Books by Ryszard Kapuściński
“Once you discover Kapuściński, it’s a love affair for life. He’s such a beautiful writer.” Read more...
“I think he’s really great. We’re talking about authors’ humanity – the capacity for empathy, this kind of stuff. With Kapuściński it seems to me you get all that, but it’s combined with politics and reportage telling you what’s going on in different places. Now, of course there are question marks about Kapuściński – about the reconcilability or not of the obligation to tell the truth and report the facts and the temptation to embroider, embellish and invent in the name of more literary ambitions.” Read more...
Geoff Dyer, Novelist
“Kapuscinski is widely regarded as the greatest travel writer of the 20th century. Polish by birth, he witnessed some 40 revolutions and wars during his time as a journalist. He had already built a long and illustrious career when he found his way to Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution. At that moment it was still a populist revolution rather than an Islamic one – the contours of the revolution were as yet undefined. So it is an interesting moment for him to have found himself on the streets of Tehran. Like so many of his books, Shah of Shahs completely defies journalistic standards and generic classifications. Rather, it presents an impressionistic portrait of the country at those critical moments before the revolution gelled.” Read more...
Jasmin Darznik, Memoirist
Interviews where books by Ryszard Kapuściński were recommended
The best books on Modern Iran, recommended by Jasmin Darznik
Everyday life in Iran is often mischaracterised, says the Iranian author and academic Jasmin Darznik – especially when it comes to the struggles of its women. She recommends five books that give us a window on Iranian history and family life
The best books on Human Rights, recommended by Steve Crawshaw
Amnesty International’s director of international advocacy chooses books that illuminate historical and contemporary human rights issues, from the Belgian Congo to Iran
Unusual Histories, recommended by Geoff Dyer
The author of But Beautiful and Zona tells us about different ways of writing history, and gives us five examples where innovative or experimental approaches have paid off.
The best books on Immersive Nonfiction, recommended by Will Storr
A good writer must always aim to write the truth – a more complex narrative than one of heroes and villains. But to find the truth, sometimes you’ve got to get up and go there yourself, says Will Storr, journalist and author of Selfie. Here he selects five books that have inspired his own immersive approach to nonfiction.
