In Extremis

Starred review from November 5, 2018
Hilsum, international editor for Channel 4 News in England, chronicles American journalist Marie Colvin’s experiences at the front lines of war zones in this inspiring, vivid biography. Compiling information from Colvin’s personal journals and interviews with colleagues, the book traces Colvin’s path as a correspondent for Britain’s Sunday Times from Beirut in 1986 to the trenches of the Syrian civil war. A dedicated reporter, Colvin (1956–2012) stayed in dangerous situations against her editors’ wishes and wrote with a personal empathy rare in war journalism. Her boldness led to her losing her vision in her left eye from a grenade explosion on a Sri Lankan battlefield in 1999; she wore an eye patch for the rest of her life. She died at age 56 in 2012, in a bombardment of a Syrian safe house a day after she gave a live satellite interview on CNN. The book is rich in historical context, concisely summarizing international conflicts using excerpts from Colvin’s reporting (“There was no talk in the Košare Barracks about zero tolerance for returning body bags. They saw too many”). This intense biography is highly recommended for everyone, including journalism junkies, history buffs, and casual readers.