Product Description

Kate Adie's story is an unusual one. Raised in post-war Sunderland, where life was 'a sunny experience, full of meat-paste sandwiches and Sunday school', she has reported memorably and courageously from many of the world's trouble spots since she joined the BBC in 1969. THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS encompasses Adie’s reporting from, inter alia, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Tiananmen Square and, of course, the Gulf War of 1991. It offers a compelling combination of vivid frontline reporting and evocative writing and reveals the extraordinarily demanding life of the woman who is always at the heart of the action. Although an intensely private person, Kate Adie also divulges what it's like to be a woman in a man's world – an inspiration to many working women.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6551 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
Sharp, witty and full of insights into the BBC and the sometimes crazed world of broadcasting -- Daily Express 20030524

Kate Adie, the BBC's Chief News Correspondent, has twice been named Reporter of the Year by the Royal Television Society and was awarded the OBE in 1993. Since she joined the BBC in 1969, Kate has reported from many of the world's most infamous trouble spots and has covered momentous historical events. She has become a familiar feature of the news, always appearing cool and poised, however dramatic her surroundings. Yet despite her fame, she has remained a very private person. In this, her autobiography, Kate shares the details of her life as a news reporter, revealing herself as someone with a tremendous sense of compassion, integrity and humour. She began her career on local radio where her skill and enthusiasm soon began to make an impact and she developed a thirst to understand more about the wider world and to report on the inequalities she was growing increasingly aware of. Learning her trade on Radio Bristol, Kate enjoyed a period as Kenny Everett's producer (or, more accurately, tea lady) and spent hours listening to strangers unburden themselves. Dealing with social issues such as homelessness, adoption, mental illness in children and abortion she developed a burning desire to 'reveal, uncover and put right - but also to get it right'. When she stumbled into TV reporting she had little experience and was forced to make her own rules as she went along, not helped by a male-dominated environment. As her role developed, Kate found herself travelling to some of the most inhospitable parts of the world. She paints vivid pictures of life as she saw it, capturing the intimate nuances of people and cultures, and her clear and honest writing style cuts through sentimentality to make perceptive and humane observations on the sufferings of others. Her desire to expose injustice and make a difference through accurate reporting is vividly conveyed. The book contains many fascinating insights into world affairs, from the siege of the Iranian Embassy to the troubles in Northern Ireland, from Tiananmen Square to Libya. There are many compelling anecdotes throughout the book. Possessing the one taped record of the Tiananmen Square massacre, Kate risked bullets and physical attacks and scaled an eight-foot wall to ensure that the record reached world news, such was her sense of outrage and commitment to exposing oppression. This autobiography confirms her status as one of the great media professionals of the modern era. Enlightening, interesting and vastly entertaining, it is an unmissable book. (Kirkus UK)

Review
Sharp, witty and full of insights into the BBC and the sometimes crazed world of broadcasting (Daily Express )

Synopsis
Kate Adie's story is an unusual one. Raised in post-war Sunderland, where life was 'a sunny experience, full of meat-paste sandwiches and Sunday school', she has reported memorably and courageously from many of the world's trouble spots since she joined the BBC in 1969. THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS encompasses Adie's reporting from, inter alia, Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Tiananmen Square and, of course, the Gulf War of 1991. It offers a compelling combination of vivid frontline reporting and evocative writing and reveals the extraordinarily demanding life of the woman who is always at the heart of the action. Although an intensely private person, Kate Adie also divulges what it's like to be a woman in a man's world -- an inspiration to many working women.

Customer Reviews

Lively, witty and entertaining
I loved this book !

Kate Adie's style throughout is funny and self-effacing, witty and fast moving.

Adie writes about her career in the chaotic world of the media and some of the scrapes in which she has found herself. Steering away from any political analysis of the conflicts and events she covered, her focus is the role of the reporter, and this feels absolutely right.

Kate Adie comes across as energetic and adventurous, friendly and fun, so this book is a lovely companion!

Often moving, with real flashes of wit, but badly structured and edited
One of the underlying themes of this book is how becoming a face associated with war and conflict just 'happened' to Kate; and the journey of how she came through local broadcasting and got her break at the Libyan embassy is told in pictures and vignettes that are perceptive and witty. Her power of observation - of physical detail and of people's characters and motivations - is amazing and brings a powerful and empathetic spotlight on situations. Her chapter on Northern Ireland is dark and brooding - and not flattering; I speak as a resident - but full of razor sharp opinion and analysis.

However, the structure of the book, from chapter to paragraph to sentence order, leaves much to be desired. There is absolutely no connection between one chapter and the next; chronological order is utterly abandoned; phrases and scenes are repeated in different chapters. Some chapters are frustrating 'stream of consciousness' rambles; riffs on one theme that become riffs on another with one word in a previous anecdote reminding the author of the next, completely unconnected anecdote.

It also now feels slightly dated; Kate writes into a world where the internet and 'collaborative journalism' have not yet begun to have an impact; much has happened to the Beeb since 2001 (the last dated event in the book).

I'd recommend it, but with a health warning that you'll have to grit your teeth and just keep turning the pages to get to some of the good stuff.

Takes time to gather momentum
'This autobiography of a well-known female war correspondent did not engage my interest until three-quarters of the way through the book. Her views on Libya, and Colonel Gaddafi in particular were most illuminating, and unflattering. Similarly, her views on the students' uprising and subsequent suppression in Beijing (Brilliant chapter) as well as the first Gulf War. Perhaps her greatest criticism is levelled at American troops - 10%female, 30%black, and 100% dim.'