Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned

By: Jordan Tappis | October 15, 2009 | Politics Travel

What would it take for you to board a crude-oil tanker and sail along the pirate-infested Somali coast? How much would it cost for you to travel through the ravaged border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan? The dangerous life of Robert Young Pelton.

Visiting conflict regions is an almost unthinkable act for regular people like you and me, but for Canadian adventurist Robert Young Pelton, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist whose best-selling survival guide, The World’s Most Dangerous Places is in its fifth edition, traveling to hot spots around the globe is his profession. And business is booming.

It’s no secret there is an ever-growing, nongovernmental, global industry that’s built up around war. From weapons manufacturers and private security firms to independent arms dealers and multinational construction companies, the degree of business surrounding battles zones all over the world is staggering. On the fringe of that juggernaut lies Pelton, an unconventional entrepreneur who’s built a successful media career developing, packaging and selling a unique brand of war reporting that comes from his cunning ability to bypass traditional media obstacles, border guards and military officials on his quest to get to the heart of the story. He was present during the siege of Grozny in Chechnya, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rebel campaign to take Monrovia in Liberia. He survived an assassination attempt in Uganda, a kidnapping in Colombia, piracy in Somalia, and he’s reported from deep within the Mexican drug cartels. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that Pelton is a frequent interview subject on shows as diverse as Oprah and Conan O’Brien as well as news networks like CNN, Fox News and Al Jazeera as he markets his books, films and speaking engagements.

Whether Robert Young Pelton is a 21st-century war profiteer or merely a journalist hell bent on providing an exciting firsthand account of battleground conditions around the world is certainly up for debate. One thing, however, is indisputable — Pelton, with a goal of being a neutral observer and accurate chronicler of events, has unprecedented access to not only many of the world’s most dangerous places, but terrorist groups and paramilitary organizations. And though he has seen more death and destruction than you and I will ever see in our lifetimes, Pelton is an optimistic man with strong opinions, wise insights and an incredibly well-groomed mustache. He may also be our best source for unobstructed news in war zones around the world.

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of interviewing Pelton at a diner in Culver City, Calif.

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