From Our Own Correspondent

The Middle East peace accords, elections in South Africa, grief and Grieg in Sarajevo, tremors in L.A.--just a few of last year's headlines. In these selected essays written for radio, the BBC's far-flung correspondents offer highly personal impressions of those stories and other events, people and places around the world. Their observations are near perfect gems of content and narrative voice. Included in the anthology are the stories behind Haiti's unrest, the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, Russia's second October Revolution (1993). Of note are Paul Reynold's poignant essay on a classical music concert in Sarajevo during a shelling; Andy Kershaw's eyewitness account of the slaughter in Rwanda and his own near brush with death. Tim Whewell paints a dismal portrait of post-Soviet Russia as he takes the reader from Moscow's grim train station across the street to the luxurious Hotel Slavyanska. Uber correspondent Martin Bell ponders Jimmy Carter's diplomatic knack in North Korea. On the lighter side, Stephen Jessel explores a dog's life in Paris, Simon Calder ruminates on the Danish theme park Legoland and an old girlfriend of Bill Clinton's talks about her ``squeaky-clean date.'' In the trade, broadcast journalists get their fair share of knocks from print reporters of sporting charisma over substance. Some hard-bitten print reporters owe a few pints to their BBC counterparts. (Feb.)