Michael Obert – Vita

Michael Obert, born in 1966, is a renowned German book author and journalist who writes for ZEIT Magazin, Sueddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, GEO, Stern, Greenpeace Magazin, and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and many other prestigious periodicals in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, as well for Courrier International (Paris), The Journal (New York) and Himal Southasian (Katmandu). He reports mainly from Africa and the Middle East, and has written several books on the Islamic world.

In his highly successful recent travelogue "On the River of Gods" he describes traveling for seven months on Africa’s third longest river, the Niger, from the source in the rainforest of Guinea, 2,600 miles through the Sahel and Southern Sahara, into the mouth of the Niger at the Bay of Benin. (National Geographic Editions, Munich 2005; German title: "Regenzauber"; not yet published in English language).

In "The Edges of the World", a selection of Michael Obert’s finest literary travel writing, he draws the readers’ attention to 25 lost spots, that haven’t been focused by travelers so far, forgotten paradises as well as dangerous war zones. In Nigeria he follows the footsteps of the famous Scottish explorer Mungo Park, or writes about young women in love in Iran, and – with his sharp eye and very narrative and heart-felt voice – draws his readers directly to the remote villages of Bhutan, to magic rituals along river Niger, or on a road trip to nowhere in Tadshikistan. (Malik Editions, Munich 2008; German title: "Die Raender der Welt"; not yet published in English language).

As a writer Obert has been compared with the likes of Bruce Chatwin, Jon Krakauer and Redmond O’Hanlon. His journalistic and literary work has been honored with various awards.

Obert currently lives in Berlin.