From the Arab uprisings and the Syrian civil war to Israel’s conflicts with Palestine and Lebanon, Fisk condemns the West’s ongoing hypocrisy and interference while revealing the horrific truth of life on the ground. Unafraid to criticise authority and unpick complex truths, hecreates a compelling narrative of passionate and engaging journalism, historical analysis and eyewitness reporting.

With a Postscript by Nelofer Pazira-Fisk and a foreword by Patrick Cockburn, Night of Power delivers an essential and prophetic account of the last twenty years, which exposes the inescapable consequences of colonial oppression and violence in the Middle East.

‘This is a masterly work by a unique and gifted “historian of the present”, who was unafraid to criticise authority while revealing the horrific realities of life and death on the ground’ Conor O’Clery, Irish Times

‘Every sentence of Robert Fisk radiates his loathe of wars and the inevitable dehumanization they produce, which makes his (sadly) last book an everlasting warning, beyond its value as a meticulous historical recount and analysis of today’s events’ Amira Hass, journalist, Haaretz

‘Fisk’s reporting is clear-eyed and unflinching, a model for what journalists should aspire to practice in their ever more important and widely threatened craft’ Anthony Arnove, editor, Iraq Under Siege and author, Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal

‘I was at the funeral of a friend of mine, in Kilternan cemetery … I came across Robert Fisk’s grave. Someone has to bear witness to the unspeakable, and he did it, whatever the cost to himself’ Neil Jordan, film director and writer

Publisher Review

'The overall effect of Fisk's present-tense historical writing-he holds a doctorate in history and is able to make deep connections between present and past-is to underscore the dangers of making too many assumptions about a much-assumed-about region ... An incisive view of the Middle East that won't please the Pentagon or veterans of the Bush and Blair administrations' Kirkus starred review 'Fisk's sobering view of the Middle East bites with truth ... A disturbing and distressing book but tragically undeniable too' Irish Examiner 'In his attentive, careful, detailed, historically grounded reporting - and in this remarkable posthumous book, which deserves to be widely read - the voices of people demanding freedom are given space, recognition, and dignity. This is an exemplary and deeply human work of both journalism and history' Anthony Arnove, author of Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal 'Today as conflicts again rage in multiple countries in the Middle East, we need Robert Fisk's insight more than ever. A good deal of it can be found in the pages of this, his final book. His voice has been sorely missed in the pages of our newspapers and magazines, but even more so, in our world' Norman Stockwell, publisher of The Progressive 'Fisk's ability to evoke the Middle East's multifaceted history, delve into the details of its multiple conflicts, and expose the moral depravity and hypocrisy of Western policy towards the region has had few equals ... This posthumous volume explains why Fisk's next column was so eagerly awaited by so many, and why its absence is missed in these grim times' Mouin Rabbani, co-editor of Jadaliyya 'Legendary journalist Robert Fisk's Night of Power is essential reading to understand the full extent of the crime that was the Iraq war' Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President, Quincy Institute