Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast

Michael Scott Moore's memoir, "The Desert and the Sea," combines personal narrative with investigative journalism to recount his three-year captivity by Somali pirates. The book explores foreign policy, religious extremism, and the costs of survival, offering an intimate and insightful view of life as a hostage. Moore's survival is a testament to his strength of mind, and the book combines reportage, memoir, and history to provide a comprehensive understanding of the political and historical factors that contributed to his ordeal.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 480 pages
Publication date: 11 July 2019
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

Michael Scott Moore, a journalist and author of the book "Sweetness and Blood," has written a profound and revelatory memoir of his three-year captivity by Somali pirates. The book combines personal narrative with rigorous investigative journalism to explore foreign policy, religious extremism, and the costs of survival.

In January 2012, Moore traveled to the Horn of Africa to write about piracy and ways to end it, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online International. However, his journey took a terrible turn when he was kidnapped and held captive by Somali pirates. Subjected to physical injury, starvation, isolation, and terror, Moore's survival is a testament to his indomitable strength of mind.

After 977 days, Moore was finally freed in September 2014 when his ransom was put together by the help of several US and German institutions, friends, colleagues, and his strong-willed mother.

However, Moore's own struggle is only part of the story. "The Desert and the Sea" falls at the intersection of reportage, memoir, and history. Moore observes the worlds that surrounded him, including the economics and history of piracy, the effects of post-colonialism, the politics of hostage negotiation and ransom, and the various faces of Islam. He also places his ordeal in the context of larger political and historical issues.

The book is written with dark humor, candor, and a journalist's clinical distance and eye for detail. Moore offers an intimate and emotional account of his captivity, providing a glimpse into the minds of his captors and the challenges he faced during his ordeal.

"The Desert and the Sea" is a powerful exploration of the human spirit and the resilience of the human mind. It sheds light on the complexities of the Somali piracy crisis and the broader political and historical context in which it occurs. Moore's memoir is a testament to the power of journalism and the importance of telling the stories of those who have been marginalized and forgotten.

Weight: 362g
Dimension: 201 x 184 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780062449184