Book · 2019 · History
The Desert and the Sea
977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast
Why people recommend it
The Desert and the Sea by Michael Scott Moore is a gripping and profoundly personal memoir documenting the author's nearly three-year captivity by Somali pirates following a reporting trip to the region. The book received high praise when Michael Scott Moore appeared as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience, where Joe Rogan lauded the work as an extraordinarily disturbing yet compelling account and strongly recommended it to listeners. Moore recounted how his initial mission to East Africa was meant to be a journalistic project focusing on the trial of Somali pirates in Europe, which instead devolved into his own kidnapping. He explained the layered meaning behind his book's title, connecting it to the rhetoric used by his captors to mask criminal enterprises behind the struggles of local fishermen. Furthermore, Moore reflected on how committing his experiences to paper served as a vital mechanism for organizing his memories and healing from the profound trauma of his imprisonment. Throughout the interview, he touched upon various details preserved within the text, such as the brief mentions of toxic waste in the region and personal updates regarding his former guards. Ultimately, the book is highlighted as an astonishing testament to human endurance, resilience, and the stark realities of modern piracy.
Who recommended it
- Michael Scott Moore Discussed
- Joe Rogan Recommended
Michael Scott Moore — 6 mentions
“so I went to Somalia in the first place to write a book a very different books about Somali pirates and I so I'm a journalist I was working in Berlin at the time and I had followed the very long trial of ten Somali pirates in Germany in Hamburg for about a year all of 2011 and before that”
“that's actually the point to the book that's actually one level of the title the desert in the sea so that's a you you get the idea from the things that Somali pirates like to say oh look that's they're just frustrated fishermen that's only part of the story and so that's a that's a very important premise in the”
“because now I've written a book I wouldn't been able to do this before writing the book but writing the book familiarized myself with my own memories”
“it's described in the book just briefly”
“one of them who did and I described him in the book he wound up getting married in Mogadishu I found it so I you know I wound up with a wedding photograph from him”
“there's a lot of personal background in the book”
Joe Rogan — 2 mentions
“you have a book the book is called the desert in the sea and you have one of the most disturbing and craziest stories I think I ever read”
“well listen Michael I didn't want to touch your book until I met you I wanted to I wanted to somehow another have a fresh conversation and get your perspective on this but I think your your view of the world is very valuable and it's just very very different and I'm so happy that you got out and I'm”