Polish journalist and author Ryszard Kapuscinski , whose chronicles of the world's trouble spots won him an international reputation, died last night. He was 74.
From 1959 to 1981, Kapuscinski covered the globe's poorest and most dangerous places as a correspondent for PAP. He also wrote books about Africa's emergence from colonialism - and its descent into turmoil and war.
Best-known among his 19 books was The Emperor, an account of the downfall of Ethiopia's Haile Selassie told from inside the castle walls.
He witnessed 27 coups and revolutions, befriended the likes of Che Guevara, and was sentenced to death four times, according to his American publisher, Alfred A. Knopf.
Kapuscinski 's books were translated into 30 languages. Shah of Shahs, published in 1982, describes the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. The Soccer Waris a collection of dispatches from the Third World. Imperiumchronicles the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Working abroad, Kapuscinski largely avoided run-ins with the censors of Poland's former communist regime, but not always.
For many Poles, The Emperorbrought to mind their country's own totalitarian leaders. The book was published, but a film version was forbidden.
Kapuscinski said his experiences with totalitarianism and war - Soviet soldiers overran his hometown when he was a boy - helped him understand the Third World.