The Desert and the Sea

Moore set off for Somalia in January 2012 after reporting on a historic trial of ten Somali pirates in Germany with a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Near the end of his trip, a gang of pirates captured him and demanded a ransom of twenty million dollars. Moore would be stuck in Somalia for more than two and a half years, shifted from camps in the desert bush to barren prison houses, and on a hijacked tuna vessel, where he would make friends with a crew of hostage fishermen.

As the only Western journalist to witness everyday life on a ship captured by Somali pirates, Moore recounts his dizzying ordeal as a rich and surprising story of survival. After a daring but desperate attempt to escape, he struggles with murderous fantasies as well as thoughts of suicide.

In the face of threats to kill him, or sell him to al-Shabaab, Moore maintains his humanity and his sardonic wit. He relates his captivity with calm detachment, brilliantly weaving his own experience as a hostage with the religious and political factors behind Somali piracy. The Desert and the Sea will take its place next to titles such as An Evil Cradling and Even Silence Has an End.