Biography nugent IS A WRITER AND AN EXPLORER, BUT NOT THE USUAL KIND. HIS WORK TAKES INVENTORY OF THE POORLY LIT STACKS IN THE COMMUNAL WAREHOUSE, AREAS OF DEEP SHADOWS CAUSED BY TRADITIONS AND IDEAS EITHER GONE MISSING OR ABOUT TO GO MISSING. HIS FINDINGS HAVE APPEARED IN MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS AND IN HIS THREE BOOKS: DOWN AT THE DOCKS (Pantheon Books, 2009), DRUMS ALONG THE CONGO (Houghton-Mifflin, 1993), and THE SEARCH FOR THE PINK-HEADED DUCK (Houghton-Mifflin, 1991). nugent, 56, WAS BORN IN NEW YORK. HE GRADUATED FROM WILLIAMS COLLEGE AND WENT TO SEA ABOARD FREIGHTERS AND CANVAS-FLIERS. HE MADE HIS BONES AS A SINGLEHANDED SAILOR AND COMPLETED 4 1/2 SOLO OCEAN VOYAGES, THE FRACTION INCLUDING SHIPWRECK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DRINK AND RESCUE 5 DAYS LATER AND 28 POUNDS LIGHTER. NOT WANTING TO SWIM ANYMORE, HE TOOK TO FIELD RESEARCH AND WRITING. HIS STORIES ON NATURE'S NUMINOUS WONDERS AND THE THREATS TO THEIR EXISTENCE APPEARED IN PERIODICALS AROUND THE WORLD, PLUS HIS FIRST TWO BOOKS. AS A VOYAGER, nugent PUT THOUSANDS OF MILES UNDER THE KEEL WHILE TRANSITING OCEANS AND PADDLING RIVER-WAYS, INCLUDING THE BRAHMAPUTRA FROM BURMA TO BANGLADESH; THE UBANGI ACROSS THE C.A.R AND INTO THE CONGO; THE LIKOULA AUX HERBES;THE BAI; THE SOBAT TO THE BLUE NILE; AND THE NILE FROM KHARTOUM TO EGYPT. HIS TRAVELS ON LAND TOOK HIM THROUGH JUNGLES, DESERTS, AND ABOVE THE CLOUDS, IN THE HIMALAYAS. IN THE EARLY-1990s, HE BEGAN WORKING FULL-TIME AS A JOURNALIST, HIS BEAT THE NIGHTMARE, HIS QUEST THOSE MISSING ELEMENTS ALLOWING IT TO PROSPER. FOR NEARLY TEN YEARS, HE TRACKED NITWIT GENERALS AND THEIR LOUSY WARS IN EUROPE, AFRICA AND ASIA, AND HE BECAME INTIMATE WITH THE DEMONS RISING OUT OF BULLETS, MACHETES AND KILLING FIELDS THE SIZE OF TEXAS. HIS FIELD REPORTS FOR SPIN AND MEN'S JOURNAL MAGAZINES MERITED ROUTINE INCLUSION ON SHORT-LISTS FOR HACK AWARDS AND SOME REMAIN STANDARDS. A FEW HIGHLIGHTS: HE EARNED ENTRY INSIDE THE IRA, THE ONLY HACK EVER TO TRAVEL WITH AN ACTIVE BRIGADE,AND HIS STORY PRESAGED THE PEACE DEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND. HE ALSO WORKED HIS WAY DEEP INSIDE THE WHEELHOUSE OF RADICAL ISLAM, THEN BASED IN KHARTOUM ('95-6), AS THE OFFICER CORPS DREW THE MAPS LEADING TO 9/11 AND BEYOND. ADDITIONALLY, HE REPORTED ON MISERY-MAKERS IN UGANDA,SOUTHERN SUDAN, ALGERIA, ETHIOPIA AND EGYPT, RWANDA, SOMALIA, AND OFFERED UP PORTRAITS OF ABU NIDAL, MUAMMAR QADDAFI AND GOD'S RED HAND. nugent EXITED THE GLOOM IN 2002 TO RETURN TO FREELANCE WORK AND REFOCUSED ON AMERICA, ASSEMBLING NOTES FOR HIS THIRD BOOK, DOWN AT THE DOCKS. |
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