Dimensions
239 x 185 x 24mm
It was supposed to be his dream job. Mark Bowling, a foreign correspondent with the respected Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was assigned to cover Indonesia. His arrival in Jakarta coincided with the downfall of President Suharto after more than three decades. So began a four-year roller-coaster ride for a journalist covering a nation's dangerous descent into turmoil.
Mark's book is a uniquely personal exploration of the rich but frenetic life of a foreign correspondent. At times his days swung out of control as he juggled news story deadlines with commitments to his young family. He travelled across the islands of Indonesia documenting historic events familiar to many of us who live in this region - East Timor's bloody struggle for independence, separatist crises in Aceh and West Papua, and religious conflicts in Ambon.
He searched for signs of humanity and dignity in a society rife with violence, poverty, prejudice and greed. Mark was not alone on this posting. His wife Kim and their two young children moved with him from Australia to Jakarta and had to settle into a very different life there.
