The first casualty

In a world where the first casualty of war is truth, journalism has become the new battleground.

Peter Greste spent two decades reporting from some of the world's most dangerous countries before making headlines himself: arrested in Egypt and charged with threatening national security, he endured a sham trial, solitary confinement and detention for 400 days. Greste had become a victim of the new global war on journalism.

This book is the story of his experience in Egypt, and also of two decades of reporting from the front lines of conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Wars have always involved propaganda but increasingly today's battles are between ideas, and the media has become part of the battlefield. The First Casualty documents first-hand how journalists have moved from being witnesses of war to a means by which war is waged.
Based on extensive interviews and research - and with a vivid account from behind bars - Greste shows how his arrest and conviction was just one example of the way journalism has become a target around the world. From the murders at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, to Trump'sphony war on 'Fake news' and Australia's metadata laws, he vividly describes what effect this has on the nature of reporting, and the mind of the reporter.
In this courageous, compelling, vital account Greste unpicks the extent to which modern journalism is under threat, and the fraught quest - and desperate need - for truth in the age of terrorism.