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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sky
By Gina Wilkinson Price: $32.95 |
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sky is a revealing account of the perils and pitfalls of life during Saddam Hussein’s final year in power, the US-led occupation and the demands of juggling domesticity, danger and deadlines in a war zone. It is sometimes frightening – with constant surveillance from the dreaded mukhabarat secret police; sometimes devastating – the loss of a close friend in the bombing of the UN’s Baghdad headquarters; and at times darkly humorous.
During this incredible journey Gina finds nothing is what it seems and there's no black and white when you’re stuck between the devil and the deep blue sky of Iraq.
About the Author
Gina Wilkinson grew up in a series of small towns in Western Australia before her nomadic callings took her to the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. For the past 15 years she’s worked as a reporter, correspondent and radio documentary maker for organizations such as the ABC and SBS in Australia, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Agence France Presse, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Television Hong Kong, Deutsche Welle and ARD in Germany, and National Public Radio in the US.In 2002, Gina put her journalism career on hold to move to Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad with her husband, an aid worker with the UN Children’s Fund. With foreign reporters forbidden to reside in Iraq, Gina gained a unique opportunity to experience the final year of Saddam’s tyrannical rule from the inside. After the fall of Baghdad she was appointed as the ABC’s correspondent in Iraq.
In early 2004 Gina was based in Sri Lanka where she continued to work as a freelance journalist. She played a key role in covering the devastation of the Asian tsunami for the BBC, ABC, and many other international media outlets. Gina currently lives in New York.
Reviews
"Between the Devil is a compelling read and a salutary reminder of the risks and challenges war reporters must face to provide us with the news horror we crave"
- Sydney Morning Herald
"A fascinating tale...thoroughly enjoyable."
- Murray Peters - Radio 2ST
"Gina saw a lot of things that most people in the Western world weren't even aware of initially. It's going to be on the bestsellers shortly."
- 612 ABC Brisbane - Jack Castle (home reviewer)
"The outstanding quality of the writing and the insights Wilkinson provides into the war in Iraq, as well as the competitive world of the news media, give it a unique edge. It's an outstanding read. "
- The Mercury
"A very good book. You really have a flair for writing. "
- ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt
"You were living in such extraordinary times that most people would never encounter in their entire lives. A great read."
- Curtin FM - Liz Pye
"A fascinating and VERY interesting account of the light-hearted and serious times of living in Baghdad."
- 891 ABC Adelaide - Carole Whitelock
"Fascinating…a story of intrigue. I look forward to the film version."
- 720 ABC Perth - Geraldine Mellet
"A fascinating, tell-all book about her time as the ABC's foreign correspondent in Iraq...absolutely ideally placed, she'd been there, had so much capital behind her. This book is incredibly, searingly honest. What an adventure it was!"
- 774 ABC Melbourne - Conversation Hour with Zoe Daniel
"The book explores the unseen and little understood human side of life into which Wilkinson and two of her Iraqi friends were pitched."
- Albany Advertiser
"Gina Wilkinson was an ABC journalist in Iraq during the reign and fall of Saddam Hussein, and in Sri Lanka during the tsunami. That's not a bad resume..."
- Central Midlands & Coastal Advocate
"Foreign correspondents' memoirs of the (current) Iraq war are a burgeoning genre of their own...The interesting thing about this memoir is that Wilkinson was based in Iraq for some time before war broke out."
- Bookseller + Publisher
"Wilkinson loved Baghdad and its people despite the suspicion of life under Saddam Hussein. "
- Sun Herald
"Like oil gushing from a bombed pipeline, there has been a surge of books about Iraq. What marks Gina Wilkinson's book is her two distinct experiences there. Before the invasion, she lived in Iraq with her husband, a UN official...Wilkinson also writes about working for the ABC, feeding news to a "relentless beast". She felt pressured and unsupported. "
- The Age
"Dramatic recollection of Iraq's darkest days...This is a dramatic, but realistic, account of the strains that journalists stiffer when both news and the chance of effective coverage really deteriorate."
- The Canberra Times
"It's a well written, sensitive and thoughtful "insiders" account of Iraq at a pivotal time in its troubled history."
- The Walkley Magazine
"Many a writer has imagined himself as a foreign correspondent, travelling the world and righting wrongs. But read the former West Aussie's account of her time in Iraq and any misty-eyed romance will soon be wiped away. Gina finds herself with a ringside seat in an increasingly frightening theatre."
- Scoop Magazine
"Gina, I read your book again and again…believe me it is a distress reliever and just in time. Reading through helps me travel back home and live there on the streets of Baghdad again. Real life scenes and stories in the book take me back to the settings and places and the events in Baghdad. Your brief stay in Baghdad was more productive than our years-long life there; we fled the country without trying to put anything into record to keep our country's memory alive and now it's too late to do so. We are gradually becoming senile and one day we will wake up to find out that we are even unable to recall our own names. I want to thank you wholeheartedly on behalf of all those who will find benefit and comfort in reading about a critical period of Iraq's history
(Uruba is a woman who features in the book. She is now living in Amman but misses Baghdad very much)"
- Uruba (Amman)
"Gina Wilkinson has been short-listed in the non-fiction category of the West Australian Premier's Book Awards."
- West Australian Premier's Book Awards