“A young and naive New York Times reporter abandons everything he has believed about the role of the media in Western society to run a music festival in Serbia. An uproarious story that has an important message.”
Phillip Knightley, author of The First Casualty and twice UK Journalist of the Year
“Daniel Simpson took a courageous quest in pursuit of truth and found himself at a crossroad. A Rough Guide To The Dark Side is a telling memoir, which shows that while music has the power to change the world, it is the heart of the individual that truly makes a difference.”
Michael Lang, co-producer of the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, 1969
“Daniel Simpson’s amazing book should be read by everyone who is interested in how the human side of this world really works – which means EVERYONE! He uses humor as Shakespeare did – to lighten the load of a heavy, dark, and important story.”
John Perkins, author of the bestselling Confessions of an Economic Hitman
“A Rough Guide to the Dark Side is a funny, angry and insightful indictment of modern media practice. Daniel Simpson shows us a remarkably dangerous world shaped by the fantasies of the elite and journalists who have embraced subservient fear, savage cost-cutting and institutional laziness. Simpson’s writing demonstrates that we not only deserve better journalism, but that it’s still out there: observing, investigating and informing with humanity and passion.”
A.L. Kennedy, writer and comedian, author of the Costa Prize-winning Day
“The archetypal innocent abroad, Daniel Simpson thought he could help the locals. He dropped out of journalism to run a music festival in Serbia, imagining himself a jaundiced man of the world. But his project became a study in modern corruption, with a learning curve so steep it was more like a suicide’s screaming spiral. Witty and compassionate, yet merciless on himself, he tells a story that’s a constant pleasure to read.”
Michela Wrong, author of Its Our Turn to Eat. The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower
“You are obviously a gifted writer, and your evident honesty is there in technicolor. But as a reader of a generation whose addictions were mainly confined to tobacco and booze I found your tales of frequent bouts with drugs – and suggestions of homoerotic dalliances – tiresome or distasteful, or both.”
Anonymous, senior New York Times retiree
