Acclaimed journalist Robert Fisk’s latest book launched in Dublin – The Irish Times

The late Robert Fisk’s final book, Night of Power, was launched at an event in Dublin on Thursday evening.

The book draws on over four decades of his reporting from the Middle East and reflects his deep commitment to the region until his death in 2020.

With a foreword by Patrick Cockburn, Night of Power provides “daily eyewitness accounts from the battlefields, scenes of massacres and everyday stories of loss, grief, folly and failure, combined with scientific and academic historical analysis,” his widow Nelofer Pazira-Fisk said at the event.

She said the journalist’s perspective is particularly missed right now, given the deepening crisis in Palestine following Israel’s invasion of Gaza. “Robert’s voice is missing, his analysis is needed,” she said. “‘What would he do with the current crisis?’ is one of the comments and questions I hear daily. His voice, the depth of his analysis and clues to the current crisis can be found in the chapters of his upcoming book.”

The book begins with “Legacy: The War in Iraq – 2012,” which Ms. Pazira-Fisk highlights as a reminder of the “stories of families and locals from the era of the US-British invasion and the wars in Fallujah.”

The final chapter, “The Surgeon with Bloodstained Hands,” offers “a detailed look at Bashir Al-Asaad and the Syrian war; Homs, Aleppo in the early days and the role of other countries in the conflict: Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc.,” she said.

“Fisk’s reporting is clear-sighted and fearless, a model for what journalists should strive for in their increasingly important and highly threatened craft,” said author and editor Anthony Arnove at the launch.

Born in England in 1946, Fisk received numerous awards for his work as a war correspondent and lived in Dublin and continued his journalistic work until shortly before his death.