Takka Takka Bom Bom: An Intrepid War Correspondent’s 50 Year Odyssey

Author:   Al J Venter
Publisher:   Casemate Publishers
ISBN:  

9781636243801


Pages:   408
Publication Date:   15 October 2023
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Takka Takka Bom Bom: An Intrepid War Correspondent’s 50 Year Odyssey


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Overview

The world's oldest still-active war correspondent, Al J. Venter, has reported from the front lines for well over half a century, witnessing the horrors humanity visits upon itself in twenty-five conflict zones across Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. In this memoir, Venter masterfully recounts his experiences, sharing the real stories behind the headlines and the sharp lessons he learned that enabled him to survive his countless exploits, ranging from exposing a major KGB operative in Rhodesia entirely by accident, and accompanying an Israeli force led by Ariel Sharon into Beirut, to gun-running into the United States. AUTHOR: Al J. Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. He started his career with Geneva's Interavia Group, then owners of International Defence Review, to cover military developments in the Middle East and Africa. Venter has been writing on these and related issues such as guerrilla warfare, insurgency, the Middle East and conflict in general for half a century. He was involved with Jane's Information Group for more than 30 years and was a stringer for the BBC, NBC News (New York) as well as London's Daily Express and Sunday Express. He branched into television work in the early 1980s and produced more than 100 documentaries, many of which were internationally flighted. His one-hour film, 'Africa's Killing Fields' (on the Ugandan civil war), was shown nationwide in the United States on the PBS network. Other films include an hour-long program on the fifth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as 'AIDS: The African Connection', nominated for China's Pink Magnolia Award. His last major book was 'Portugal's Guerrilla Wars in Africa', nominated in 2013 for New York's Arthur Goodzeit military history book award. It has gone into three editions, including translation into Portuguese. 100 photographs

Full Product Details

Author:   Al J Venter
Publisher:   Casemate Publishers
Imprint:   Casemate Publishers
ISBN:  

9781636243801


ISBN 10:   1636243800
Pages:   408
Publication Date:   15 October 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Foreword Prologue   1 Africa, the great continent with an appeal all its own 2 Home by five 3 Heading out into the unknown 4 Africa in the 1960s 5 Matilda and Albert Schweitzer’s jungle hospital 6 Palm wine and plantain in Libreville 7 Nigeria: ‘Crazy, but I love it!’ 8 A peripatetic existence 9 Rib-eye and red wine in Abidjan 10 Kids with machine guns 11 Republic of Guinea to London 12 The Londoner: my dream of a ship 13 Looking for wars and learning to write 14 A bloody battle and a narrow escape in Lagos 15 Another close call 16 Getting the job properly done 17 Independence and revolutions 18 The safari capital of the world 19 Banned from Rhodesia 20 Pen-pushing pals 21 All’s fair in love and war 22 My favourite: the realm of the underwater 23 Mayday … Mayday … Mayday 24 Lisbon: beloved city 25 You’d be lucky to be hit … 26 South Africa invades Angola 27 Battle for Beirut 28 The murder of a United States Marine colonel in Lebanon’s civil war

Reviews

"""This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary adventurer describing extraordinary times in Africa and elsewhere. It is also a journey into a vanishing world whose ripples continue to shape our present. Buckle up tight for an unforgettable ride!""--Anver Versi, Editor, New African Magazine"


"""With no journalism school or newsroom experience, Al Venter morphed into the most experienced, daring, and capable but unsung war correspondent of the 20th and 21st centuries, leaving most of his peers in the dust. Rip-roaring through countless coups, revolutions, plots, and wars in the dark continent of Africa, the Middle East, Central America, Asia, and a European war or two. Over time, he branched out into TV journalism filming conflicts in El Salvador, Brazil's notorious Favellas, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, where he was sponsored by the CIA. At one point, he joined an African rebel army fighting in Angola to get his story.""--Robert K. Brown, Lt. Col USAR, Ret., Founder of ""Soldier of Fortune"" magazine. ""This is an extraordinary book by an extraordinary adventurer describing extraordinary times in Africa and elsewhere. It is also a journey into a vanishing world whose ripples continue to shape our present. Buckle up tight for an unforgettable ride!""--Anver Versi, Editor, New African Magazine"


Author Information

Al J. Venter is a specialist military writer and has had 50 books published. He started his career with Geneva’s Interavia Group, then owners of International Defence Review, to cover military developments in the Middle East and Africa. Venter has been writing on these and related issues such as guerrilla warfare, insurgency, the Middle East and conflict in general for half a century. He was involved with Jane’s Information Group for more than 30 years and was a stringer for the BBC, NBC News (New York) as well as London’s Daily Express and Sunday Express. He branched into television work in the early 1980s and produced more than 100 documentaries, many of which were internationally flighted. His one-hour film, 'Africa’s Killing Fields' (on the Ugandan civil war), was shown nationwide in the United States on the PBS network. Other films include an hour-long program on the fifth anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as well as 'AIDS: The African Connection', nominated for China’s Pink Magnolia Award. His many books include Africa: In the Line of Fire (2023) and Portugal's Bush War in Mozambique (2022), both by Casemate Publishers.

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