Barbara Demick – författare

I skydd av nattens mörker inleder ungdomarna Jun San och Mi Ran i hemlighet en relation. Under långa promenader går de hand i hand och pratar om allt – utom den regim som tvingar dem att smyga med sin kärlek. I Inget att avundas får vi också möta flera andra vanliga nordkoreaner: en fabriksarbetare som såg sin familj svälta ihjäl innan hon flydde utomlands och en självuppoffrande doktor som tog emot mutor för att köpa mat, och vars far i sorg efter ledaren Kim Il Sungs död begick självmord.

Barbara Demick levandegör vardagslivet, kulturen och maktens mekanismer i ett gripande och insiktsfullt reportage från världens mest slutna rike.

Inget att avundas tilldelades det mest prestigefulla reportagebokspriset, BBC:s Samuel Johnson-pris 2010, och boken nominerades till National Book Award, den amerikanska motsvarigheten till Augustpriset.

Barbara Demick är journalist och författare. Hon bor i Beijing, arbetar som utrikeskorrespondent för Los Angeles Times och har tilldelats flera priser för sin bevakning från Sarajevo under Balkankriget. Erfarenheterna samlades i boken Logavina Street, för vilken hon var finalist för Pulitzerpriset.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITINGLONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR IN FINANCIAL TIMES, ECONOMIST, NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, SPECTATOR'You simply cannot understand China without reading Barbara Demick on Tibet' Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition In 1950, China claimed sovereignty over Tibet, leading to decades of unrest and resistance. Barbara Demick chronicles the Tibetan tragedy from Ngaba, a defiant town on the eastern edge of the Tibetan plateau. From the stories of Ngaba's last princess and those who experienced the struggle sessions of Mao's revolution to the experiences of today's monks and townsfolk suffering repression under China's rule, Demick paints a riveting portrait of Tibet past and present as it fights for its identity against one of the most powerful countries in the world.

A National Book Award finalist and National Book Critics Circle finalist, Barbara Demick’s Nothing to Envy is a remarkable view into North Korea, as seen through the lives of six ordinary citizens Nothing to Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years—a chaotic period that saw the death of Kim Il-sung, the unchallenged rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and the devastation of a far-ranging famine that killed one-fifth of the population. Taking us into a landscape most of us have never before seen, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick brings to life what it means to be living under the most repressive totalitarian regime today—an Orwellian world that is by choice not connected to the Internet, in which radio and television dials are welded to the one government station, and where displays of affection are punished; a police state where informants are rewarded and where an offhand remark can send a person to the gulag for life. Demick takes us deep inside the country, beyond the reach of government censors. Through meticulous and sensitive reporting, we see her six subjects—average North Korean citizens—fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival. One by one, we experience the moments when they realize that their government has betrayed them.  Nothing to Envy is a groundbreaking addition to the literature of totalitarianism and an eye-opening look at a closed world that is of increasing global importance.From the Hardcover edition.

WINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION A spectacular, definitive portrait of ordinary life within one of the world's most repressive states - North Korea. 'A most perceptive and eye-opening account of everyday life in North Korea' Jung ChangNorth Korea is Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four made reality: it is the only country in the world not connected to the internet; where Gone with the Wind is a dangerous, banned book; and where during political rallies, spies study your expression to check your sincerity. Nothing to Envy weaves together the stories of adversity and resilience of six residents of Chongin, North Korea's third-largest city. From extensive interviews and with tenacious investigative work, Barbara Demick has recreated the concerns, culture and lifestyles of North Korean citizens in a gripping narrative, and vividly reconstructed the inner workings of this extraordinary and secretive country. Includes an updated afterword by the author.'Impossible to put down ... helps restore humanity to some of the world's most oppressed people' Observer

The extraordinary and riveting story of separated Chinese twins, with one twin seized by the authorities and adopted into America, by the Samuel Johnson-winning author of Nothing to Envy.In 2000, a Chinese woman gave birth to twins in a bamboo grove, trying to avoid detection by the government because she already had two daughters. Two years later, an American couple travelled to Shaoyang to adopt a Chinese toddler they thought had been abandoned.Their understanding had been that China's brutal one-child policy was leading to hundreds of abandoned girls, desperate for the care of adopted parents. What they didn't know - and what award-winning journalist Barbara Demick uncovered in 2007, while working as a correspondent in Beijing - was that their daughter had been snatched from her beloved family and her identical twin. Under China's one-child policy hundreds of poor Chinese were giving up their children due to soaring fines and threats of violence. More sinister still, international demand for adoptees was sky-rocketing, and local officials were forcibly seizing children and trafficking them to orphanages, who were selling them abroad.Daughters of the Bamboo Grove tells the gripping story of separated twins, their respective fates in China and the USA, and Barbara Demick's role in reuniting them against huge odds. Painting a rich portrait of China's history and culture, it asks questions about the roots, impact and consequences of China's one-child policy, the ethics of international adoption, and, ultimately, the assumptions and narratives we hold about the quality of lives lived in the East and the West.

The extraordinary and riveting story of separated Chinese twins, with one twin seized by the authorities and adopted into America, by the Samuel Johnson-winning author of Nothing to Envy.In 2000, a Chinese woman gave birth to twins in a bamboo grove, trying to avoid detection by the government because she already had two daughters. Two years later, an American couple travelled to Shaoyang to adopt a Chinese toddler they thought had been abandoned.Their understanding had been that China's brutal one-child policy was leading to hundreds of abandoned girls, desperate for the care of adopted parents. What they didn't know - and what award-winning journalist Barbara Demick uncovered in 2007, while working as a correspondent in Beijing - was that their daughter had been snatched from her beloved family and her identical twin. Under China's one-child policy hundreds of poor Chinese were giving up their children due to soaring fines and threats of violence. More sinister still, international demand for adoptees was sky-rocketing, and local officials were forcibly seizing children and trafficking them to orphanages, who were selling them abroad.Daughters of the Bamboo Grove tells the gripping story of separated twins, their respective fates in China and the USA, and Barbara Demick's role in reuniting them against huge odds. Painting a rich portrait of China's history and culture, it asks questions about the roots, impact and consequences of China's one-child policy, the ethics of international adoption, and, ultimately, the assumptions and narratives we hold about the quality of lives lived in the East and the West.

WINNER OF THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION A spectacular, definitive portrait of ordinary life within one of the world's most repressive states - North Korea. 'A most perceptive and eye-opening account of everyday life in North Korea' Jung ChangNorth Korea is Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four made reality: it is the only country in the world not connected to the internet; where Gone with the Wind is a dangerous, banned book; and where during political rallies, spies study your expression to check your sincerity. Nothing to Envy weaves together the stories of adversity and resilience of six residents of Chongin, North Korea's third-largest city. From extensive interviews and with tenacious investigative work, Barbara Demick has recreated the concerns, culture and lifestyles of North Korean citizens in a gripping narrative, and vividly reconstructed the inner workings of this extraordinary and secretive country. Includes an updated afterword by the author.'Impossible to put down... Helps restore humanity to some of the world's most oppressed people' Observer

For four centuries, Logavina Street was a quiet residential road in a city known for its ethnic tolerance and cosmopolitan charm. Muslims, Christians, Serbs and Croats lived easily together, sharing an identity as Bosnians. Then the war tore their lives apart. Often without heat, water, food or electricity, they evaded daily sniper fire and witnessed horrific deaths. Neighbours and friends turned into deadly enemies. In this intimate eyewitness account, Barbara Demick weaves together the stories of ten families from Logavina Street, brilliantly illuminating one of the pivotal events of the twentieth century, and describes how, twenty years later, they are coping with the war's consequences. .

Logavina Street was a microcosm of Sarajevo, a six-block-long history lesson. For four centuries, it existed as a quiet residential area in a charming city long known for its ethnic and religious tolerance. On this street of 240 families, Muslims and Christians, Serbs and Croats lived easily together, unified by their common identity as Sarajevans. Then the war tore it all apart.   As she did in her groundbreaking work about North Korea, Nothing to Envy, award-winning journalist Barbara Demick tells the story of the Bosnian War and the brutal and devastating three-and-a-half-year siege of Sarajevo through the lives of ordinary citizens, who struggle with hunger, poverty, sniper fire, and shellings.   Logavina Street paints this misunderstood war and its effects in vivid strokes—at once epic and intimate—revealing the heroism, sorrow, resilience, and uncommon faith of its people.   With a new Introduction, final chapter, and Epilogue by the author

Award-winning journalist and National Book Award finalist Barbara Demick captures Tibet as Nothing to Envy captured North Korea in this compelling portrait of a people caught between their nomadic, religious culture and the explosive growth of modern China.

In 2000, a Chinese woman gave birth to twins in a bamboo grove, trying to avoid detection by the government because she already had two daughters. Two years later, an American couple travelled to Shaoyang to adopt a Chinese toddler they thought had been abandoned. Their understanding had been that China's brutal one-child policy was leading to hundreds of abandoned girls, desperate for the care of adopted parents. What they didn't know - and what award-winning journalist Barbara Demick uncovered in 2007, while working as a correspondent in Beijing - was that their daughter had been snatched from her beloved family and her identical twin. Under China's one-child policy hundreds of poor Chinese were giving up their children due to soaring fines and threats of violence. More sinister still, international demand for adoptees was sky-rocketing, and local officials were forcibly seizing children and trafficking them to orphanages, who were selling them abroad.Daughters of the Bamboo Grove tells the gripping story of separated twins, their respective fates in China and the USA, and Barbara Demick's role in reuniting them against huge odds. Painting a rich portrait of China's history and culture, it asks questions about the roots, impact and consequences of China's one-child policy, the ethics of international adoption, and, ultimately, the assumptions and narratives we hold about the quality of lives lived in the East and the West.

Die preisgekrönte Journalistin und China-Kennerin Barbara Demick erzählt von Tibets Schicksal unter der chinesischen Herrschaft. Sie gibt ergreifende wie verstörende Einblicke in das Alltagsleben von acht Menschen, deren Leben die Geschichte eines ganzen Volkes und dessen Wunsch nach Freiheit widerspiegeln.Sich selbst verbrennen oder nicht? Der Junge hadert. Sein bester Freund hat es bereits getan – aus Protest gegen die chinesische Regierung, die Tibetern jeglichen gesellschaftlichen Aufstieg verwehrt, ihre Freiheit beschneidet und ihre Kultur zerstört.  Barbara Demick schildert in ihrer bewegenden Reportage das Schicksal von acht Menschen, die in der ost-tibetischen Stadt Ngaba leben – einer Stadt, die als Zelle des Widerstands gilt und nicht zuletzt wegen der vielen Selbstverbrennungen besonders unter chinesischen Repressalien leidet.Die berührenden Lebensgeschichten geben tiefe Einblicke in den tibetischen Alltag abseits der touristischen Sehnsuchtsorte. Es ist ein Alltag, der geprägt ist vom Kampf zweier Kulturen, vom Ringen Tibets um politische Selbstbestimmung und kulturelle Identität, von Unterdrückung und Gewalt, von verborgenem Leid und der Hoffnung auf eine bessere Zukunft. Eine eindrückliche Hommage an die Menschen in Tibet.

Leben und lieben in Zeiten der Diktatur: Die Autorin und Journalistin Barbara Demick erzählt bewegende Geschichten von Menschen in Nordkorea, ihrem Alltag, ihren Beziehungen, ihren Ängsten und vor allem den Herausforderungen durch die gnadenlosen Lebensverhältnisse im Schattenreich des "geliebten Führers" Kim Jong Il.Barbara Demick schildert in ihrem bewegenden Buch die Geschichte von Song Hee-suk, einer regimetreuen Vorzeigebürgerin, die zusehen muss, wie ihre Schwiegermutter, ihr Ehemann und ihr Sohn vor Hunger sterben. Sie berichtet von der Ärztin Kim Ji-eun, die verzweifelt, weil sie ihren Patienten nicht helfen kann, da selbst die Voraussetzungen für die einfachste medizinische Versorgung fehlen; sie erzählt von Mi-ran und ihrem Verehrer Jun-sang, einem Liebespaar, das sich nur in der Dunkelheit treffen kann, weil die Beziehung gegen die Parteidoktrin verstößt. Doch wenn sich das verheißene sozialistische Paradies des Führers Kim Jong Il als Hölle auf Erden erweist, bleibt allein die Flucht.Seit den massiven Kriegsdrohungen Nordkoreas gegenüber Südkorea und den USA im Frühjahr 2013 steht das streng abgeschottete Land im Fokus des internationalen Interesses. Die Situation hat sich 2017 durch den öffentlichen verbalen Schlagabtausch zwischen US-Präsident Donald Trump und Kim Jong Un, dem Sohn des verstorbenen Führers Kim Jong Il, noch verschärft. Die langjährige Ostasien-Korrespondentin der "Los Angeles Times" Barbara Demick ist eine exzellente Kennerin der Verhältnisse in der diktatorisch regierten Volksrepublik. In ihrem mit dem Human Rights Book Award ausgezeichneten Buch liefert sie tiefe und verstörende Einblicke in das Alltagsleben Nordkoreas und zeigt uns eine ferne, sehr fremde und nahezu unbekannte Welt."Ein scharfsinniges, über die Maßen erhellendes Buch über das Alltagsleben in Nordkorea" Jung Chang, Autorin des Weltbestsellers "Wilde Schwäne""Auf dem deutschsprachigen Buchmarkt kommt wohl nichts näher an den nordkoreanischen Alltag heran als dieses ausgezeichnet geschriebene Buch." Süddeutsche Zeitung"Ungewöhnlich, klug, engagiert" der Freitag

Adoption, Menschenhandel und die Suche nach Gerechtigkeit zwischen China und den USA: Die neue Reportage der renommierten und vielfach ausgezeichneten US-Journalistin Barbara DemickWeit über die Grenzen Chinas hinaus ist die sogenannte »Ein-Kind-Politik« berüchtigt. Nachdem sie 2016 offiziell beendet wurde, zeigen sich längst die Nachwirkungen dieser Strategie zur Eindämmung des Bevölkerungswachstums.Barbara Demicks Reportage erzählt die Geschichte der chinesischen Zwillinge Fangfang und Shuangjie, geboren 2000. Sie sind nicht die ersten Kinder ihrer Eltern und deshalb ein Dorn im Auge der Behörden. Doch der Versuch, die Zwillinge vor dem Staat zu schützen, scheitert. Fangfang wird ihrer Familie entrissen und zur Adoption freigegeben. Von einer christlichen Familie aufgenommen, wächst sie unter dem Namen Esther in Texas auf ‒ unwissend, entführt worden zu sein.»Overseas adoption wasn''t publicized inside China. To many Chinese, the idea that a baby had gone to the United States was as preposterous as if she had gone to Mars.« (Barbara Demick, The New Yorker)Wird Demicks unermüdliche aktivistische Arbeit die getrennten Zwillinge wieder zusammenbringen? Und werden sie sich wieder als die Schwestern fühlen, die sie einmal gewesen sind? Eine große Reportage über eine folgenschwere, grausame Politik und welche Auswirkungen sie auf die chinesische Bevölkerung und unzählige Adoptivfamilien hat.»Demick''s characters are richly drawn, and her stories, often reported over a span of years, deliver a rare emotional wallop.« (Kevin Peraino, The New York Times)Barbara Demick ist eine renommierte und vielfach ausgezeichnete Journalistin und Autorin. Als Fernostkorrespondentin der Los Angeles Times, unter anderem in Peking, erhielt sie einzigartige Einblicke in die chinesische Gesellschaft und ihr Leid unter den gefürchteten Familienplanungsbehörden.»Chinas entführte Töchter« ist Barbara Demicks viertes Buch bei Droemer, bereits erschienen sind »Buddhas vergessene Kinder« (2021), »Im Land des Flüsterns« (2016) und »Die Rosen von Sarajevo« (2012).

Historiaa ja nykyhetkeä luotaava kirja kertoo hyytävästi Tiibetin epätoivosta.Yli 150 tiibetiläistä on tehnyt polttoitsemurhan tai yrittänyt sitä protestina Kiinan sortotoimille. Toimittaja Barbara Demick matkusti protestien keskukseen Ngabaan tutkimaan ilmiötä. Vetävä tietokirja kuvaa vaikuttavasti yhteisöä, jossa sotilailla on aseiden lisäksi vaahtosammuttimet. Ngabalaiset kertovat kotikylänsä muutoksesta kontrollin läpitunkemaksi kaupungiksi, jossa vapauden puute johtaa epätoivoisiin tekoihin.Palkittu tekijä on aiemmin julkaissut myyntimenestyksen Suljettu maa.

Palkitun journalistin ravisteleva teos tavallisten ihmisten elämästä maailmanpolitiikan pelinappuloina.Toisessa maailmansodassa Neuvostoliitto ja Yhdysvallat jakoivat Korean valtion keskenään - Neuvostoliitto sai pohjoisen ja Yhdysvallat maan eteläosan. Aluksi Pohjois-Korealla meni hyvin, mutta viimeistään Neuvostoliiton romahtaminen tuhosi Pohjois-Koreankin talouden ja syöksi maan nälänhätään, joka tappoi viidenneksen väestöstä.Suljettu maa kuvaa kuuden Pohjois-Koreasta loikanneen ihmisen elämää maailman totalitaarisimmassa valtiossa. Suljettu maa voitti ilmestymisvuonnaan arvostetun BBC Samuel Johnson -palkinnon.

Historiaa ja nykyhetkeä luotaava kirja kertoo hyytävästi Tiibetin epätoivosta.Yli 150 tiibetiläistä on tehnyt polttoitsemurhan tai yrittänyt sitä protestina Kiinan sortotoimille. Toimittaja Barbara Demick matkusti protestien keskukseen Ngabaan tutkimaan ilmiötä. Vetävä tietokirja kuvaa vaikuttavasti yhteisöä, jossa sotilailla on aseiden lisäksi vaahtosammuttimet. Ngabalaiset kertovat kotikylänsä muutoksesta kontrollin läpitunkemaksi kaupungiksi, jossa vapauden puute johtaa epätoivoisiin tekoihin.Palkittu tekijä on aiemmin julkaissut myyntimenestyksen Suljettu maa.

Palkitun journalistin ravisteleva teos tavallisten ihmisten elämästä maailmanpolitiikan pelinappuloina.Toisessa maailmansodassa Neuvostoliitto ja Yhdysvallat jakoivat Korean valtion keskenään - Neuvostoliitto sai pohjoisen ja Yhdysvallat maan eteläosan. Aluksi Pohjois-Korealla meni hyvin, mutta viimeistään Neuvostoliiton romahtaminen tuhosi Pohjois-Koreankin talouden ja syöksi maan nälänhätään, joka tappoi viidenneksen väestöstä.Suljettu maa kuvaa kuuden Pohjois-Koreasta loikanneen ihmisen elämää maailman totalitaarisimmassa valtiossa.Suljettu maa voitti ilmestymisvuonnaan arvostetun BBC Samuel Johnson -palkinnon.