Hugh Miles Knihy

With more than fifty million viewers, Al-Jazeera is one of the most widely watched news channels in the world. It’s also one of the most controversial. Now, journalist Hugh Miles uncovers the true story behind the Arab world’s most influential outlet. Financed by one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Al-Jazeera quickly established itself as the premier news channel in the Islamic world by covering events Arabs cared about in ways they had never seen before. However, accusations of ties to Al-Qaeda continue to plague the news channel. Its journalists have been accused of spying for everyone from Mossad to Saddam Hussein, sometimes simultaneously, and a star Al-Jazeera reporter is still awaiting trial in Spain for being an active member and recruiter for a Spanish-based Al-Qaeda cell. With unprecedented access to the news channel’s key players, reporters, producers, and financiers, journalist Hugh Miles uncovers the full, behind-the-scenes story of Al-Jazeera’s meteoric rise and how its influence is shaping the course of the Arab world. Al-Jazeera us an eye-opening look at a television network that not only covers the news but also makes the news.

Hugh Miles, living it up in Cairo as a journalist and expat barfly, met and fell in love with Roda, who introduced him to the card game 'tarneeb', to her all-female card circle, and to a previously unseen side of life in the Egyptian capital. 'Playing Cards in Cairo' is his sideways look at the lives of young Egyptians.

An account of two years' filming to make a series of three television programs on the Arctic environment and its wildlife. Illustrated by numerous colour photographs.