Blood and Sand

It was on 6 June 2004 that BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner and cameraman Simon Cumbers were ambushed by Islamist gunmen in a quiet Riyadh back street. Simon was killed outright. Frank was hit in the shoulder and leg. As he lay in the dust, a figure stood over him and pumped four more bullets into his body at point-blank range Against all the odds, Frank Gardner survived. Ten years on from that horrendous attack, although partly paralysed, he continues to travel the world reporting for the BBC. His acclaimed, moving and inspiring memoir is now brought up to date with a new chapter recalling his return to Saudi Arabia for the first time since he was shot. This new anniversary edition is a reaffirmation of his deep understanding of and affection for the Islamic world in these uncertain times.

Born in 1961, Frank Gardner is the BBC's Security Correspondent, reporting for television and radio on issues of domestic and international security, notably on Islamist extremist related terrorism. A fluent Arabist, with a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies, he was previously the BBC's Middle East Correspondent based in Cairo, and before that in Dubai. In June 2004, while reporting in Riyadh, Frank and his cameraman, Simon Cumbers, were ambushed by Islamist gunmen. Simon was killed outright, Frank was shot multiple times and left for dead. Against allexpectations, he survived and, in 2006, published his acclaimed and bestselling memoir,Blood and Sand.In 2009 he publishedFar Horizons, a much praised account of his life as an inveterate traveller and explorer. His first novel, the thrillerCrisis, was a No.1 bestseller. Awarded an OBE for services to journalism, Frank has also written for theEconomist, Sunday Times, Daily TelegraphandTime Outand has been published inThe Best ofSunday TimesTravel Writing. He lives in London with his family.

June 2014 marks the 10th anniversary of the attempt on BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner's life - his bestselling memoir is reissued with a new chapter recounting his return to Saudi Arabia for the first time since that near-fatal day in 2004...