Into Danger: Risking Your Life for Work

Ever since her days as a reporter on the front line in Iraq, Kate Adie has earned her reputation as one of the most intrepid correspondents of her day. Throughout her career she has regularly reported from the world's most dangerous war zones—often placing her own life at serious risk. It has given her a curiosity about the people who are attracted to danger. Why, when so many are fearful of anything beyond their daily routine, are others drawn toward situations or professions which regularly put their lives in peril? It has proved a fascinating quest that has taken her to the four corners of the globe in pursuit of an answer. She has met those who choose a career in danger, like stuntpeople, landmine exploders, and even a 96-year-old "snake man" who has been bitten countless times by poisonous snakes to find venom for vaccines. She has questioned those whose actions put them in danger, like Sir Richard Leakey, whose determination to speak out in Kenya nearly cost him his life, as well as criminals and prostitutes who risk all for money. And of course there are those who—through no choice of their own—have been put in danger, such as Saddam Hussein's food taster—not his career of choice. With Kate's insight, wit, and gift for illumination, this is a compelling read.