Description
Book SynopsisMurdered in Mongolia in 1935 aged only 29, the Welsh investigative journalist Gareth Jones is a national hero in Ukraine for being the first reporter to reveal the truth about the Holodomor - the 1932-33 genocide inflicted on Ukraine by the Soviet Union which killed over four million people. A graduate of Aberystwyth and Cambridge universities, Jones - fluent in Welsh, English, Russian, French and German - was talented, well-connected and determined to discover the truth behind the momentous political events of the post-war period. He travelled widely to report on Mussolini's Italy, the fledgling Irish Free State, the Depression-ravaged United States, and was the first foreign journalist to travel with Hitler after the Nazis had taken power in Germany. Jones' quest for truth also drew him to the Soviet Union where his reporting of the Holodomor incurred the wrath of Stalin who, in 1933, banned Jones from ever returning. In August 1935, on the eve of his 30th birthday, Jones was killed by bandits in Manchukuo - Japanese-occupied Inner Mongolia - while on a 'Round-the-World Fact-Finding Tour'. Suspicions surrounding his death remain to this day, heightened by the close involvement of individuals with known links to the NKVD, the Soviet Union's secret police. Drawing upon Jones' articles, notebooks and private correspondence, Martin Shipton, the respected political journalist at Jones' former newspaper, the Western Mail, reveals the remarkable yet tragically short life of this fascinating and determined Welshman who pioneered the role of investigative journalism.
Trade Review'Martin Shipton's biography is a much needed and welcome contribution to our understanding of Jones' experiences and his life' Mick Antoniw MS
Table of ContentsIntroduction Acknowledgements Foreword Part 1 1. The Young Mr Jones - The Talented Linguist from Barry 2. European Visits - The Well-Travelled Student 3. Westminster - Working For Lloyd George 4. United States of America - Ivy Lee and the Art of Public Relations 5. Foreign Affairs Advisor - Reunited with Lloyd George 6. Weimar Germany - The Rise of the Nazis 7. Soviet Union - Eyewitness to Famine in Ukraine 8. Making Headlines - Breaking News of the Holodomor 9. Betrayal - The Denigration of Gareth Jones 10. Nazi Germany - The Horrors of Fascism 11. Wales and Ireland - Contrasting Celtic Nationalisms 12. The Round the World Trip - The Final Journey 13. Mongolia - Death and Intrigue 14. Barry - A Town in Mourning Part 2 15. A Flawed Hero? - Anti-Semitism and Accusations of Nazi Sympathies 16. Jones' Journalistic Legacy - The Ongoing Battle for Truth Part 3 - Appendices Appendix 1: The Holodomor - Did Stalin Target Ukraine Appendix 2: Walter Duranty - The Betrayal of Journalism Appendix 3: Animal Farm - George Orwell's Mr Jones? Appendic 4: Mr Jones - Interview with Agnieszka Holland Index Bibliography
