DEADLY WATERS

About daring hijackings off the coast of Somalia, where ships and their crew have been held hostage by ruthless Somali pirates brandishing firearms and demanding millions of dollars in ransom money. This is an escalating crisis that has captured the attention of world governments and sparked debate about how to bring the problem under control. Hollywood hasn't missed a beat, and there are already several major motion pictures in the works, including one based on the exploits of the notorious "Pirate Whisperer," with Samuel L. Jackson starring in the lead role.

Jay Bahadur is a gutsy 25-year-old journalist and wonderfully evocative storyteller, only a few years out of university, who has catapulted himself onto the world stage in recent months after traveling to Somalia to lift the curtain on the inner workings of Puntland, to give the world a better understanding of the human beings and politics behind the headlines.

Shortly after returning from his first trip to Somalia and penning a headline-making article for the London Times, several media outlets - the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and CBS News - came calling. After flying Jay down to New York at their expense, CBS News quickly extended an offer for Jay to become their new freelance television correspondent in Puntland. For its part, BBC Radio has interviewed Jay four times already, tapping into his special knowledge of sea piracy.

There's a reason a book of this scope and authority hasn't been written before. Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous places and anyone who dares venture into this war-ravaged country puts their life in peril. But more than that, it's a question of access to the key players. Jay has established a partnership with the founder of Radio Garowe, the lone news station in Puntland's capital city, whose father is the President of Puntland, Dr. Abdurahman Farole.

These close relationships have provided Jay with unfiltered and unparalleled access to background stories, gossip, family ties, backroom political dealings, government officials, local residents, businessmen, and merchants - and impressions of life in Somalia that simply can't be perceived by other journalists.