Foreign correspondents’ memoirs of the (current) Iraq war are a burgeoning genre of their own. So, what’s different about former ABC journalist Gina Wilkinson’s book? For one thing, it’s unlikely to find a place on the shelves of ABC stores around the country.
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sky (Gina Wilkinson, East Street Publications, $32.95 tpb, ISBN 9781921037160, September) ***1/2
Foreign correspondents’ memoirs of the (current) Iraq war are a burgeoning genre of their own. So, what’s different about former ABC journalist Gina Wilkinson’s book? For one thing, it’s unlikely to find a place on the shelves of ABC stores around the country. Wilkinson was asked to resign her position as Iraq correspondent after her minder was caught on tape lifting a child onto a missile in order to get a good shot—and the footage was leaked to Media Watch. The outcome is an intriguing look inside the workings of our cash-strapped national broadcaster. Wilkinson is unafraid to be snarky about difficult presenters (who she names) and furious about both the cost-cutting measures that left her paying for her own accommodation and seemingly cavalier attitudes to her circumstances and safety. The Media Watch incident is almost understandable in context. The other interesting thing about this memoir is that Wilkinson was based in Iraq for some time before war broke out, accompanying her UN worker husband. The bulk of
the book is devoted to her everyday observations and experiences as a bored housewife living under Saddam’s regime. Though much weight is given to the less exciting first part, this is a fascinating look at contemporary Iraq
from a range of perspectives, encompassing the UN, ordinary Iraqis, Westerners in the Middle East and a harried foreign correspondent.
Jo Case is the editor of Readings Monthly
This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2007, Thorpe-Bowker