Siege : inside the Lindt Café : the powerful and uncompromising story of what happened and why the police response went so tragically wrong / Deborah Snow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Snow, Deborah, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terrorism--Australia--Sydney (N.S.W.).

Terrorism.

Australia.

Sieges--Australia--Sydney (N.S.W.).

Sieges.

Hostages--Australia--Sydney (N.S.W.).

Hostages.

Lindt Chocolate Café (Sydney, N.S.W.).

New South Wales--Sydney.

Physical Description:

xi, 315 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, portraits, 1 plan ; 24 cm

Other Title:

Inside the Lindt Café siege

Place of Publication:

Crows Nest, NSW : Allen & Unwin, 2018.

Summary:

On 15 December 2014, just ten days before Christmas, the unthinkable happened. A terrorist attack on Australian soil. For seventeen hours Islamic State-inspired gunman Man Haron Monis held his captives in a terrifying drama that paralysed Sydney and kept a nation glued to its television screens. Two hostages were killed and three seriously wounded. The others would have their lives changed for ever. Despite the police leadership declaring it was well prepared for a terrorist attack, many shortcomings on the night revealed a response that fell seriously short of that promise. Deborah Snow lays bare what happened behind the scenes in the cafe as the hostages tried to keep themselves alive while waiting for a police response that didn't come. She also takes us into the police command posts as communications, equipment and decision-making structures broke down. Hurtling towards its inevitable and tragic conclusion, Siege draws us into a vortex of police missteps, extraordinary bravery and profound grief to reveal what happened during that awful day. Shocking, compelling and revealing Siege will take its place as the classic account of these events.

Contents:

Author's note

Prologue

1. In the beginning

2. The first hours

3. Shape-shifter

4. The hostages

5. Waiting game

6. Another escape

7. Lost opportunities

8. Ships in the night

9. Lengthening shadows

10. The long night

11. Just seven remain

12. The storm breaks

13. Loss

14. The inquest

15. Nagging questions

16. Scars and memories

Postscript

Afterword: A letter from Louisa Hope.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781760296933

1760296937

OCLC:

1059052601