This collection marks the fiftieth anniversary of the founding in 1958of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of South Asia (FCA)—renamed the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) in 1991.South Asia is a specially favoured assignment for foreigncorrespondents because of the immensity of the story. It is a placewhere politics and major events unfold on the streets, not just in closedrooms. This book, with its collection of reportage, comment andphotographs, reflects this story. It does not seek to cover every eventin the decades since 1947, but focuses instead on good writing andhistoric moments that give a picture of how foreign correspondentshave reported South Asia over the last fifty years.Peter Kann’s Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the fall of Dacca in1971 and Barbara Crossette’s eyewitness report of Rajiv Gandhi’sassassination are two justly celebrated pieces, but all the contributionsbring to life subjects as diverse as tiger hunts, religious fanaticism andthe Indian enthusiasm for P.G. Wodehouse. This illustrated anthology of great reportage, analysis, writing andstories that demand your attention, is a vivid and valuable ‘draft report’.