Gripping, absurd, tragic and resplendent – a correspondent’s life on the margins of victory, tragedy, death and sex.
I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone remotely interested in the seamier and bloodier side of recent Asian history and to all those who like to read an outstanding journalistic yarn.
The opening chapter on Tibetan sky burials is frightening, gross, empathic and hugely illuminating in turn and from this barren, grim place, Ehrlich pulls the reader through a series of crazy situations and pivotal historical moments in recent south Asian history and introduces us to some of the most enigmatic and sometimes unsavory personas that have emerged from the era – from India’s bandit queen to Charles Sobhraj, Asia’s most infamous serial killer.
His encounters with the Afghan Mujahideen are as frightening as his experiences with the Tamil Tigers are disturbing.
Ehrlich’s journey eventually leads him to the seedy side of New York’s sex industry, and as in previous chapters, his writing is always suffused with sympathy for his fellow human beings. This becomes the defining thread that runs through this often shocking expose of our times.
Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex collects the stories of an eyewitness to our craziest impulses whose heart is firmly lodged in the right place.
I had the pleasure to edit this insightful, sometimes hilarious, sometimes frightening, always gripping reportage from the margins of Tibet, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, India, Laos & NYC by veteran reporter Richard Ehrlich.
Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based journalist from San Francisco, California, reporting news from Asia since 1978 and winner of Columbia University’s Foreign Correspondent’s Award. This book elaborates on his published dispatches from Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and New York.
Fragments of people appear, their distant voices mixing with chaotic and often terrible events. Slices start at random moments and end in bleak locations. Many of these transcribed handwritten notes, impressions and exclusive interviews have never appeared in print until now.
And check out Richard Ehrlich’s best-selling Hello My Big Honey.
