The Mayor of Mogadishu tells the story one family’s epic journey through Somalia’s turmoil, from the optimism of independence to its spectacular unravelling. Mohamud ‘Tarzan’ Nur was born a nomad, and became an orphan, then a street brawler in the cosmopolitan port city of Mogadishu – a place famous for its cafes and open–air cinemas. When Somalia collapsed into civil war, Tarzan and his young family joined the exodus from Mogadishu, eventually spending twenty years in North London. But in 2010 Tarzan returned to the unrecognisable ruins of a city largely controlled by the Islamist militants of Al-Shabaab. For some, the new Mayor was a galvanising symbol of defiance. But others branded him a thug, mired in the corruption and clan rivalries that continue to threaten Somalia’s revival.
The Mayor of Mogadishu is an uplifting story of survival, and a compelling examination of what it means to lose a country and then to reclaim it.
Andrew Harding has worked as a foreign correspondent for the past twenty-five years in Russia, Asia and Africa. He has been visiting Somalia since 2000. His television and radio reports for BBC News have won him international recognition, including an Emmy, an award from Britain’s Foreign Press Association, and other awards in France, Monte Carlo, the United States and Hong Kong. He lives in Johannesburg with his family.
The evening will start with drinks at 7:00 PM, followed by a sit-down dinner at 7:30 PM.
Three course menu costs £25 per person – drinks not included.
The event will be hosted by Frontline Club director, Pranvera Smith, and founding member and senior correspondent at the Guardian and the Observer, Ed Vulliamy.
For more information about membership and the other benefits on offer, please contact membership coordinator Aurélie Bourguet.
]]>This is an evening to allow new members to be introduced to the Club and make acquaintances over a glass of wine or a beer. These are complimentary, from 6pm-8pm. All members are welcome.
Hope to see you there.
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1 November 2006. Alexander Litvinenko is brazenly poisoned in central London. His crime? He had made some powerful enemies in Russia.
Based on the best part of a decade’s reporting, as well as extensive interviews with those closest to the events, Luke Harding‘s A Very Expensive Poison is the definitive inside story of the life and death of Alexander Litvinenko.
The evening will start with drinks at 7:00 PM, followed by a sit-down dinner at 7:30 PM.
Three course menu costs £25 per person – drinks not included.
Along with Luke Harding, we are delighted to welcome Marina Litvinenko at the BookNight dinner.
The event will be hosted by Frontline Club director, Pranvera Smith, and founding member and senior correspondent at the Guardian and the Observer, Ed Vulliamy.
For more information about membership and the other benefits on offer, please contact membership coordinator Aurélie Bourguet.
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We welcome our members, both recently joined and ongoing, for an evening of conversation and drinks kindly sponsored by Chivas Brothers.
Please ask our friendly bartender to mix you up a free gin & tonic or a whisky & ginger ale. The offer is available from 6:00-8.00 PM but both members and their guests are welcome to stay in the clubroom after the offer ends, the bar will remain open until late.
All members are welcome. We hope you enjoy your evening at the Club.
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We are delighted to welcome Anglo-Italian author and reporter Michela Wrong to present her debut novel, Borderlines. Wrong has been writing non-fiction about African politics for two decades. As a Reuters correspondent first based in the Cote d’Ivoire and former Zaire, she covered the turbulent events of the mid 1990s, including the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko and Rwanda’s post-genocide period. Wrong then moved to Kenya, where she became Africa correspondent for the Financial Times.
In her debut novel, she probes the motives underlying Western engagement with the continent, questioning the value of universal justice and exploring how history itself is forged.
“Borderlines is a novel about relationships, the mysteries they contain, and the ways in which – when they go wrong and leave scars borne across generations – it is often for the most prosaic, petty reasons. This is as true of the relationships between people in the novel as it is for those between governments and their citizens, between nations.” – FT Kola for the Guardian
Guests are encouraged to read the book before the event, although you are also welcome to join if you’ve just started your exploration. This will be an in-depth discussion rather than a standard format Q&A. The evening will start with drinks at 7:00 PM, following by a sit-down dinner at 7:30 PM. We will get to know one another over starters before the introduction of the evening’s guest author.
The event will be hosted by Frontline Club director, Pranvera Smith, and founding member and senior correspondent at the Guardian and the Observer, Ed Vulliamy.
Menu is £25 per person excluding drinks.
For more information about membership and the other benefits on offer, please contact membership coordinator Sophie Kayes.
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Twenty years after its first publication, Anthony Loyd’s classic piece of war writing is reissued with a new foreword by the author. My War Gone By, I Miss It So is a haunting account of the war in Bosnia. From 1993 to 1996 Anthony reported for the Daily Telegraph and The Times as a special correspondent, witnessing the killings of one of the most callous and chaotic clashes on European soil.
Addicted to the adrenaline of armed combat, he returned home to wage a longstanding personal battle against substance abuse. Shocking, violent, yet lyrical and ultimately redemptive, this book is a breathtaking feat of reportage and an uncompromising look at the terrifyingly seductive power of war.
“An extraordinary memoir of the Bosnian War… savage and mercilessly readable… deserves a place alongside George Orwell, James Cameron and Nicholas Tomalin. It is as good as war reporting gets. I have nowhere read a more vivid account of frontline fear and survival. Forget the strategic overview. All war is local. It is about the ditch in which the soldier crouches and the ground on which he fights and maybe dies. The same applies to the war reporter. Anthony Loyd has been there and knows it” – Martin Bell, The Times
Guests are encouraged to read the book before the event, although you are also welcome to join if you’ve just started your exploration. Previous experience has shown that members often gain insight and inspiration from discussions with the author, which enable them to continue reading the book in a new light.
This will be an in-depth discussion rather than a standard format Q&A. The evening will start with drinks at 7:00 PM, following by a sit-down dinner at 7:30 PM. We will get to know one another over starters before the introduction of the evening’s guest author.
The event will be hosted by Frontline Club director, Pranvera Smith, and founding member and senior correspondent at the Guardian and the Observer, Ed Vulliamy.
Menu £25 per person excluding drinks.
The idea behind members’ BookNights is to have a thoroughly good time, encourage reading and discussion, and to end the night both merrier and wiser than when it began. For more information about membership and the other benefits on offer, please contact membership coordinator Sophie Kayes.
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Based on new archive research and original interviews with leading correspondents and diplomats, the book explores why this fiercely contested region exerts such a pull over reporters: those who bring the story to the world. Despite decades of diplomacy, a just and lasting end to the conflict remains as difficult as ever to achieve.
Lyse Doucet, Chief International Correspondent at BBC News, said: “At a time when reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is under unprecedented scrutiny, James Rodgers provides an essential and insightful historical perspective on the long “war of words” behind a major conflict of our time. Rodgers’ book is essential reading for those seeking a greater understanding of the difficult dynamics behind reporting – and resolving conflicts.”
James Rodgers is an author and journalist. His previous books are Reporting Conflict (2012) and No Road Home: Fighting for Land and Faith in Gaza (2013). A former BBC correspondent in Moscow, Brussels, and Gaza, James lectures in Journalism at City University.
Guests are encouraged to read the book before the event, although you are also welcome to join if you’ve just started your exploration. Previous experience has shown that members often gain insight and inspiration from discussions with the author, which enable them to continue reading the book in a new light.
This will be an in-depth discussion rather than a standard format Q&A. The evening will start with drinks at 7:00 PM, following by a sit-down dinner at 7:30 PM. We will get to know one another over starters before the introduction of the evening’s guest author.
The event will be hosted by Frontline Club director, Pranvera Smith, and founding member and senior correspondent at The Guardian and The Observer, Ed Vulliamy.
SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR THE FRONTLINE CLUB: Save 30% when ordering on palgrave.com. Please e-mail Sophie Kayes for the code. Valid until 31 October 2015. Terms and conditions apply.
Menu £25 per person excluding drinks.
The idea behind members’ BookNights is to have a thoroughly good time, encourage reading and discussion, and to end the night both happier and wiser than when it began. For more information about membership and the other benefits on offer, please contact membership coordinator Sophie Kayes.
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The Club Quiz returns in April with special guest quizmaster, BBC Panorama reporter, John Sweeney.
Use this great excuse to get your friends together and explore the members’ Clubroom with it’s fascinating history and displays of memorabilia.
Teams can consist of up to six people, and there will be five rounds of 10 questions. The entry cost is £5 per person, with all money raised going to the Frontline Fund, assisting families of fixers around the world killed or injured while working with the international media.
As one of our prizes, you can win three pairs of tickets to see a new show, The Light Shining in Buckinghamshire opening at the National Theatre on 15 April, 2015.
Light Shining in Buckinghamshire tells the story of the men and women who went into battle for the soul of England. Passionate, moving and provocative, it speaks of the revolution we never had and the legacy it left behind.
In the aftermath of a bloody and brutal civil war, England stands at a crossroads. Food shortages, economic instability, and a corrupt political system threaten to plunge the country into darkness and despair.
The Parliament men who fought against the tyranny of the King now argue for stability and compromise, but the people are hungry for change. For a brief moment, a group of rebels, preachers, soldiers and dissenters dare to imagine an age of hope, a new Jerusalem in which freedom will be restored to the land.
]]>The Club Quiz returns in March with quizmasters Caroline Johns and Dr Keith Surridge. They have prepared questions that will test your knowledge and live up to the reputation of being billed as one of ‘the hardest quizzes in London’.
Use this great excuse to get your friends together and explore the members’ Clubroom with it’s fascinating history and displays of memorabilia.
Teams can consist of up to six people, and there will be five rounds of 10 questions. The entry cost is £5 per person, with all money raised going to the Frontline Fund, assisting families of fixers around the world killed or injured while working with the international media.
As one of our prizes, you can win three pairs of tickets* to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum. From intimate portraits to unique behaviour, and atmospheric wildernesses to challenging documentary, Wildlife Photographer of the Year offers an unparalleled insight into the diversity, beauty and importance of the natural world.
Get a team together and if you’re lucky you could be going home with some top prizes!
*The tickets are valid until 30 August 2015. Prize cannot be exchanged for cash. Open to UK residents over the age of 18 only. Tickets are subject to availability. Promoter reserves the right to exchange the prize for one of equal or greater value. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is co-owned by the Natural History Museum and BBC Worldwide Image credit: Sailing by © Matthew Smith
Caroline Johns is a reformed historian, having given up her PhD when the roof of her garret caved in and the novelty of penury wore off. She left the hallowed groves of academe (lecturing on the BA Journalism course at City University) to cross to ‘the dark side’ that is the private sector and now works for Deloitte as speechwriter to the UK CEO and chief of staff to the global chairman.
Dr Keith Surridge is a history lecturer in several American college programmes in London. He is the co-author of The Boer War (with Denis Judd), which, if you look hard, may even still be available in some good book shops.
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