The Age of the Warrior

Fisk is brilliant and frank about a wide range of subjects he covers in this book. It is a collection (more than 100 as I recall) of his editorial pieces from work at the Independent Magazine. Each is a little gem. A thesis (in the preface) is that a reporter's supposed lack of bias is something he regards as a 'great sickness of our Western press and television'. (Of course he makes you well aware of his own but with compelling logic and facts.) I have long agreed with that sentiment but have not the resources, nor time and talent, to analyze reality behind news releases or journalistic commentary on contemporary international 'incidents'. Long since I have concluded we do not have truly objective news services needed to impel action by speaking 'truth' or at least presenting unedited facts. The pieces in this book cover a range from family and schooling experiences when young, through favorite movies, the Rumblin' Tum cafe in his home town, war, travels, and many other brief but pointed reflections on issues of our times. Another theme in the book is contemporary journalism treatment of reality changes fundamental meaning of words leading to erroneous conclusions. (Fisk's education included Chomsky and meaning in language.) An example is "There is something repulsive about this vocabulary (i.e. as found in the news), an aggressive language of superiority in which `key players' can `interact' with each other, can `think outside the box', `outsource' their business, or `downsiize' the number of their employees'." Words with implied and ambivalent meanings. The title is a little misleading since these reminiscenses are from a man of incredibly broad experience in the world. Not least are those observed while residing for 30 years in Beirut, Lebanon. A complementary view of Mideast reality for a reader, than simply cruising through short pieces, is to travel with him in the Near East in his book "The Great War to Save Civilization".

i could have told you long before i opened the book that it would be worth reading. Having just read "the age of the warrior",I can tell you it's value far exceeds the price put on it by its publisher. If you've read his articles from the independent or have read "the great war for civilization" you will want to read this book. ****(see below)It is immensely insightful, and intelligent. If you've only read his articles from the independent,then "the great war for civilization" would be best to start with. It is by far the most powerful book I've read. It does not gloss the truth or clean it up, but accounts some of the terrible acts the human race can inflict on one another. It was a difficult read and at times i couldn't read more than 4 or 5 pages at a time."Age of the Warrior" follows his articles in the last five or more years of his work in the Middle East covering governments,war,his insight on the "western media" and go's into several experiences of his childhood. (his love of trains, for one).Though the events in this book happened years ago,reading the articles may give you the insight to better understand how those events came about and may just help you see how you can help prevent history from repeating itself.I've heard someone say(Fisk maybe):"It's the journalist's job of keeping governments in check, by seeing that the acts perpetrated by them don't go unnoticed,and reporting their acts to the public, so that those guilty be held accountable."I believe we (the people) are not excluded from that responsibility.**** Note: for those who have tried to find the 3-part documentary he did called "from Beirut to Bosnia", do a 'video' google search it should be the first thing that pops up.Pt. 1. The martyrs smile -50min.Pt. 2. The road to Palestine -50min.Pt. 3. To the ends of the Earth -50min.

This is, surprisingly, not unlike his magnum opus, The Great War for Civilization, the attention to minitua makes it very difficult to get an overview but my admiration of Fisk is great. GHis interviews on YouTube have none of the minitua problem -- imo they're uniformly awesome. VSo ... if you want to understand the Middle East, search YouTube for Robert Fisk -- you will not be disappointed. If you're already an expert on the ME then there's little reason to be reading this review. But for neophytes like myself, I would not have purchased these two books had I realized the attention he gives to incidental, historical minitua on the ground. The far right of the Anglo world regards Fisk as a dangerous-to-Israel Lefty and the rightwing blogosphere has launched such a widespread attack on Fisk that their exercise is known as "Fisking." But, what I regard as Fisk's bottom line is that Israel will continue to create war against themselves as long as they keep building new settlements. That's hardly anti-Semitism -- it's a reasonable observation that's rather difficult to deny. The far-Right blogosphere doesn't want that notion spread widely. Despite the minitua in this book Fisk is courageous to put this material out given the power of the Israeli lobby and Israel's military backing from the military of the English speaking world.

Robert Fisk has many stories to tell about many places and times. He definitely has a perspective, and uses considerable grace to make his points, whether you agree or not. Everyone interested in the Middle East should read his book "The Great War for Civilisation."

Robert Fisk together with Tariq Ali and the late Edward Said clarify the obscure political Machinations , that is collectively called " The Middle East".

Robert Fisk has always been the voice or reason and practicality in the middle east. Tell it like it is. Great read.

This bood by Fisk is a little old, so it can be outdated, but it is a masterpiece still relevant today.

Great Read; thanks.

As some of the other reviewers have already noted,this isn't as good as "Pity The Nation" and/or "The Great war For Civilisation".Faithful readers of "The Independent" may give it a miss as most,if not all,of this was originally published there.The rest of us may find some suprises here.Fisky ruminating about his journalistic apprenticeship in Newcastle,his amateur film criticism,more writing about his family-following on from one of the themes in "The Great War For Civilisation"-are not what you expect from him,and there is a fair whack of his weekly columns from Beirut commenting on the latest follies of the Middle East.Contrary to what his enemies allege,it's clear from this that Fisk despises dictators and authoritarians in the Middle East as much as meddling outsiders.US readers may be suprised that Fisk isn't a deranged anti-Israeli,his criticisms are based on fact and reason.Despite all that, I'd save up the pennies and buy "The Great War For Civilisation"-far better all round,if a fair bit more expensive.

For some reason I never warmed to Robert Fisk that much. However, this book changed my mind. It's a great read and once I started reading I couldn't put it down. This is one of those books that I'll read again and again

Excellent book. If this man was a leading politician we more than likely wouldn't have a Middle East Crisis. Sadly he's just a brilliant journalist instead.A must read for any xenophobic who wants to blame it all on those 'muslims".

Robert Fisk is a master of his craft, this book shows his skill as a journalist, if you wish to understand the Middle East, buy this book with The Road to civilisation and Pity the Nation.

5* - Excellent book - A quality read, puts a new spin on the spoon fed blame culture news shoved down our throats by the western press