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    And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East
    And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East
    And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East
    Ebook287 pages5 hours

    And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East

    By Richard Engel

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    A major New York Times bestseller by NBC’s Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel—this riveting story of the Middle East revolutions, the Arab Spring, war, and terrorism seen close up “should be required reading” (Booklist, starred review).

    In 1997, young Richard Engel, working freelance for Arab news sources, got a call that a busload of Italian tourists was massacred at a Cairo museum. This is his first view of the carnage these years would pile on. Over two decades he has been under fire, blown out of hotel beds, and taken hostage. He has watched Mubarak and Morsi in Egypt arrested and condemned, reported from Jerusalem, been through the Lebanese war, covered the shooting match in Iraq and the Libyan rebels who toppled Gaddafi, reported from Syria as Al-Qaeda stepped in, and was kidnapped in the Syrian cross currents of fighting. Engel takes the reader into Afghanistan with the Taliban and to Iraq with ISIS. In the page-turning And Then All Hell Broke Loose, he shares his “quick-paced...thrilling adventure story” (Associated Press).

    Engel takes chances, though not reckless ones, keeps a level head and a sense of humor, as well as a grasp of history in the making. Reporting as NBC’s Chief-Foreign Correspondent, he reveals his unparalleled access to the major figures, the gritty soldiers, and the helpless victims in the Middle East during this watershed time. His vivid story is “a nerve-racking...and informative portrait of a troubled region” (Kansas City Star) that shows the splintering of the nation states previously cobbled together by the victors of World War I. “Engel’s harrowing adventures make for gripping reading” (The New York Times) and his unforgettable view of the suffering and despair of the local populations offers a succinct and authoritative account of our ever-changing world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateFeb 9, 2016
    ISBN9781451635133
    And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East
    Author

    Richard Engel

    Richard Engel is the award winning Chief-Foreign Correspondent for NBC and has been in the Middle East war zone for over twenty years. He is the author of And Then All Hell Broke Loose, War Journal, and A Fist in the Hornet’s Nest.

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    Reviews for And Then All Hell Broke Loose

    4/5

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    • 3/5
      Interesting to get his take on the years he reported back from the Middle East on the evening news. I remember watching his reporting of many of those events. Was always curious about how he ended up there and so enjoyed learning how his early years formed him.
    • 5/5
      This is a very important piece of journalistic experiences and conclusions. While I might question some of Engel's conclusions, there is no doubt that he is striving to tell things as he saw them. Because of his on-site work, his reporting and his conclusions deserve the greatest weight. Still, one can be too close to see the whole. He is dispassionate in castigating both Presidents: Bush and Obama. And, he points to the idea, maybe not intentionally, that the USA must adopt a radical change in its way it views situations of which it disapproves. Ever since WWII, the USA has looked upon itself as a City on a Hill. We have been slow to admit our flaws and often the corrective action has been painful, but in our attempts to export democracy, we have not been mean or seeking profit for ourselves. And we have been confused when democracy doesn't appeal. It might be time for us to re-order our priorities in our relations with nations and people who have not gone through the convulsions we experienced in us finding our way to freedom. Instead of first thinking what's best for the world, we ought to begin to think what is best for us when we attempt to transplant our vision of freedom.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This is exactly the kind of book I love! Richard Engel was the Chief Foreign Correspondent in the Middle East for NBC News. He went to the Middle East when it was actually somewhat boring. But he liked the culture there and he found the history interesting – a reason I can certainly relate to! When he arrived in Cairo the journalistic focus was on the Israel-Palestinian peace talks. Hard to imagine now that there was a time when this was really the only topic of interest from the region. Engel was only 23 years old when he set off to Egypt as a freelance reporter. But shortly after he arrived “all hell broke loose”. His first exposure to what was to come was when he got a call that a busload of Italian tourists had been killed at a Cairo Museum. I found the book very easy to read and factual. Living in the region for so long he has a good understanding of the culture and the politics. His analysis of how Washington politicians went wrong in many ways was really interesting. Most of his perceptions match what I learned over years of working in international affairs. Other conclusions left me with a lot to mull over. He certainly covered it all. He describes most of the Arab leaders at the time and how they each met their downfall. He covered the beginnings of the revolutions, the Arab Spring, the evolution of al-Qaeda and ISIS. He was kidnapped at one time and learned then to really appreciate life. He was witness to some horrific sights.The part I found most interesting was probably his explanation of the ethnic clashes in the region. There are more fractures there than most people know. One needs to understand how the Kurds got split across three countries; the clash between Sunni and Shia and how in most countries the minority Sunni were ruling the majority Shia. This, of course, created a lot of resentment. Now we have the Shia fighting to come out on top and the Sunni fighting back. (Very reminiscent of the Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda.) If you have an interest in this region, I highly recommend his well-written and concise account of the hell people in that region live with every day.
    • 4/5
      Heartbreaking, relevant, and terrifying, this book gives one journalist’s experience and perspective on the events occurring in the Middle East over the last 20 or so years. Published in 2016, many of the conflicts Engel discusses are still raging across the region today. He doesn’t pull punches in laying blame for the rise of ISIS on the US. I think this is a balanced piece, though, and well worth reading for insight on recent/current events.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I have seen Richard Engel's reporting from the Middle East as he is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC news. He can be found in the hot and dangerous spots of the Middle East including Syria, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan usually at personal risk. Engel provides two perspectives in this book. First, he opines about the events, people and diplomacy that have created the terrorism, violence and mayhem currently taking place in many Middle Eastern countries. Engel is not a fan of either George W. Bush's or Barack Obama's diplomacy as it relates to the Middle East. Basically, he thinks that we have made a bad situation much much worse.

      Second, Engel provides an interesting narrative of his adventures covering the Middle East. He describes his kidnapping by terrorists and his near misses of various bombings and mob violence. He takes enormous risks in getting the story. He describes the perils of covering the initial days of the Iraq-US war.

      While this is an informative and entertaining book for general readership, those who are interested in journalism would be wise to read this.
    • 4/5
      Excellent Biography/Overview of Middle East conflicts within the last 25 yrs. Richard Engel is a brave man! Much love and respect for that man and his work!
    • 4/5
      A fascinating look at a war correspondents time in the Middle East. Richard Engel was unfortunate/ or lucky enough depending on how you look at it, to have a war break out shortly after he moved each time to a new country. During the election cycle this year a lot has been said about George W. Bush having been responsible for the creation of Isis. After reading this book you will understand why that accusation has been leveled at him and through Engles eye witness accounts you get a first row view of how Washington has really botched things in the Middle East thereby causing the terrorists threats of today. I was afraid this book might be a little dry but it was a very entertaining look at the Middle East and it touched on many of the biggest events in recent years. Confusing Middle Eastern politics and religion were explained in a clear way that anyone could understand. I can't say that this account has made me very hopeful that peace will be achieved in the Middle East anytime soon. What I did take away was a better understanding of what happened. Now if we could only get the foreign policy makers in Washington to read this book.

    Book preview

    And Then All Hell Broke Loose - Richard Engel

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