Michael Scott Moore (born 1969) is an American journalist and novelist. He is the author of ''Sweetness and Blood'' (2010), about the history of surfing, and ''The Desert and the Sea'' (2018), a memoir about his captivity in Somalia.
Moore graduated from
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
in 1991 with a degree in
German Literature
German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...
. He lives in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and also holds
German citizenship
German nationality law details the conditions by which an individual holds German nationality. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1914.
Germany is a member state of the Europ ...
. In January 2012, he was abducted in
Galkayo
Galkayo ( so, Gaalkacyo, ar, جالكعيو Dr Badal Kariye Ba Bsit Ma Mba & Phd, ''The Kaleidoscopic Lover: The Civil War in the Horn of Africa & My Itinerary for a Peaceful Lover'', (AuthorHouse: 2010), p.116.) which in Af- Somali translates t ...
, Somalia while researching a book about
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
. Moore was held captive for over two and a half years, and released September 22, 2014. He is a member of the Board of Directors o
Hostage US a non-profit that supports American hostages and their families.
Abduction
![Michael Scott Moore with fellow hostage](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Michael_Scott_Moore_with_fellow_hostage.jpg)
Moore traveled to Somalia on a grant from the
Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an American news media organization established in 2006 that sponsors independent reporting on global issues that other media outlets are less willing or able to undertake on their own. The center's goal ...
to research a book on piracy. He was abducted by a local gang of pirates in January 2012 in the town of
Galkayo
Galkayo ( so, Gaalkacyo, ar, جالكعيو Dr Badal Kariye Ba Bsit Ma Mba & Phd, ''The Kaleidoscopic Lover: The Civil War in the Horn of Africa & My Itinerary for a Peaceful Lover'', (AuthorHouse: 2010), p.116.) which in Af- Somali translates t ...
. Several days later, two aid workers,
Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted, also being held by Somali pirates, were rescued by a
Navy SEAL
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...
operation. The gang holding Moore subsequently demanded $20 million.
American officials and the
German Foreign Ministry
, logo = DEgov-AA-Logo en.svg
, logo_width = 260 px
, image = Auswaertiges Amt Berlin Eingang.jpg
, picture_width = 300px
, image_caption = Entrance to the Foreign Office building
, headquarters = Werderscher Mark ...
collaborated on negotiations with the pirates, until Moore was freed September 22, 2014. It took 977 days for Moore to be released by the pirates after 1.6 million dollars was paid.
Career
Moore has published three books, including the novel ''Too Much of Nothing'', published by Carroll & Graf, and the nonfiction history of surfing ''Sweetness and Blood: How Surfing Spread from Hawaii and California to the Rest of the World, with Some Unexpected Results'', published by Rodale in 2010. ''Sweetness and Blood'' was named a Best Book of 2010 by ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' and
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
. ''The Desert and the Sea'' became a Nielsen besteller in August 2018, shortly after its publication on July 24, 2018.
Moore worked as the theater columnist for
SF Weekly
''SF Weekly'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, ...
, until he moved to Berlin, Germany in 2005. In Germany he worked as both a staff and a freelance editor for
Spiegel Online International
''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON'').
It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, ''Der Spiegel'', wit ...
. In 2010-11 he covered a trial of ten Somali pirates in Hamburg who were charged with trying to hijack the
MV Taipan
MV may refer to:
Businesses and organizations In transportation
* Motor vessel, a motorized ship; used as a prefix for ship names
* MV Agusta, a motorcycle manufacturer based in Cascina Costa, Italy
* Armenian International Airways (IATA code MV) ...
.
His journalism has been published in
The Atlantic Monthly
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
,
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
, and the
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
. From 2009 to 2012, he also wrote a weekly column for
Miller-McCune
''Pacific Standard'' was an American online magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years until production of the print edition cease ...
(now Pacific Standard) on trans-Atlantic issues, including the NATO effort against Somali pirates. In 2009, for the column, he sailed on the Turkish frigate
Gediz which had been charged with catching pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Works
* ''Too Much of Nothing'' New York : Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. ,
* ''Sweetness and Blood: How Surfing Spread from Hawaii and California to the Rest of the World, with Some Unexpected Results.'' New York, NY : Rodale, 2010. ,
* ''The Desert and the Sea : 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast'', New York, NY : Harper Wave, 2018. ,
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Michael Scott
University of California, San Diego alumni
Journalists from Los Angeles
American expatriates in Germany
American people taken hostage
1969 births
Living people