Read about some of Stephen Davis’s favourite authors and books including Don Winslow, whose recently published The Border and previous books in his Cartel trilogy are highly recommended by our staff.
Join us to hear Stephen discuss his new book, Truthteller: An Investigative Reporter’s Journey Through the World of Truth Prevention, Fake News & Conspiracy Theories (Exisle Publishing), 12-12:45pm Wednesday 27th March 2019.
ABOUT THE BOOK
There is a war on truth. And the liars are winning. There is an increasingly large number of weapons in the arsenal of the rich, the powerful and the elected to prevent the truth from coming out — to bury it, warp it, twist it to suit their purposes. Truthteller reveals how governments and corporations have covered-up mass murder, corruption and catastrophe. In a world where Putin and Trump have successfully branded journalists as traffickers in fake news, while promoting the actual creators of fake news, an investigative reporter shows the tools that are used to deceive us and explains why they work. Using exclusive documents and interviews drawn from three decades as an award-winning reporter, editor, foreign correspondent, television producer, documentary filmmaker, and journalism educator, Stephen Davis reveals shocking details of deception in the United States, the UK, Russia, Sweden, the Baltic republics, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the Arctic and Antarctic.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Davis has been on the front lines of journalism for three decades as an investigative reporter in TV, magazines and newspapers and as a leading journalism educator, trying to uphold the ideals of the fourth estate, and to inspire his students to do the same. From the rainforests of Brazil to the icy wastes of Antarctica, from London to Los Angeles, from the Middle East to Australia and New Zealand, Davis has sought out the truth and sometimes found it. Along the way he has encountered lying politicians and corporate con-men, spies and special forces soldiers, secret policemen and scared scientists. Among those who have tried to persuade him from reporting his stories: men with Kalashnikovs, government lawyers, corporate PRs in fancy suits, senior police officers, billionaires, and newspaper owners. Davis has worked for The Sunday Times in both London and Los Angeles, been a war and foreign correspondent, a TV producer for 60 Minutes and 20/20, a newspaper editor, a documentary film maker for the BBC and Discovery, and has taught journalism to thousands of students from all over the world. He has won multiple awards for his investigative reporting, including a silver medal at the New York TV & Film Awards, and has designed and run journalism degree programs in London, Sydney and Melbourne.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING AND HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THE BOOK(S)?
The Border by Don Winslow, the last of his brilliant trilogy on the drug wars. Discovered his writing through my online subscription to The New York Times. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – same place, reading the review.
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE WRITERS AND WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THEM?
Winslow – realism plus style. Hemingway – for the same reason. Marge Piercy – Gone to Soldiers, one of the most underrated books ever.
Charles McCarry – the spy novel as literature.
WHAT BOOKS ARE ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE?
The Border. Once In a Great City by David Maraniss. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair – Joel Dicker. The Son – Phillip Meyer. The Penguin Guide to Twentieth Century History…there is usually another stack on the floor – but I have been forced to tidy up.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK-TO-FILM ADAPTATION?
The Grapes of Wrath captured the spirit of the book brilliantly – tied with To Kill a Mockingbird.
WHAT BOOK HAVE YOU RE-READ THE MOST AND WHY?
War and Peace – once a decade.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE LITERARY CHARACTER?
Natasha Rostova.
WHAT BOOK HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN MEANING TO READ BUT STILL HAVEN’T GOTTEN AROUND TO?
One Hundred Years of Solitude.
WHICH THREE WRITERS WOULD YOU HAVE OVER FOR DINNER?
If I could bring them back to life – Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Dos Passos. Of the living – Antony Beevor, Philip Kerr and Jason Matthews.
WHAT WOULD YOU COOK THEM?
Pad Thai – my wife says that is my best dish.
HOW ARE YOUR BOOKS SHELVED AND ORGANISED AT HOME?
I have a lot of history and journalism books and a lot of classic and modern fiction and I try to keep them separate – not always successfully.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LITERARY QUOTE?
“How did you go bankrupt?” Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.
