Bill Nicol

First edition - Published in trade paperback format and a small number of hard bound library copies. "This book began in 1975 when Bill Nicol was newsgathering in Timor. Since then he has tried to do what many media critics have for so long demanded of the mass media: that they not only report the news, but put it into perspective. On - the - spot material , including unique interviews with political leaders , diplomats , army officers and Portuguese administrators , has been pieced together with extensive background research. The development of steadily mounting tension in the former colony between the Portuguese Flower Revolution of April 1974 and the Indonesian invasion late in 1975 is traced through the eyes of the people involved in Timor's political crisis. For the first time the crucial role of the Portuguese in 'decolonising' one of their last overseas possessions has been scrutinized, and the intricate web of behind-the-scenes international politicking that involved Australia, Indonesia and Portugal is also brought to light. The result is a stunning and remarkably perceptible piece of invested triangle journalism, showing what went wrong in Timor and why things turned out the way they did."… (mere)