Blood and Sand
  • Published: 1 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781446421123
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

Blood and Sand

The BBC security correspondent’s own extraordinary and inspiring story

Formats & editions
EBook
1 Jan 2011
Paperback
1 Aug 2014
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June 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of the attempt on BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner's life - his bestselling memoir is reissued with a new chapter recounting his return to Saudi Arabia for the first time since that near-fatal day in 2004...

On the June 6, 2004, while on assignment in Riyadh, BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner and cameraman Simon Cumbers were ambushed by Islamist gunmen. Simon was killed outright. Frank was hit in the shoulder and leg. As he lay in the dust, a figure stood over him and pumped four more bullets into his body at point-blank range...

Against all the odds, Frank Gardner survived.

Today, although partly paralysed, Frank continues to travel the world, reporting and making documentaries for the BBC. This acclaimed memoir was brought up to date with a new chapter that recounted his return to Saudi Arabia for the first time since he was shot and the story he tells continues to move and inspire, and remains an affirmation of his deep understanding of - and affection for - the Islamic world in these uncertain times.
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'Gardner tells his remarkable tale well and bravely, with an astonishing lack of anger and enduring love and respect for the Islamic world' SUNDAY TIMES
'Brave, unsentimental and genuinely inspiring' EVENING STANDARD 'What makes Gardner's moving, often humorous, deeply personal story so important is the fact that he has woven into it a brilliantly dispassionate, clear-eyed account of the Islamic world' SCOTSMAN
'A witty, self-deprecating, inspiring testament' DAILY TELEGRAPH
  • Published: 1 January 2011
  • ISBN: 9781446421123
  • Imprint: Transworld Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528
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About the author

Frank Gardner

Born in 1961, Frank Gardner is the BBC's Security Correspondent, reporting for television and radio on issues of domestic and international security, notably on Islamist extremist related terrorism. A fluent Arabist, with a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, he was previously the BBC's Middle East Correspondent based in Cairo, and before that in Dubai. In June 2004, while reporting in Riyadh, Frank and his cameraman, Simon Cumbers, were ambushed by Islamist gunmen. Simon was killed outright, Frank was shot multiple times and left for dead. Against all expectations, he survived and, in 2006, published his acclaimed and bestselling memoir, Blood and Sand. In 2009 he published Far Horizons, a much praised account of his life as an inveterate traveller and explorer. His first novel, the thriller Crisis, was a No.1 bestseller. Awarded an OBE for services to journalism, Frank has also written for the Economist, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and Time Out and has been published in The Best of Sunday Times Travel Writing.
He lives in London with his family.

portrait photo of Frank Gardner

Also by Frank Gardner

Invasion
Outbreak
Ultimatum
Crisis
Far Horizons
See all

Praise for Blood and Sand

Blood and Sand is a remarkable book from a remarkable man

YORKSHIRE EVENING POST

A compelling autobiography

WOMAN'S WEEKLY

A witty, self-deprecating, inspiring testament

DAILY TELEGRAPH

An amazing true story about survival and overcoming adversity

Brave, unsentimental and genuinely inspiring

EVENING STANDARD

Chilling, graphic and admirably unsentimental... Gardner comes across as a modest, thoroughly decent man... an exemplary foreign correspondent

GUARDIAN

Frank's honest account of his life-changing experiences offers a message of hope in a dangerous and divided world

THE GOOD BOOK GUIDE

Gardner is a superb reporter; his terrible experience only make his analysis all the more telling

EVENING STANDARD

Gardner tells his remarkable tale well and bravely, with an astonishing lack of anger and enduring love and respect for the Islamic world

SUNDAY TIMES

His story, mixing the personal and the political, is both moving and insightful - a testament to one individual's will to overcome a terrible experience, and a powerful piece of reportage

BOOKS QUARTERLY

Recounting his injuries and painful rehabilitation, Gardner is witty and moving, capturing without any self-pity the horror of learning his legs don't work

OBSERVER

The book stands on its own merits... as a fine account of journalistic life and a brave account of Gardner's continuing struggle

EVENING STANDARD

The most endearing element of this book is the voice with which Gardner tells his stories - honest, compassionate and unassuming, he is a thoroughly likeable storyteller, ensuring that Blood and Sand makes for a fascinating read

CRUISE MAGAZINE

Vivid detail... entertaining anecdotes... Gardner is a tremendous model for what relations between East and West can be... a fine introduction both to journalism and to the culture of the Middle East

INDEPENDENT

What makes Gardner's moving, often humorous, deeply personal story so important is the fact that he has woven into it a brilliantly dispassionate, clear-eyed account of the Islamic world

SCOTSMAN

What makes Gardner's moving, often humorous, deeply personal story so important is the fact that he has woven into it a brilliantly dispassionate, clear-eyed account of the Islamic world which offers a unique insight into al-Qaeda

THE SCOTSMAN MAGAZINE

Written with honesty, integrity and humour, this is a powerful, haunting account of survival, of over-coming adversity and a determination to carry on - a moving and inspiring personal story

IN DUBLIN