Death of a Translator: A young reporter's journey to the heart of Afghanistan's forgotten war

by Ed Gorman

"I have never read anything that so fully and perfectly captured the personal experience and the personal aftermath of war" P. J. O'Rourke

A young, devil-may-care Englishman reporting on the Soviet war makes a fateful commitment to a swashbuckling Afghan guerrilla commander. Not only will he go inside the capital secretly and live in the network of safe houses run by the resistance, he will travel around the city in a Soviet Army jeep, dressed as a Russian officer. Waiting in the mountain camp, from where Niazuldin's band of fighters lived and planned their hit-and-run attacks on Soviet troops, Ed Gorman discovers what it means to experience combat with men whose only interest is to be killed or martyred.

After that summer in Kabul province the young freelancer became a staff reporter for The Times, covering conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Gulf, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Balkans, but Afghanistan never let him go. Death of a Translator is a searingly honest description of a mind haunted and eventually paralysed by the terror of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

"Death of a Translator is a powerful and personal read. Ed Gorman discusses his experiences in an incredibly open and moving way. His story is an example to us all" - Brigadier Ed Butler CBE, DSO

With a new preface by Ed Gorman

288 pages, Paperback

Published December 5, 2023

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Brought up in the English Midlands, Ed Gorman attended Cambridge University where he read economics and modern history and then set out to make his name in journalism in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. His adventures there form the core of his first book, Death of a Translator. A 25-year career at The Times followed when Ed worked as a foreign news correspondent covering wars in Afghanistan, the Balkans and Sri Lanka. He was Ireland correspondent for four years during the Troubles, then sailing and Formula One writer and latterly deputy foreign editor and deputy head of news. He now works from home in West Sussex, dividing his time between writing and his responsibilities as editorial director of a sports management company.

Reviews

[Sara Falk]

I generally don't feel comfortable to rate a memoir, especially one like this that deals with some heavier topics. I will say, it was interesting and very raw in its depiction.

[Rodrigo Acuna · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Somethings we can not talk, or write about."

This book was written looking for a cathartic cure but there is still so much that he can not mention, so much that has become impossible to acknowledge in words, that presents the reader with a picture full omissions full of allusions to omitted things that happen in war that are so ugly so disturbing they have no words to be described by the witness; reporters are our proxy but who is their shield, how can they stand on the tedium and ecstasy of war or revolution and report without feeling that witch changes the very perseption of one's life by plasing it total threat, how can this witness not love those he brakes bread with as brothers in arms when he has weapons? and then report on numbers, places and numbness the death of those men, the killing they do, how unnatural a request we make of journalists, be impartial, do not change the outcome in actions, just report.

This is the report of what was left of the writer, what he can tell us is not a full story but almost a story that resembles his life and an explanation for all that was lost that only he knows, a book that is so personal it feels truncated.

[Francesca Woodhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Fascinating descriptions of the dangers in Afghanistan in the 1980s and the life of a foreign correspondent.

[Fionnuala · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say it: a book about waiting does not make for a very interesting read. The long sections of this book dedicated to describing doing nothing let it down, despite the author's entertaining and enjoyable style. There's just nothing more to be said about waiting past the first paragraph where you mention you did it, and it sucked. The direct journal entries chronicling the event in minute detail would have been good as a few highlighted examples, but the pages upon pages of them were tedious and dull. As a technique to recreate the experience of the waiting it worked well, but that’s the thing about reading – you're supposed to get to skip all the dull parts.

The rest of it was, however, solid. As I said, the style is amusing and entertaining, and the book is very humorous at times. The description of the action, when it happens – be it battles or danger or the details of reporting – are deeply interesting. This is also a personal memoir, and the seconds dealing with Gorman’s personal life are touching and interesting. It is a solid read and worth a look if, like me, you love reading every memoir about war journalists that you can get your hands on. But there is a lot of waiting.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Afghanistan has been at war for almost half a century and to read about the early days of the war from Ed Gorman gives an insight into how much suffering the people of Afghanistan has endured.

Ed’s story is filled with bravery and even though his battle with PTSD hindered him for years, he still managed to be able to tell his story after getting treatment.

[Πέτρος Παπαγεωργίου · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye opening account of what went in the Afghanistan war, while the writer was there. The banality and the terror. And throughout the book underlies the author's soul searching and long process of finding out what went wrong... A good read. I had to read it quickly!