Moments in Hell

A war correspondent's breathtaking account of early twentieth century wars, including the Spanish-American war (1898) and the Greek-Turkish war (1897); These events have fallen into obscurity following the two World Wars, yet remain important forces shaping modern politics. Moments in Hell reveals the conflicting loyalties of the war correspondent, caught between political ideologies and personal suffering, and provides enlightening background to recent conflicts.

Richard Harding Davis (1864–1916) was a popular and prolific writer of fiction and drama, and a journalist famous for his coverage of the Spanish-American War and the First World War. Captured by the German Army in Belgium in 1914, he was threatened with execution as a British spy as his passport had been issued in London and not Washington. Eventually Davis was able to convince the Germans he was an American reporter and he was released.  A controversial figure, some have accused Davis of involvement in William Randolph Hearst's alleged plot to start the Spanish-American War in order to boost newspaper sales. After a long residence in Europe, he returned to the US shortly before his death, still determined to produce powerful writing, proclaiming he had not returned ‘to write sidelights’. Janine di Giovanni has been covering global conflict since the 1980s, and is considered one of Europe's most respected journalists. She is a writer for The Times of London and Vanity Fair, and contributor to The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, The Spectator, National Geographic and many others.