Ryszard Kapuscinski: A Life

Reporting from such varied locations as postcolonial Africa, revolutionary Iran, the military dictatorships of Latin America and Soviet Russia, the Polish journalist and writer Ryszard Kapuściński was one of the most influential eyewitness journalists of the twentieth century. During the Cold War, he was a dauntless investigator as well as a towering literary talent, and books such as The Emperor and Travels with Herodotus founded the new genre of 'literary reportage'. It was an achievement that brought him global renown, not to mention the uninvited attentions of the CIA.

In this definitive biography, Artur Domosławski shines a new light on the personal relationships of this intensely charismatic, deeply private man, examining the intractable issue at the heart of Kapuściński's life and work: the relationship and tension between journalism and literature.

In researching this book, Domosławski, himself an award-winning foreign correspondent, enjoyed unprecedented access to Kapuściński's private papers. The result traces his mentor's footsteps through Africa and Latin America, delves into files and archives that Kapuściński himself examined, and records conversations with the people that he talked to in the course of his own investigations. Ryszard Kapuściński is a meticulous, riveting portrait of a complex man of intense curiosity living at the heart of dangerous times.

Definitive biography of one of the most significant journalists of the twentieth century.

From postcolonial Africa to revolutionary Iran, from the military dictatorships of Latin America to Soviet Russia, the Polish journalist and writer Ryszard Kapuściński was one of the most dauntless and important eyewitness reporters of the twentieth century. In his committed journalism covering the great revolutions of the age, and his resolute anti-colonialism, Kapuściński created a new genre of creative reporting:one that brought him immense fame in the Western world and to the attention of the CIA.

In this major new biography, Artur Domosławski shines new light on the personal relationships of this intensely charismatic, highly private man,and the intractable issue at the heart of Kapuściński's life and work: the question of where journalism ends and literature begins.

Close to Kapuściński, and with unparalleled access to his private papers,Domosławski, himself an award-winning foreign correspondent, traces his mentor's footsteps through Africa and Latin America, delves into the files and archives that Kapuściński himself examined, and interviews the people that he talked to in the course of his own investigations. Ryszard Kapuściński: The Biograpy is a meticulous, riveting portrait of the man and his times.

Artur Domosławski writes on international politics for the weekly review Polityka and for the Polish edition of Le Monde diplomatique, and for two decades reported for the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza. In 2010 he received Poland's prestigious Journalist of the Year Award. A Knight Fellow at Stanford University in 2005-6, he is the author of five books and is currently working on a book about contemporary Latin America.