Chris Ayres

For the anime voice actor, see Christopher Ayres.

Chris Ayres (born 1975) is a New York Times-bestselling author and journalist. He was born in 1975 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, but now lives in Los Angeles. He currently co-writes the 'Ask Dr Ozzy' column with Ozzy Osbourne for The Sunday Times Magazine (London) and Rolling Stone, and is a regular contributor to British GQ and The Times (London). He writes occasional columns for The Los Angeles Times and has been published in Forbes, Conde Nast Traveller, and Playboy.

In 2003 Chris Ayres took part in an embed scheme in Iraq - in which journalists were embedded with American forces to get a frontline view of the war - which he describes in his book "War Reporting for Cowards". The book provides a perspective on the American road to war as well as the roles and responsibilities of the embedded reporters that were brought along both on the front lines and in the command areas in the rear. At a deeper level the book provides a thought provoking look into Chris' generation and their approach to fear, courage and an increasingly frightening world.

Chris Ayres book could be viewed as being part of the larger genre of "late 20's / early 30's introspective memoirs". It is also a strong example of balanced reporting on the American war in Iraq.

Chris Ayres was nominated in 2004 as 'Foreign Correspondent of the Year' at the 2004 British Press Awards.

His autobiography is War Reporting for Cowards. It is his story of how he went from a Business Correspondent on the New York desk of the Times of London, to a war correspondent, by a combination of ignorance and happenstance. According to his website,^[1] the book is "now being developed as a motion picture by Film4, Blueprint Pictures, Thunder Road Pictures, and the UK Film Council, with a script by Mike Lesslie."

Ayres is also the author of "Death by Leisure: A Cautionary Tale". The book is a humorous memoir of Ayres' economic downfall as a result of buying into the California real estate market when money was cheap. Things came crashing down when former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan raised interest rates sixteen times and Ayres' adjustable rate mortgage was no longer affordable. The California weather seemed to confirm that humans are causing global warming, adding to the feeling that the apocalypse is nigh. Ayres recounts tales of drought, wildfires, torrential rains, and subsequent floods. The book is not all gloom and doom; moments of hope and redemption are sprinkled throughout, and Ayres' wry sense of humor gives the book a predominantly funny tone.

Chris Ayres co-wrote Ozzy Osbourne's memoir, 'I Am Ozzy', in 2009. It reached No. 2 on the New York Times bestseller list and No. 6 on the Sunday Times list in the UK.

External links

• Author's website

References