The Secret Life of War: Journeys Through Modern Conflict

A provocative story of war that offers rare insight into the real effects of conflict on civilians, reporters, and societies themselves. Once it was simple to write about war. States or ideologies clashed; battles were fought between national armies or movements. But war has changed. War has become “privatized” by small armed groups, states have fragmented and the conventional arms of the West are found wanting against warlordism. Drawing on the author’s experiences as a foreign correspondent in the world’s most dangerous places, The Secret Life of War focuses on the human cost of the conflict to the combatants, civilians, and the author, as one who bears witness. Every encounter is a visit to the bombed and abandoned home of Mullah Omar; a deserted Al Qaeda camp where a plan to attack London is found; young bomb-throwers in Rafah refugee camp. Unflinching and exquisitely written, The Secret Life of War goes beyond classic accounts; it is a deeply personal and defining vision of the inner, secret nature of modern war.