Dan Fesperman biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Dan Fesperman

Dan Fesperman

Dan Fesperman Biography

Dan Fesperman first began writing about dangerous and mysterious people and places as a journalist, a newspaper career that culminated in his years as a foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun. Reporting from Europe and the Middle East, he covered three wars while also finding the time to write his first three novels. He then quit the newspaper biz to write fiction fulltime, and now travels on his own dime.

He grew up in Charlotte, NC, and, as a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a diehard Tar Heel. He is married to the journalist Liz Bowie, and they live just north of Baltimore. Their two children have moved off to adventures of their own.

Dan's thirteen critically acclaimed novels of intrigue and suspense have won two Dagger Awards from the UK Crime Writers Association, the Dashiell Hammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers, and the Barry Award for Best Thriller, and have been selected as the year's best mystery/thriller by USA Today.

Dan Fesperman's website

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Interview

In two separate interviews Dan Fesperman talks about The Warlord's Son and The Prisoner of Guantanamo, and describes what it is like to be a war correspondent and why he believes "every culture in the world is just one good shove away from the precipice of barbarism".

You set your last novel, The Warlord's Son, in Afghanistan. Your new novel, The Prisoner of Guantanamo, is set at the now famous prison camp. Why is it important for you to base your fiction on current events?

I've always been fascinated by the way events in the here and now echo so much of what has gone on before. So I guess you could say that it's not just the immediacy I find attractive, it's also the timelessness. In Afghanistan, foreign empires have been blundering around for centuries, always faring worst when they're convinced they know best. How could you not be intrigued by the possibilities of exploring the way that's playing out now, right under our noses?

Guantanamo, to me at least, represents yet another period in our history when we've let hubris and insecurity push us to the limits of what is considered "American behavior." There is a side to us that, when threatened, wants to just kick ass and take names and forget about rules and rights for a while. But if you look back through history, this has always produced its own set of problems. So it was fascinating for me to offer a fictional take on some of the forces in collision down at Gitmo.

When and why did you decide ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Dan Fesperman at BookBrowse
Winter Work jacket Safe Houses jacket The Letter Writer jacket Layover in Dubai jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Dan Fesperman but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Jasmine Aimaq

    Jasmine Aimaq

    Jasmine Aimaq was born in Germany to a Swedish mother and Afghan father. At age 4, she moved to Afghanistan with her parents and sister, and attended a French school in Kabul. They left the country in 1976, two years before ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Warlord's Son

    Try:
    The Opium Prince
    by Jasmine Aimaq

  • Nadeem Aslam

    Nadeem Aslam

    Nadeem Aslam was born in Pakistan in 1966 and moved to Britain at age 14. His family left Pakistan to escape President Zia's regime.

    His novel Maps for Lost Lovers, winner of the Kuriyama Prize, took him more than a decade ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Warlord's Son

    Try:
    The Wasted Vigil
    by Nadeem Aslam

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