Erik Durschmied was born in Vienna in 1930. After World War 2 he emigrated to Canada. A television war correspondent for the BBC and CBS, Durschmied covered every major crisis, from Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Belfast, Beirut, Chile, to Cuba and Afghanistan. Winner of numerous awards, Newsweek wrote ’Durschmied is a supremely gifted reporter who has transformed the media he works in.’ And in Le Monde: ’He’s survived more battles than any living general.’ He lives in Paris and Provence with his family.