The Granta Book of Reportage

by Ian Jack (Editor)

This new edition collects a dozen of the finest pieces of reportage Granta has published. Featuring distinguished writers and reporters such as James Fenton, Martha Gellhorn, Ryszard Kapuscinski, John le Carré, Joseph Lelyveld and Marilynne Robinson, as well as such new talents as Suketu Mehta and Wendell Steavenson, the book covers some of the signal events of our the fall of Saigon, the massacre in Tiananmen Square, and the aftermath of the American invasion of Iraq.

Genres: Nonfiction, Journalism

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Ian Jack is a British journalist and writer who has edited the Independent on Sunday and the literary magazine Granta and now writes regularly for The Guardian.

Reviews

[Cecelia Hightower · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how to really describe this book. Title "The Granta Book of Reportage", this edition was published in 1998 by Granta Publications, London, U.K. with introduction written Ian Jack. This book was first published in 1993 and to the best of my understanding "reportage" is a description of ongoing events as observed by a reporter, compared to a reporter taking quick notes and then writing a broad-brush report on information they may have been told by others and what they may or may not have observed.

This book consists of 13 separate stories by 13 different authors and is 424 pages long.

This book consists of 13 seperate stories by 13 different authors (reporters) and is 424 pages long. One was titled "The Soccer War" which is about the bloody conflict between two nations brought about by a soccer game between Honduran and Salvadoran national teams; to "The Fall of Saigon" to "Forced Busing" (the development of townships in South Africa); to "The Unbearable Peace" (about the spy of the century in Switzerland); to (Los Angeles" (the race riots in Los Angeles); to "Gibralter" (the death of 3 members of the Irish Republic Army by English SAS troops while they were in Gibralter; and to "Boys in Zinc" (the death of Russian solders in Afganistan and the impact of thier bodies as they were returned to their families.

All the authors in this book were members of English news companies and had a different view than what is/was published in the main stream papers

[João Agostinho · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Granta Book of Reportage" - tal como o nome indica, este livro reúne algumas das melhores reportagens publicadas ao longo de décadas na famosa revista literária. Com autores reconhecidos como, Martha Gelhorn, John Le Carré, Svetlana Alexievich, apenas para referir alguns, esta é uma obra de leitura obrigatória e que acompanha alguns dos mais importantes eventos do século XX

[Khristopher J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reportage is one of those books for people trying to study or practice narrative nonfiction/literary reporting/narrative journalism. It's a book filled with journalists and other smart writers telling some of the world's most significant social and political events from a "been-there-and-seen-it" point of view. The writing is very honest and real and blunt. One of my favorite pieces in the book is Boys in Zinc. I like this series of pieces because they were honest and filled with emotion from the people who were affected by the war. When I read this, I am reminded that war affects us all in the same way, no matter what country we are fighting for. When you're a soldier, you are told very little avout the importance or magnitude of your individual operation. You are given strict, short orders and not really told all that is going on. When there's war, every country is losing it's sons and husbands, fathers and uncles. In a larger sense, it hints at saying that war isn't worth the loss of men in the first place. This piece is great because there are so many powerfully emotionally lines in it. People are really pouring their hearts out and expressing sadness about their loss. None of these pieces speak more powerfully than the mother who sits by her son's grave and the wife who lost her husband. All in all, this is a nice short piece that reminds us that war affects so many more people (civilians) than military leaders actually comprehend. If you're interested in international history or literary journalism, then this is a solid book. Other than that, don't bother.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoying this tremendously, though its not quick reading by any means. Its a little like Best American Essays, except those tend to be more personal/reflective, while the Granta reportage book is classic journalism -- mixing in reporting, contextual history, personal recollection, reminesce and personal reaction, and the writer's thoughts on the experience. I find more and more that i really enjoy such works, because they tend to be in-depth, opinionated pieces that give insight into a particular piece of history without giving you too much, are tied together by an urgent sense of narrative, but also bring in thoughtful, often personal, commentary. So its really many kinds of writing at once, and it does not hide how personal historical representation really is. I'm also learning a fair amount of history through such essays, because the age of classic journalism seems to be the 1970s and 1980s, and very much about war or social issues, which we learn in school but from secondary, not primary sources.
Just one quote, from James Fenton's Fall of Saigon, the second essay: "I was going not primarily as a journalist. I wanted to see a war and the fall of a city because - because I wanted to see what such things were like. I had once seen a man dying, from natural causes, and my first reaction, as I realised what was taking place, was that I was glad to be there... The point is simply in being there and seeing it. The experience has no essential value beyond itself."

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literary journalism really. Not an 'easy' read, but definitely a 'good' read. Writers such as the inimitable John Simpson provide brutal descriptions and reflections on globally significant moments such as the massacre in Tiananmen Square. I learned many disturbing facts: in India, where people starve, there are 150 slimming clinics in Mumbai, and the war in Afghanistan following the Russian invasion lasted longer than World War 2. I also learned how very lucky I am to live in a liberal Western Democracy where I can read what I want and say what I think. My only gripe: some pieces such as 'Gibraltar' were simply too long for my not very political brain. My weakness really, I suppose!

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are outstanding examples of what journalism should be about - great stories that give you a feel, an understanding of major events.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was instrumental in my research into looking into Vietnam, allowing a view into war which I hadn't seen before