A season in hell : my 130 days in the Sahara with Al Qaeda

Finalist for the B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Non-Fiction, and the Ottawa Book Award for English Non-FictionLonglisted for the Charles Taylor Prize for Non-FictionNational BestsellerFor decades, Robert R. Fowler was a dominant force in Canadian foreign affairs. In one heart-stopping minute, all of that changed. On December 14, 2008, Fowler, acting as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Niger, was kidnapped by Al Qaeda, becoming the highest ranked UN official ever held captive. Along with his colleague Louis Guay, Fowler lived, slept and ate with his captors for nearly five months, gaining rare first-hand insight into the motivations of the world’s most feared terror group. Fowler’s capture, release and subsequent media appearances have helped shed new light on foreign policy and security issues as we enter the second decade of the “War on Terror.”A Season in Hell is Fowler’s compelling story of his captivity, told in his own words, but it is also a startlingly frank discussion about the state of a world redefined by clashing civilizations. "Robert Fowler was a dominant force in Canadian foreign affairs... On December 14, 2008, Fowler, acting as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Niger, was kidnapped by Al Qaeda. Along with his colleague Louis Guay, Fowler lived, slept, and ate with his captors for over four months, gaining rare first-hand insight into the world's most feared terrorist group. For those 130 punishing days, Fowler survived in extreme desert conditions at the whims of his volatile kidnappers, fearing every moment could be his last. Fowler's capture, release, and subsequent media appearances have shed new light on the confrontation between Western values and violent Islamic fundamentalism. A Season in Hell is Fowler's riveting story of his captivity, told in his own words, but it is also a startlingly frank discussion about the state of a world redefined by clashing civilizations."--book jacket For decades, Robert R. Fowler was a dominant force in Canadian foreign affairs. In one heart-stopping minute, all of that changed. On December 14, 2008, Fowler, acting as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Niger, was kidnapped by Al Qaeda, becoming the highest ranked UN official ever held captive. Along with his colleague Louis Guay, Fowler lived, slept and ate with his captors for nearly five months, gaining rare first-hand insight into the motivations of the world’s most feared terror group. Fowler’s capture, release and subsequent media appearances have helped shed new light on foreign policy and security issues as we enter the second decade of the “War on Terror.” A Season in Hell is Fowler’s compelling story of his captivity, told in his own words, but it is also a startlingly frank discussion about the state of a world redefined by clashing civilizations.