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I have always rather hoped that readers would judge my book by its cover. I think its sassy, eclectic, roaming, fun and unexpected – words that I would also hope sum up Adventures in Correspondentland.
The presence of Bill Clinton, smoking a cigar with Old Glory covering his modesty, was a complete no-brainer. Ever since I was a budding journalist, he was something of a guardian angel. The first time I ever saw my work in print was a story concerning ‘Slick Willie,’ the nickname from his scandal-tainted years as Governor of Arkansas. My first foreign posting was to Washington during the Monica Lewinsky crisis. I was told to stay there until Clinton was out of trouble. A few months perhaps? I was still there five years later. Deservedly then, Clinton gets a whole chapter of his own: ‘Dear Bill,’ although it could just as easily could have been called ‘Just William.’
Saddam Hussein also made sense, as well, since he was such a key character during the post-9/11 years – although it remains a matter of enormous contention whether the Bush administration was right to target him or not.
Diana in excelsis reaches back to a much earlier time in my career, and her untimely death in Paris. As the book recounts, for hours we reported that she had escaped alive based on an eyewitness who claimed to be in the underpass that night – an American in Paris, no less. Infuriatingly, he turned out to be a hoaxer, who thought it would a real hoot to hoodwink the world’s press, which he successfully managed to do. Not our finest hour.
Bono features on the back cover, cross-legged in the lotus position and wearing a peace t-shirt. It’s a reference to the part he played in the Northern Ireland peace process – a role that many historians have overlooked, but one which I believe was actually rather crucial. Correspondentland explains all.
The choice of which Australian should grace was the matter of some debate. Should we go with Kevin Rudd, dressed perhaps in a Kevin 07 t-shirt? Should it be John Howard, resplendent in, say, a Wallabies tracksuit or wearing an Akubra hat? Should it be Steve Irwin, wearing his trademark ball-crushing shorts?
Eventually, we went with Shane Warne, who also has a cameo in the book. Here is seen eating from a can of baked beans and sending a text message – or perhaps he is tweeting? We’ll leave readers to decide. Perhaps by the time the book comes out in London we will need to make an addition. Warnie perhaps in top hat and tails, with Liz Hurley on his arm?
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