"An engrossing chronicle of the costs and rewards of becoming like the women she saw delivering news of skirmishes and revolutions on TV. That Ferguson would become a war reporter who epitomizes this era is one of the anomalies of this compelling book. What raises No Ordinary Assignment above many other memoirs is the way it shows Ferguson''s refusal to take shortcuts in her reporting. She fully lived her stories, experiencing the wars with the people she covered and writing with the kind of intimate knowledge that is prized by novelists and historians." -- New York Times Book Review "With vivid details and pointed reflection, her memoir draws readers into the world of war that exists beyond the "bang bang" of most news coverage. Ferguson clearly demonstrates the devastating, oft-overlooked impact of war on civilians from every side. She is an expert storyteller. A captivating, honest, and powerful attempt to do justice to the hardest stories to tell.
" -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "For all the upheaval and conflict she''s seen, Jane Ferguson has never lost sight of the ordinary men and women caught in the middle of it all. This is the story of her journey, and it''s told with breadth and verve and humanity." -- Dexter Filkins, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Forever War "So much has been packed into this young foreign correspondent''s remarkable life, you''d think she''s far older than she is. From Ireland to Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, and Ukraine, there''s hardly a war zone she hasn''t covered. But what most draws you in to this finely written memoir are the raw accounts of a childhood short on love and long on criticism that no doubt pushed her in the direction of a high-wire career, and, along the way, a soulful search to understand who, really, is Jane Ferguson?" -- Judy Woodruff, former anchor of PBS NewsHour "[No Ordinary Assignment is] a standout, the best memoir I''ve read since Michelle Obama''s Becoming. Ferguson is an utterly compelling narrator because she''s startlingly honest and vulnerable.As talented and brave as she is as a TV correspondent, she is that rare person in TV who can really write. She knows how to create distance.
What to put in, what to leave out. How to win a reader''s trust. How to make us feel that we are with her on extraordinary travels. How to inspire women everywhere to dream and to stick to our guns." -- Vicky Ward, New York Times bestselling author of Kushner, Inc. "No Ordinary Assignment is an intimate portrait of a journalist coming into her own. For some of us that happens in boardrooms; for Jane Ferguson, it happened in war zones. Her memoir is a thrill to read and an inspiring example of what can happen when we confront fear and great risk with purpose.
" -- Pat Michell, author of Becoming a Dangerous Woman and cofounder of TEDWomen "Growing up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, Jane Ferguson gained a visceral, instinctive understanding of conflict. She brought an inquisitive eye and innate empathy to the greatest stories that have defined our age, from the wars in Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Her courageous book is an honest, searing examination of these events--and of the toll they inflict on journalists who give up so much to keep telling the stories of those who often can''t speak for themselves." -- Yaroslav Trofimov, author of The Siege of Mecca and chief foreign-affairs correspondent at Wall Street Journal "Really important, brave reporting." -- Nicholas Kristof "Jane Ferguson''s breathtaking memoir takes us inside the savage wars of the last two decades with greater immediacy and compassion than any news report. Her inspiring and sometimes nerve jangling account shows what it takes to bring us the news: tremendous courage and determination, qualities she has in spades. Whether dreaming up an adventuresome life beyond Belfast or facing down murderous Yemeni warlords or Syrian torturers - or indeed network resistance - she is unflinching. Her book will forever alter the way you look at the news.
" -- Kati Marton, New York Times bestselling author of The Chancellor.