HarperHighlights December

The Cave L I AM COCHRANE

Non Fiction | December 2018 ABC foreign correspondent Liam Cochrane was on the ground as the dramatic events unfolded. Using his local knowledge and working with a team of Thai researchers, he puts us at the centre of the story, witnessing the boys’ agonising wait, the divers’ battle against muddy torrents, the race to pump out flooded caves, the secret drilling plans and the tensions between some of the strong characters who came to help. He reveals fresh details about the boys’ time inside the cave, the role of a revered mystic monk and the background politics of a kingdom under military rule. Amidst the hope, there were scandals and obstacles. But most of all, this inspirational story shows what can be achieved when the world works together. When the 12 young members of the Wild Boars soccer club walked into a Thai cave with their assistant coach, they expected to be out by nightfall. A birthday cake waited in the fridge for one boy, another had a tutoring class. They had rope and torches but no food. Then a sudden monsoonal downpour flooded the passage. They were trapped, imprisoned in a cave said to be haunted by a mythical broken-hearted princess. So began the greatest search and rescue mission in living memory. People from across Thailand, and soon across the world, joined hands to find the boys and try to get them out.

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE SECRET PLANS AND UNSUNG HEROES THAT HELPED A TEAM OF INTERNATIONAL EXPERTS PULL OFF THE DRAMATIC THAI CAVE RESCUE

Liam Cochrane is the ABC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, based in Bangkok. He spent more than two weeks in Mae Sai covering the cave rescue, one of those weeks stationed outside the cave entrance, in the mud, with daily contact with divers and other key players. Liam began his career in journalism in Cambodia in 2004, as a reporter, then managing editor of the Phnom Penh Post and has worked in radio and print journalism. Before Bangkok, he was posted to Port Moresby, considered the ABC’s toughest correspondent position.

9780733340130 | e 9781460711446 | Released: 01/12/18 TPB | 320pp | AU $29.99 NZ $34.99 Publicity contact: Matthew.Howard@harpercollins.com.au

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