The Desert and the Sea: 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 725 ratings

Price: 22.04

Last update: 12-18-2024


About this item

Michael Scott Moore, a journalist and the author of Sweetness and Blood, incorporates personal narrative and rigorous investigative journalism in this profound and revelatory memoir of his three-year captivity by Somali pirates - a riveting, thoughtful, and emotionally resonant exploration of foreign policy, religious extremism, and the costs of survival.

In January 2012, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online International - and funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting - Michael Scott Moore traveled to the Horn of Africa to write about piracy and ways to end it. In a terrible twist of fate, Moore himself was kidnapped and subsequently held captive by Somali pirates. Subjected to conditions that break even the strongest spirits - physical injury, starvation, isolation, terror - Moore’s survival is a testament to his indomitable strength of mind. In September 2014, after 977 days, he walked free when his ransom was put together by the help of several US and German institutions, friends, colleagues, and his strong-willed mother.

Yet Moore’s own struggle is only part of the story: The Desert and the Sea falls at the intersection of reportage, memoir, and history. Caught between Muslim pirates, the looming threat of Al-Shabaab, and the rise of ISIS, Moore observes the worlds that surrounded him - the economics and history of piracy; the effects of post-colonialism; the politics of hostage negotiation and ransom; while also conjuring the various faces of Islam - and places his ordeal in the context of the larger political and historical issues.

A sort of Catch-22 meets Black Hawk Down, The Desert and the Sea is written with dark humor, candor, and a journalist’s clinical distance and eye for detail. Moore offers an intimate and otherwise inaccessible view of life as we cannot fathom it, brilliantly weaving his own experience as a hostage with the social, economic, religious, and political factors creating it. The Desert and the Sea is wildly compelling and a book that will take its place next to titles like Den of Lions and Even Silence Has an End.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Elizabeth
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Gripping Ride and Eye Opening Look at Somalia
    Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2018
    Many of us live unaware of the flagrant gifts a civilized society extends to each one of us and how the pillars of our peaceful communities are taken for granted. Michael Scott Moore’s book, “The Desert and the Sea” will make you wake-up from your western world slumber.

    I just finished reading “The Desert and the Sea”. The cliche phrase, “I couldn’t put this book down” is true! The story moves along brilliantly; the author weaves the account of his captivity with cultural history, personal past mis-giving’s and captors’ odd personalists. To be perfectly honest, I did put the book down once or twice because I found myself absorbing the author’s pain and anxiety. Moore’s book was written so well, it touched my psyche deeply. His unjust imprisonment was wrong on so many levels and stomach turning. But I stepped away from the book to mostly reflect on the lethal combination of how poverty, lack of education, political chaos, and religious zeal can turn humans toward ugliness, entropy and insanity. The book shows us that Ideas are indeed powerful; both positive and destructive.

    The intensity of Moore's story lies in its realness – “This isn’t fiction,” I had to keep reminding myself as I read. As an American citizen, I noted and often appreciated the author’s non-American (European) view on various political and social issues – not completely void of bias. The historical content he provided throughout the book about Somalia, pirating and the Muslim religion was greatly appreciated. And how he noted and quoted other authors who wrote about these subjects so the reader could go beyond the book and learn more. Mr. Moore should be honored as a true survivor. But most importantly, I thank him for sharing his story with those who live in simple ignorance to the favors of a civilized society. Mr. Moore's accounts of the dark and sinister Somalia pirate trade only shines a bright light on the importance of education, a free economy, democracy, and religious freedom.
  • Thaddeus Sweet
    4.0 out of 5 stars Inside the hostage...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2018
    Comprehensive research, history, storytelling, and deep psychological insights from the author/captive made this a fascinating read. While the text seemed long and moved slowly at times, this quality helped reinforce the true experience of captivity.
  • Steve
    5.0 out of 5 stars Just Nearing The End...
    Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2018
    I am 88% of the way through according to my Kindle and I would say this was truly a great book. I had to look hard for a place to stop reading for the day, so that's my definition of a good book. His time in captivity and his willingness to pursue every avenue towards gaining his freedom is inspirational and the way that he wove it in with his personal life experiences made the book feel very real and very personal. I felt like I knew Michael better than the pirates did, and, of course with the language barrier, that is certainly true, but it lent a certain feeling of empathy or "relatable-ness" towards the author and the despicable situation he was in and the guilt around the hardships that he put upon his family. This book would make a GREAT movie, if it hasn't been thought of already?
  • GT
    5.0 out of 5 stars WOW...
    Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2018
    What a fascinating read. Even if this book were a novel instead of a true story, it would still be a riveting page-turner.

    I could not put this book down. It is an adventure from the first page. It describes Michael's predicament, the result of one fatal mistake any of us could make, in excruciating detail. From disgusting pirates to false hope to "man's inhumanity to man" to finding beauty in the cruelest of conditions, it carries the reader from despair to hope, and back to despair again

    Philosophy, religion, colonialism, slavery, economics, politics, love, hate and the entire human condition show up.

    Thank you Michael for having the courage to both stay alive (I probably would have taken a few of them out and killed myself), and share this with the world. You are a true survivor and a gifted writer.
  • Amazon Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars Ruined by epilogue
    Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2024
    Most of the book is very good, but it is ruined by the epilogue. Out of nowhere, the author starts raging that “orange man bad!” and makes blanket statements about immigration without justifying it… he said so, therefore it is true. He also misrepresents the illegal immigration debate and uses the common strawman of treating disagreements about illegal immigration as disagreements about immigration in general. It is also obvious anytime he says something that might offend the liberal elite he starts using disclaimers. I guess he wants to make sure people understand he is a GOOD progressive! LOL. Anyway, having said that, 99.9% of the book is very good, too bad he decided to get political at the end and lecture us dummies on how brilliant his opinions are and how dumb we are.
  • Too Much
    5.0 out of 5 stars It was eye-opening for sure.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2019
    I chose this book for philosophy club and when I first started reading it I thought I had made a mistake. However, this book keeps you interested in reading and just surprised along the way. I learned of how people who work on these sea vessels got tricked to work on them for less than a decent wage and how the pirates worked and assumed everyone but them had money. It was horrible to realize that a form of slavery continues in this world. It was eye-opening for sure. Certainly worth the time to read.

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