Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 3,14 Mar 2011,15 mins

SeriesThe Book that Changed Me

Homage to Catalonia

The Essay

Available for over a year

Alan Johnston explains how "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell inspired him to become a journalist - and taught him some dark truths about politics. At one point Johnston looked to be destined for a career in town planning. But that all changed when he came across Orwell's book on the Spanish Civil War. "Homage to Catalonia" set Johnston off down a path that would take him to wars and upheaval in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan under the Taleban. He was on a journey that would eventually lead to his being kidnapped in Gaza.

Programme Website
More episodes