Albert Londres (1884-1932) was a much-translated French investigative journalist, distinguished by the application of humour to serious reporting. His journalistic coverage was extremely wide (Europe, Soviet Russia, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa, South America), as were his themes: war, revolution, racism, prison and asylum conditions, the slave trade, colonialism, sport. This study compares and contrasts Londres with other globetrotting reporters from France, Britain and the USA who deal courageously and innovatively with history in the making. The approach is historical, sociological and rhetorical. The author investigates the shifting borderline between journalism and literature and critically examines the numerous clichés about, and by, journalists.

The Author: Educated at Cambridge University and Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris), Walter Redfern became lecturer, reader, then personal professor of French Studies at Reading University. He is the author of books on: Jean Giono, Paul Nizan, Jean-Paul Sartre, Raymond Queneau, Georges Darien, Jules Vallès, Michel Tournier, Louis Guilloux, and Jean-Pierre Brisset.

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