McGEOUGH, Paul 1954-

PERSONAL:

Born 1954.

ADDRESSES:

Office—c/o The Sydney Morning Herald, GPO Box 506, Sydney, New South Wales 2001, Australia.

CAREER:

Journalist and author. The Sydney Morning Herald, editor and writer, 2001—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Walkley Award for International Reporting, 1994, for work in Papua New Guinea; Graham Perkin Journalist of the Year Award, 1997; SAIS Novartis International Award, 2001; Walkley Award for International Reporting, 2002; Walkley Award for Journalism Leadership, 2003.

WRITINGS:

Baghdad: A Reporter's War, Allen & Unwin (Crow's Nest, Australia), 2003.

Manhattan to Baghdad: Dispatches from the Frontline of the War on Terror, Allen & Unwin (Crow's Nest, Australia), 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Australian journalist Paul McGeough wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald, primarily as a foreign correspondent. He covered the Gulf War in 1991 and Afghanistan and Iraq during the Iraq War in 2003. As the only Australian journalist in Baghdad, Iraq, for the whole of the war, McGeough was in a unique position to report on the conflict for Australian audiences. He wrote at least two books on his experiences as a reporter covering events in the Middle East as well as the United States. McGeough's writing style in Manhattan to Baghdad: Dispatches from the Frontline of the War on Terror was described as "captivating" by Kliatt reviewer Raymond L. Puffer.

In Manhattan to Baghdad, McGeough writes about his experiences in covering the world after the September 11, 2001, tragedy in the United States in which several sites were attacked by terrorists. The author was in New York City, where one of the attacks took place, on September 11, and the text includes the events he reported on over the next year. He covered events in Afghanistan, Israel and the occupied territories, Baghdad, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Sally Murphy of Aussiereviews.com praised McGeough's ability to combine personal and journalistic points of view, calling Manhattan to Baghdad "both entertaining and educational."

McGeough includes his take on a number of politically charged situations related to international terrorism in his book, including suicide bombers in Palestine and a biography of Ahmed Shah Masoud, the commander of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. Though a Publishers Weekly reviewer especially praises McGeough's coverage of Afghanistan, the reviewer criticized McGeough for lacking "sweeping historical knowledge and intellectual firepower." Booklist reviewer David Pitt concluded that Manhattan to Baghdad "captures the anger, hope, fear, and desperation that spread across the world after the 9/11 attacks."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 2003, David Pitt, review of Manhattan to Baghdad: Dispatches from the Frontline of the War on Terror, p. 40.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2003, review of Manhattan to Baghdad, p. 733.

Kliatt, September 2003, Raymond L. Puffer, review of Manhattan to Baghdad, p. 40.

Publishers Weekly, June 2, 2003, review of Manhattan to Baghdad, p. 45.

ONLINE

Allen & Unwin,http://www.allen-unwin.com.au/ (November 3, 2003), summary of Manhattan to Baghdad.

Army: The Soldiers' Newspaper,http://www.defence.gov.au/ (November 3, 2003), David Sibley, "On the Frontline: A Reporter's Absorbing Account of Recent Momentous Events."

Aussie Reviews, http://www.aussiereviews/ (November 3, 2003), Sally Murphy, review of Manhattan to Baghdad.

Walkley Awards,http://www.walkleys.com/ (February 20, 2004), "2003 Winners: Journalism Leadership: Paul McGeough."*