A U T H O R   B I O G R A P H Y

James Fergusson started out in journalism in 1989. He has written for many publications since, including the Independent, the European, the Daily Mail and Prospect magazine, covering current affairs in Europe, North Africa, Central Asia, the Far East and the Caribbean.

His specialisation in Afghanistan began in 1996. From 1999 to 2001 he worked in Sarajevo as a press spokesman for the Office of the High Representative, the body charged with implementing the Dayton Peace Accord that ended Bosnia's civil war in 1995.

His first book, Kandahar Cockney: A Tale of Two Worlds (Harper Collins, 2004), was a Radio 4 Book of the Week, and told the story of Mir, his Afghan fixer/interpreter whom he helped gain political asylum in London.

His second, The Vitamin Murders: Who Killed Healthy Eating in Britain? (Portobello Books, 2007) concerned the mysterious death of Sir Jack Drummond, Britain's top government food scientist during World War Two.

It was shortlisted for the the André Simon Award for gastronomic literature. His third book, A Million Bullets: The Real Story of the British Army in Afghanistan, was published by Bantam Press in June 2008. He is married with two daughters and a son, and lives in Edinburgh.