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Three Weeks In Bali: A Personal Account of the Bali Bombing |
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Book Details |
Library |
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Author |
Alan Atkinson |
Category |
Non Fiction |
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Contributor |
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Location |
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Translator |
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Status |
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Publisher |
ABC Books |
Owner |
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Country |
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Personal |
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Language |
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Read it |
Yes |
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Year Published |
2002 |
Date Read |
13/06/2006 |
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ISBN |
0733312381 |
Personal Rating |
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LCCN |
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Purchase |
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Edition |
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Purchase Date |
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Printing |
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Acquired from |
Marlborough Library |
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Binding |
Paperback |
Price |
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Pages |
111 |
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Overview |
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Late on Saturday, 12 October 2002, two bombs exploded in the heart of the club and bar district of Kuta Beach, Bali's most popular tourist area. The effects of the blasts were devastating; the loss of life and terrible injuries appalling. For Australia, it was one of the most tragic events to occur in peacetime in the last one hundred years. For other nationalities, and especially the Balinese, it was calamitous. ABC journalist Alan Atkinson was on holiday in Bali with his family when he received the call early on the Sunday morning that something catastrophic had occurred at Kuta. He was one of the first Western journalists on the scene. Atkinson kept a diary of his holiday and the days after the bombing. This is his personal account of an extraordinary three weeks. |
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Comment |
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This was a more intimate picture of the Bali bombings than we got from the news coverage at the time. As such, its certainly more moving and touching, especially when Atkinson talks about the reaction of the Balinese tourist-based businesspeople. They seemed to have no anger at all, which seemed quite alien compared to the reaction of other people around the world in the face of terrorist action. Atkinson's account of his holiday before the bombing served as a wonderful counter-balance to the anguish that followed, and his love for Bali and its people shine through every sentence. That said, I wasn't entirely convinced that this was a genuine diary, written as events were unfolding. There was an extraordinary amount of conversational detail, which suggested to me that it had been written more as a story after Atkinson returned to Australia. |
