Colonel Gaddafi's Hat

by Alex Crawford

Colonel Gadaffi's Hat is both a gripping and deeply moving account of the Libyan uprising from the lone journalist who was able to report from the rebel army convoy that captured Green Square, in the heart of Tripoli. Alex Crawford's daring reports were beamed across news networks from around the globe, and against a dramatic backdrop of celebratory gunfire, Alex and her team showed the world the final symbolic moments of the fall of a regime that had held power for more than 40 years. The euphoria and chaos of that atmosphere of jubilation was soon overcome by the realities of conflict, and the story of the following days that Alex so viscerally tells in this remarkable account is an eye-opening journey full of human stories that are both shocking and touching. A portrait of the last gasps of Gaddafi's regime, Crawford's book is an extraordinary insight into modern political conflict and the nature of journalism. The first journalist to be on the scene at a number of key points in the Libyan conflict, Alex has been arrested, shot at, tear gassed and interrogated in the course of her career, and paints a fascinating picture of war journalism. A heart-stopping ride through a dramatic moment in modern history, Colonel Gadaffi's Hat is a window into both the craft of journalism and the amazing story of Libya's road to Freedom.

Genres: Nonfiction, Libya, War

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Alex Christine Crawford, OBE is the special correspondent for Sky News based in South Africa and covering the Gulf and Middle East. She has won the Royal Television Society award for Journalist of the Year on four occasions

Reviews

[Ahmed Gatnash]

It's a very straight-forward and personal account of what Alex experienced while reporting on the revolution, and does well at showing what life is like for a foreign correspondent in a war zone without detracting too much attention from the people the book is about. She doesn't try to give any analysis of events, but just narrates what she witnessed. She also doesn't try to "balance" her portrayal of the two sides and it's very clear what she thinks from the start, which is not something I've come to expect from journalists. And the fact that she included unsavoury details she saw from the revolutionaries makes it seem honest - she isn't openly trying to propogandise for one side.

It felt very short, only narrating the parts of the story which Alex actually was present for (the early days of the destruction of Zawiya, some time in Misrata and then the liberation of Tripoli).
There were a few minor errors (and some names) and the narrative occasionally felt slightly simplistic, but the personal stories were very touching and I enjoyed the accounts of the people she met. It was also very interesting for someone who watched all of the Sky News reports at the time, as the book gave a glimpse behind the scenes not unlike a "making of" feature on a dvd.

[Heba]

Three stars and a half.

A story of a people whom battled evil with next to no weapons but the strong belief in their cause. The book gives a snippet, a short glimpse, really, at the happenings in Libya during the Feb17 revolution - mainly from the vantage point of Zawiya, and a little bit of Misrata. While the language with which the book has been written is fairly simple and unceremonious, it still manages to paint a vivid picture of what happened. Alex's voice can be heard clearly throughout the whole book, which gives the story she's narrating a more personal touch.

It's clearly a book written by a non-Libyan (=few minor inaccuracies + the point of view of someone who does not know the whole truth/situation), I'd still say that this is definitely a recommended read.

[Akram Elsadwie]

Breathless diary and lot of drama but it's a real story. .

[Ahmed Pilgrim]

How we were happy when we share the joy and sorrow together thank you from my heart

[enas abushehiwa]

انتهيت من قراءة كتاب colonel Gaddafi's hat ، والذي كان عبارة عن رحلة للصحافية "ألكس كروفورد" لقناة سكاي نيوز في ليبيا أثناء الثورة ، تحديداً مدينتي الزاوية وطرابلس .
كبداية وكقصة تروي أحداثاً واقعية كانت مثيرة جداً إلى حدّ التأثر ببعض المشاهد التي يمكن تخيّلها من خلال ما كُتب ، وأيضاً الاندهاش لبعض الأحداث التي لم نشهدها تلك الفترة لانقطاعنا الكلي عن العالم ...
ولكن عند الاستمرار فيها ستجد بعض الحشو والملل ، حتى تنتهي إلى الرغبة في انهاءها لمجرد أنك لا تشعر بالراحة إذا تركت الكتاب في منتصفه ...
و كقاريء "عربي" لن يفوتك أن تقف عند شجاعة هذه المرأة ، الأم لأربعة أطفال ، وتواجدها في منطقة حرب ومشاهد دموية لا يمكن تحمّلها وحرصها على نقل الأحداث والحقيقة كمبدأ من مبادئها وقيمة من قيمها .
والمفرح في هذه القصة أن مانُقل عنّا كليبيين آنذاك أننا إخوة ، مترابطون ، وفينا من الشجاعة والكرم مايكون (قبل ياحسرتاه مش توا).
"what material are these people made of ? something special, that's for sure"
هذا الكتاب أقرب مايكون لمذكرات صحفية من كونه رواية ، ولكن لا لوم على الكاتب، إن أراد أن ينقل الواقع كما هو دون تحريف ولا زيادة أو نقصان .
إن كنتم ممن يحرصون على رؤية الحقيقة من زواياها العديدة وعدم الاكتفاء بمنظور واحدٍ فقط ، أنصحكم بقراءتها ، لا للمتعة ولكن للمعرفة .
الكتاب : قبعة القذافي / colone gaddafi's hat
الكاتبة : أليكس كروفورد / Alex Crawford
التقييم : 4/10

[Daragh]

This is not a record of the Arab uprisings in Libya, nor a real insight into life on the ground during the outbreak of civil war. In trying to convey the personal stories as well as the overview, Crawford has confused empathy with sentimentality. Consequently, the stories of individual people in this revolution are frequently obscured by un-nuanced emotional hyperbole.

The whole thing is interspersed with interminable paragraphs about who performs what job at Sky News HQ in London and how worried her family is about her, not to mention jarring asides about her age and weight. Whilst it may provide some context for her point of view, they are incredibly dull and entire pages can be skipped without detracting from the narrative.

To cap it all, the stilted prose is written awkwardly in the present tense, leaving the whole book feeling less Andy McNab, more TEFL writing exercise.

[afrah]

انتهيت من قراءة الكتاب واحببت أليكس وأحببت هذا النوع من الحياه المفعم بالأثاره والطموح والواقعيه والمثابره وتسألت كيف ان حدثا ما تعيشه انت بطريقه ما ويعيشه أخر بطريقه مغايره تماما ..هل عشنا نلك الفتره خائفين مرتعبين لا نخرج من بيوتنا !! كانت ألكيس في ذلك الوقت عل خط النار ترى على ارض الواقع كل ماحدث ..ألا يشكل ذلك تغيرا في كل شئ فيما بعد !! .بلى بالطبع
أحببت في هذه الروايه المهنيه العاليه وروح الفريق التي كان يتمتع بها فريق سكاي نيوز ..رأيت كيف كانوا يقفزون من سياره لأخرى ومن بيت مهجور لأخر ومن خطر لخطر أكبر منه لكي يختبئوا من سطوة القذافي التي كانت تريد لهم ان يروا ما يرى هو .احببت اليكس التي لها اربعة اولاد لم بثنوها عن ممارسة عمل ماتحبه ..وهنيئا لمن يجد شغفه ويتبعه

[Radcliff Gregory]

An absolutely riveting read

This memoir by Sky News' multi-award-winning special correspondent Alex Crawford is relentlessly riveting, taking you on a breathless, nail-biting journey to Libya to cover the overthrow and death of Colonel Gadaffi. Revolution, idealistic in origin, can tip over into warfare, a grim theatre of human nature.

Alex Crawford describes the reality of what really goes into producing eye-witness testimony and diligent investigative journalism in the full throttle of a war. The pressure to cover all angles, to fact-check diverse and polarised environments... and the practicalities, like trying to get food when no shops are open, somewhere to stay when the hotels are in the cross-hairs of Opposition militia, under siege by the tyrant's brutal army of ruthless Loyalists and foreign mercenaries, and under fire virtually 24/7. She talks about the adrenaline rush and determination to cover impossibly dangerous battles and little or no sleep, food, or water in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees and only rare interludes of safety, and even that could be blasted to smithereens imminently. And none of it is in the fairly sanitised format that will eventually be beamed across the world - equipment and power permitting.

This war memoir is a real eye-opener to news junkies like myself. If you think war correspondents only work the few minutes you see them in the news bulletins, luxuriate in swanky hotels and generally have life easy, you couldn't be more wrong. Every minute is a challenge, and a dangerous, and often profoundly traumatic one of that, often visited by the very real prospect of a sudden and violent death.

[Mitesh]

Interesting Read. I was skeptical to start with but as I went through initial few pages it gripped me on!
I have my skepticism on whether it’s a one sided story from eyes of Alex and her journalist point of view which in today’s scenario can be biased as well but there is no doubt incidents and atrocities mentioned will give jitters to any reader!
What happened in Libya what’s happening in Syria and other countries should not happen but atleast Journalists like Alex are helping tell the world that story and I hope that will sensitize this world towards these countries and its people!

Nice Read!

[Hermine]

It’s a strange feeling to read a book on the violence of revolution, all the while an invasion is happening in real time in another place in the world. This book was a great insight on the perspective of of British journalist covering events in a war zone, and the associated logistics of this. Alex Crawford is frank in her recollections and doesn’t write herself into a better light, but instead, provides a factual behind-the-scenes recap. It’s an easy read despite being the awful subject matter.

[Patrick]

I bought because of it's a nice timepiece of the whole Global North's cheerleading the Arab Spring era. Overall it's what you expect but it has more on the personal issues the journalists can get when being at a war zone. It takes a darker tone from hooraying the opposition at the end of the book.

[Peter]

It was a good read

[Ayman Bhih]

كنت قد تابعت قناة سكاي نيوز الأجنبية منذ بداية ثورة فبراير 2011 في ليبيا ، وكانت هذه القناة هي المصدر الأول وصاحبة السبق الصحفي للأخبار قبل كل القنوات العربية والأجنبية ...

أعجبتني شجاعة المراسلة أليكس كراوفورد في مدينة الزاوية وتواجدها في قلب الحدث في وقت كان لا يوجد من ينقل الصورة من هذه المدينة المنكوبة في ذاك الوقت ...

أليكس تحدثت في هذا الكتاب بكل واقعية عما حصل في تلك الأشهر في ليبيا ، وتكملة لتغطيتها الممتازة كانت رائعة في نقل الحدث وكشف الكثير مما حدث بكل حيادية ...

وثقت جرائم القذافي وكتائبه كما وثقت بطولة الثوار وتجاوزات الكثير منهم بعد تحرير طرابلس ...

كتاب يناسب هذا الوقت كثيراً مع ما يحصل من انقسام داخل ليبيا من قبل من يلقبون بثوار 17 فبراير 2011 ...

[Patrick Carroll]

A good diary of reporting on the Libyan revolution which graphically illustrates the stress of war. I was a bit uncomfortable around the competition culture of news reporting and Alex did nothing to "sell" the life of a correspondent to me, can't think of a worse job really. It struck me that there were a lot of similarities between her attitude and its inbuilt conflicts and those of professional soldiers. Lots of training and prep and then despite the danger and stress a huge "thrill".

[Lisa Edwards]

Alex Crawford is the amazing Sky News journalist who was filming from the centre of Zawiya, Misrata and Tripoli during the Libyan uprising. As India Knight says, "she has gigantic balls made of titanium". Thrilling read from an incredible, multi-award-winning journalist.

[AbduuSHE]

was not bad written, wanna give it 3 and half stars .. according to what happen in Zawiya, Libya .. the Author written skills completely affected by her original profession ...
good job Alex ...

[Sandra]

Mmmmm - was educational. Leaving kids at home to go and work in a bank is not so bad after all........

[Sami AlSubhi]

it was good