The New Odyssey

Patrick Kingsley writes from right inside the greatest movement of humanity in crisis to strike the Mediterranean and Europe since the Second World War. We suffer the lives so many suffered both at sea and on land, and suffer too the shifting response from the rest of humanity. He dis-entangles the individual from the mass. This is a unique journalistic achievement speeding urgent insight, understanding, and wake up calls for the rest of us who sleep easy in our beds at night.

'I found Patrick Kingsley's book tremendously impressive, combining a survey of the whole field of the present refugee crisis with narratives that really count: those of individuals caught up in these great movements of people. The details are vivid, sometimes shocking, always telling; and the desperation and courage of those such as Hashem al-Souki is profoundlly moving. The story of what lies behind the continuing and appalling news from the Mediterranean has rarely been told so strongly.'

Patrick Kingsley weaves the stories of refugees, smugglers and migrants into an extraordinary tapestry. His book helps us understand the feelings and fears of those caught up in one of the great mass migrations of history - required reading for anyone who wants to go beyond the headlines.

The New Odyssey: The Story of the European Refugee Crisis is a really moving and important publication. It provides a basis of fact and analysis that is truly important at a time of great challenge for humanity. I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Deeply moving and hugely timely, this is a compelling account of some of the journeys people make in search of sanctuary, as well as a powerful indictment of the EU's failed response to the refugee crisis. Kingsley effectively debunks the narrative that would have us believe putting obstacles, whether they are political, financial or literal, in the way will stem the flow, and argues instead for a common EU wide asylum policy that upholds basic humanitarian principles. The New Odyssey reminds us that behind the statistics and headlines lie real lives, driven by desperation and simply wanting a safer future. It should be compulsory reading for all EU policy makers.

Kingsley tells the story of the greatest exodus of modern times in richly recognisably human terms, investigating and illuminating so much that gets routinely misreported and misrepresented . . . Compelling