BRING BACK OUR GIRLS, the astonishing survival and rescue of Nigeria's missing schoolgirls

409pp., map, colour illus., paperback, First UK Edition, London, 2021

First published in the USA in 2021.

Account of the 2014 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls from Chibok by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.

"Using diaries kept, at great risk, by two of the girls, [Parkinson and Hinshaw] offer insight into the incredible courage and faith the captives maintained while they endured more than three years of captivity ... Readers wishing to learn more about the Chibok girls beyond headlines and viral hashtags, as well as those looking for a better understanding of international relations, will be rewarded in this moving book." Library Journal

"What the influencers who endorsed #BringBackOurGirls might do ... is encourage their followers to read this finely written, absorbing book. Not only does it chart how the celebrity Twittersphere impacted one of the poorest corners of the planet, it does the far knottier reporting job of revealing what went on backstage, be it in the Nigerian and US governments, or the minds of Boko Haram commanders." Telegraph (UK)

“This account of the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls and their courage and fortitude through the unspeakable brutality of their captivity is a nail-biter about survival told with Hitchcockian flair. Packed with their personal testimonies, along with fresh details of the hunt for them by a team of Swiss negotiators, Joe Parkinson and Drew Hinshaw have written a work of brilliant journalism.” Lesley Stahl, correspondent, 60 Minutes

Foreign correspondent Joe Parkinson is the Africa Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal and is currently based in Johannesburg.  

Drew Hinshaw, a senior reporter for the Wall Street Journal, spent a decade covering West Africa. He has also written for the New York Times Magazine, Time, Al Jazeera, the Atlantic and Rolling Stone.