Rossdavidh

Rossdavidh asked Tim Butcher:

So, I have to ask, and it's fine if the answer is "nothing much", but what did you do on Nov. 11, 2018, the 100th anniversary of the "end" of the Great War? Thanks again for writing "The Trigger" about how it started!

Tim Butcher Well I thought of the 1918 endgame and the reckoning. I thought of Gavrilo Princip who died a few months before the Armistice was signed, trying to think how he would have felt for being the unintentional cause of world war. And I thought of those who did not quite beat the whistle, solders like Wilfred Owen who died in the last days just before the guns fell silent. And I thought of how little our leaders today consider 1914-18 beyond the theatrics: the poppies, the wreath-laying, the bump in the throat quietness when the bugle sounds and people morph their nationalism into patriotism. And I went to bed worried that we shape shift history at our peril and those in power today in Asia, Europe and America are peril incarnate.

More Answered Questions

Tatum

Tatum asked Tim Butcher:

These questions only give us so many characters, so I apologize for another question! I am an International Development student and my dream is to be a humanitarian journalist/photojournalist. I specifically love East Africa. I am wondering if you have any career advice for someone aspiring to do something similar to you? How did you start out in travel writing?

Chandra Panchabhikesan

Chandra Panchabhikesan asked Tim Butcher:

( Pancha Chandra): What advice would you give Boris Johnson as he does not seem to have a clue on how to run the nation? Would a fresh general election change the future of the nation? After all we, need an ethical leader at the helm; not an empty vessel who makes far too much noise! Is the Labour leader up to the job?

McNutt M

McNutt M asked Tim Butcher:

Hi Tim. Thanks for your note! I really enjoyed your book. It was quite the one-two punch as I had just wrapped up another cool book ("Send More Idiots") and that author sent me a note, too! If goodreads keeps putting me in touch with the folks who actually write the books, I'm gonna be spending all day on this site! Do you have a new one in the works? Will McNutt

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