2001-08-19 Highly entertaining, descriptive account of world events

How does he manage it. John Simpson appears to be able to be at almost all the world's defining moments in the past 20 years; from the Berlin Wall, Tianmen Square, Russia "White House" standoff, Iraq/Bagdad. These events are all extremely well documented (and the difficulties endured to report them) in this account. The magic words "BBC reporter" seem to act as a password which still provides access at the highest levels around the world. Simpson appears to be more of a "chancer" (his words) than you might expect from his relaxed TV style, but is clearly a highly capable individual.

This book brings back evocative memories of the major political events of the last 20-25 years. It shows the contrast in reporting procedures, with literally the first punch from Harold Wilson (not reported by other press), to the spin doctoring of current times.

Well worth the money.