The Desert and the Sea

977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast

By: Michael Scott Moore

Narrated by: Corey Snow

Michael Scott Moore, a journalist and the author of Sweetness and Blood, incorporates personal narrative and rigorous investigative journalism in this profound and revelatory memoir of his three-year captivity by Somali pirates - a riveting, thoughtful, and emotionally resonant exploration of foreign policy, religious extremism, and the costs of survival.

In January 2012, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online International - and funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - Michael Scott Moore traveled to the Horn of Africa to write about piracy and ways to end it. In a terrible twist of fate, Moore himself was kidnapped and subsequently held captive by Somali pirates. Subjected to conditions that break even the strongest spirits - physical injury, starvation, isolation, terror - Moore’s survival is a testament to his indomitable strength of mind. In September 2014, after 977 days, he walked free when his ransom was put together by the help of several US and German institutions, friends, colleagues, and his strong-willed mother.

Yet Moore’s own struggle is only part of the story: The Desert and the Sea falls at the intersection of reportage, memoir, and history. Caught between Muslim pirates, the looming threat of Al-Shabaab, and the rise of ISIS, Moore observes the worlds that surrounded him - the economics and history of piracy; the effects of post-colonialism; the politics of hostage negotiation and ransom; while also conjuring the various faces of Islam - and places his ordeal in the context of the larger political and historical issues.

A sort of Catch-22 meets Black Hawk Down, The Desert and the Sea is written with dark humor, candor, and a journalist’s clinical distance and eye for detail. Moore offers an intimate and otherwise inaccessible view of life as we cannot fathom it, brilliantly weaving his own experience as a hostage with the social, economic, religious, and political factors creating it. The Desert and the Sea is wildly compelling and a book that will take its place next to titles like Den of Lions and Even Silence Has an End.

©2018 Michael Scott Moore (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Relevant & Philosophical

This articulate and reflective memoir is colorful in its language but relevant to our time and worth yours.

parallel worlds

I really enjoyed how this author was able to meld his story and experience as a hostage with his story and experiences in his childhood. I also really enjoyed how he took us on his emotional and psychological Journey not just his physical Journey. This book is definitely worthwhile reading. You will get intmate details on an experience most of us will hopefully never have. The most surprising part of the story for me was how uplifting it was at times. I really expected for this to be a pretty solemn raed but it had me thinking about all kinds of things from self-indulgence to understanding other cultures.

Gripping

Thank you Michael Scott Moore for telling your amazing and harrowing story. An interesting journey into geopolitics, history, and the soul. So glad I saw your interview on The Daily Show.

Excellent

I found this whole book so beautifully written and narrated. It is hard to imagine that Michael Moore could be normal enough to even write a book after his ordeal. It was so worth my time and kudos to Mr Moore and Mr. Snow for making this story come alive.

all the stars deserved!!!!

This is a exceptional piece of true life literature. It really depicts and informsthe listener of his plight, journey and human interaction w the pirates and the other abducted . Excellent!!!

So interesting

I heard the FreshAir interview with Micheal Scott Moore and I immediately got interested. I didn’t know what to expect from this novel. It is just a Fascinating listen. So much mundane crap love through is so interesting and unusual in our normal western lives. I really enjoyed this novel and I highly recommend it to anyone.

great book, great performance

An excellent book, with a number of surprising insights into both Somalia and human existence. Also read very well.

incapsulating listening

I really couldn't stop listening to this incredible story of ones human psychological response to being held captive against ones will.

I found myself wanting to hear more, but also wanted him to bust out and take a few of his captors down to end the suffering. A truly unbelievable story of will and faith to live with a lot of rag and. a hint of self pitty with the odd chuckle along his unplanned journey.

Hard to fathom that it’s true!

Riveting story told in great detail. A little long, but so easy to picture. Appreciate the historical perspective of how the pirates came into being. Fascinating.

Wow!

I kept forgetting this is non fiction! Absolutely amazing to the end. Probably my favorite book this year. Great job Michael, and thanks to Joe Rogan for introducing me to this.