Ryszard Kapuscinski was born in Poland in 1932. As a foreign correspondent for PAP, the Polish news agency, until 1981 he was an eyewitness to revolutions and civil wars in Africa, Asia and Latin America. His books include The Shadow of the Sun, The Emperor, Shah of Shahs, Another Day of Life and Travels with Herodotus. He won dozens of major literary prizes all over the world, and was made 'journalist of the century' in Poland. He died in January 2007.
Kapuscinski trascends the limitations of journalism and writes with the narrative power of a Conrad or Kipling or Orwell -- Blake Morrison A peculiar genius with no modern equivalent, except possibly Kafka -- Jonathan Miller