Light and Shadow

Memoirs of a Spy's Son

De: Mark Colvin

Narrado por: Mark Colvin

Mark Colvin is a broadcasting legend. He is the voice of ABC Radio’s leading current affairs program PM; he was a founding broadcaster for the groundbreaking youth station Double J; he initiated The World Today program; and he’s one of the most popular and influential journalists in the twittersphere.

Mark has been covering local and global events for more than four decades. He has reported on wars, royal weddings and everything in between. In the midst of all this he discovered that his father was an MI6 spy. Light and Shadow is the incredible story of a father waging a secret war against communism during the Cold War, while his son comes of age as a journalist during the tumultuous Whitlam and Fraser years and embarks on the risky career of a foreign correspondent.

Mark was witness to some of the most world-changing events, including the Iranian hostage crisis, the buildup to the first Gulf War in Iraq and the direct aftermath of the shocking genocide in Rwanda. But when he contracted a life-threatening illness while working in the field, his life changed forever. Mark Colvin’s engrossing memoir takes you inside the coverage of major news events and gently navigates the complexity of his father's double life.

©2016 Mark Colvin (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Beautifully written and narrated

Mark shines a light on English public school life, espionage and diplomacy, foreign correspondence, Australian journalism, his own fascinating story and much more. A beautiful story beautifully told.

Probably of most interest to Australian readers

I really enjoyed this book, but I think that was in large part because I'm a contemporary of Mark Colvin and have listened to his reports for decades and hold him in high esteem and affection. But so much of his story has Australian references which would be lost on anyone not familiar with Australian geography, history, politics, and culture. To take just one example: If you don't know what The Dismissal refers to, this book is probably not for you (or you'll have a lot of looking up to do along the way). I am happy for Mark to keep his private life private, but I was surprised that the first mention of a woman in his life was reference to a wife and son - when did they appear? Nonetheless, it was an interesting trip through his journalistic career and his fitting together the pieces of his father's espionage puzzle. It was a great pleasure to listen to Mark's familiar voice narrating his story.

Great read

having grown up a decade behind Mark it was like listening to the soundtrack of my life.. he seem to have been in the right spot at the right time to capture some of the 20th centuries definitive closing moments