# Michael Scott Moore

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{{short description|American journalist}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2026}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Michael Scott Moore
| image            = Michael Scott Moore 7280005.jpg
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| alt              = Michael Scott Moore reads at Politics & Prose bookstore, July 28, 2018
| caption          = Moore reads at Politics & Prose bookstore, July 28, 2018
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| birth_date       = {{birth year and age|1969}} <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
| birth_place      = [Los Angeles, California](/source/Los_Angeles%2C_California)
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| occupation       = Author, journalist
| language         = English, German
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| citizenship      = US, Germany
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| alma_mater       = University of California, San Diego
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| genre            = non-fiction<!-- or: | genres = -->, fiction
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| website          = {{url|radiofreemike.net/home}}
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'''Michael Scott Moore''' (born 1969) is an American journalist and novelist. He is the author of ''Sweetness and Blood'' (2010), a nonfiction book about the global history of surfing, and ''The Desert and the Sea'' (2018), a memoir about his captivity in Somalia. His work has appeared in publications such as ''The Atlantic''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=Michael Scott|title=What Are Those Warships Doing Off Somalia?|url=https://psmag.com/news/what-are-those-warships-doing-off-somalia-5046|website=Pacific Standard (formerly Miller-McCune); republished via The Atlantic archive|date=2009|access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>, ''The New Republic''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=Michael Scott|title=Somalia's Pirates Are Back—And They're Furious|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/72575/somalias-pirates-are-back-and-theyre-furious|website=The New Republic|date=18 January 2011|access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>, and the ''Los Angeles Times''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Moore|first1=Michael Scott|title=German Election: Why America Should Care|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-sep-24-oe-moore24-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=24 September 2009|access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>, and he has served as a writer for ''SF Weekly''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sherbert|first1=Erin|title=Michael Scott Moore, Former SF Weekly Writer, Kidnapped by Somali Pirates|url=http://www.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/01/27/michael-scott-moore-former-sf-weekly-writer-kidnapped-by-somali-pirates|website=SF Weekly|date=27 January 2012|access-date=2 March 2015}}</ref> and as an editor for ''Spiegel Online International''.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Precedent or a Farce? Court Faces Daunting Hurdles in Hamburg Pirate Trial|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-precedent-or-a-farce-court-faces-daunting-hurdles-in-hamburg-pirate-trial-a-740122.html|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=18 January 2011|access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>

Moore graduated from [University of California, San Diego](/source/University_of_California%2C_San_Diego) in 1991 with a degree in [German Literature](/source/German_Literature). He lives in [Berlin](/source/Berlin) and also holds [German citizenship](/source/German_citizenship). In January 2012, he was abducted in [Galkayo](/source/Galkayo), Somalia while researching a book about modern [piracy](/source/piracy).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Strange|first1=Hannah|title=Journalist Michael Scott Moore Released After Nearly Three Years as a Hostage|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/journalist-michael-scott-moore-released-in-somalia-after-nearly-three-years-as-a-hostage/|website=Vice.com|date=23 September 2014 |access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref> Moore was held captive for over two and a half years, and released September 22, 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=American-German Journalist Michael Scott Moore Released in Somalia|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/american-german-journalist-michael-scott-moore-released-in-somalia-a-993308.html|accessdate=2 March 2015|agency=Der Spiegel|date=September 23, 2014}}</ref> He is a member of the Board of Directors of Hostage US, a non-profit that supports American hostages and their families.

==Abduction==
thumb|upright|left|Moore (right) with fellow hostage Rolly Tambara at a reunion in Seychelles in 2018

===Background===
Moore traveled to Somalia on a grant from the [Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting](/source/Pulitzer_Center_for_Crisis_Reporting) to research a book on piracy. He arrived in the town of [Galkayo](/source/Galkayo) in January 2012 as part of this reporting assignment. 

===Kidnapping===
While in Galkayo, Moore was abducted by a local gang of pirates. Several days later, two aid workers, [Jessica Buchanan and Poul Thisted](/source/Rescue_of_Jessica_Buchanan_and_Poul_Hagen_Thisted), also being held by Somali pirates, were rescued by a [Navy SEAL](/source/United_States_Navy_SEALs) operation. The pirates holding Moore subsequently demanded $20 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=A War Journalist's Worst Case Scenario: The Kidnapping of Michael Scott Moore|url=https://medium.com/war-is-boring/a-war-journalists-worst-case-scenario-the-kidnapping-of-michael-scott-moore-d9ae08733eb9|website=Medium.com|date=25 November 2013 |accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref>

===Captivity and negotiations===
Officials from the United States and the [German Foreign Ministry](/source/German_Foreign_Ministry) collaborated on negotiations with the pirates. He was held for more than two and a half years (977 days) before being freed on September 22, 2014. A ransom of $1.6 million was paid for his release.<ref>{{cite news|title=American-German Journalist Michael Scott Moore Released in Somalia|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/american-german-journalist-michael-scott-moore-released-in-somalia-a-993308.html|accessdate=8 March 2015|agency=Der Spiegel|date=September 23, 2014}}</ref>

===Legal consequences===
In 2024, two of the pirates involved in Moore's abduction were each sentenced to 30 years in American prisons.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Breen |first1=Kerry |title=2 Somali pirates get 30 years in kidnapping of U.S. journalist held hostage for 977 days|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/somali-pirates-convicted-kidnapping-hostage-michael-moore/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |access-date=4 December 2024 |date=13 November 2024}}</ref>

==Career==
Moore has published three books, including the novel ''Too Much of Nothing'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Fiction Book Review: Too Much of Nothing by Michael Scott Moore|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7867-1196-3|website=Publishersweekly.com|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref> published by Carroll & Graf, and the nonfiction history of surfing ''Sweetness and Blood: How Surfing Spread from Hawaii and California to the Rest of the World, with Some Unexpected Results'', published by Rodale in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Andy|title=Book Review: Sweetness and Blood by Michael Scott Moore|work=The New York Times |date=17 June 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/20/books/review/Martin-t.html?_r=0|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref> ''Sweetness and Blood'' was named a Best Book of 2010 by ''[The Economist](/source/The_Economist)''<ref>{{cite news|title=Page Turners|url=https://www.economist.com/culture/2010/12/02/page-turners|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref> and [PopMatters](/source/PopMatters).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Popmatters Staff|title=The Best Non-Fiction of 2010|url=http://www.popmatters.com/feature/136204-the-best-non-fiction-of-2010/P5/|website=www.popmatters.com|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref> ''The Desert and the Sea'' received positive critical attention and appeared on Apple Books category bestseller lists in August 2018.<ref>{{cite web|title=Apple iBooks Category Bestsellers, August 5, 2018|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/77705-apple-ibooks-category-bestsellers-august-5-2018.html|website=Publishers Weekly|date=10 August 2018|access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>

Moore worked as the theater columnist for [SF Weekly](/source/SF_Weekly),<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sherbert|first1=Erin|title=Michael Scott Moore, Former SF Weekly Writer, Kidnapped by Somali Pirates|url=http://www.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2012/01/27/michael-scott-moore-former-sf-weekly-writer-kidnapped-by-somali-pirates|website=SFWeekly.com|accessdate=2 March 2015}}</ref> until he moved to Berlin, Germany in 2005. In Germany he worked as both a staff and a freelance editor for [Spiegel Online International](/source/Spiegel_Online_International). In 2010-11 he covered a trial of ten Somali pirates in Hamburg who were charged with trying to hijack the [MV Taipan](/source/MV_Taipan).<ref>{{cite news|title=A Precedent or a Farce? Court Faces Daunting Hurdles in Hamburg Pirate Trial|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-precedent-or-a-farce-court-faces-daunting-hurdles-in-hamburg-pirate-trial-a-740122.html|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=18 January 2011 |accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref>

His journalism has been published in [The Atlantic Monthly](/source/The_Atlantic_Monthly), [The New Republic](/source/The_New_Republic), and the [Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times). From 2009 to 2012, he also wrote a weekly column for [Miller-McCune](/source/Miller-McCune) (now Pacific Standard) on trans-Atlantic issues, including the NATO effort against Somali pirates.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=Michael Scott|title=What Are Those Warships Doing Off Somalia?|url=https://psmag.com/news/what-are-those-warships-doing-off-somalia-5046|website=psmag.com|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref> In 2009, for the column, he sailed on the Turkish frigate [Gediz](/source/G-class_frigate) which had been charged with catching pirates in the Gulf of Aden.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Moore|first1=Michael Scott|title=How Do You Prosecute a Pirate?|url=https://psmag.com/news/how-do-you-prosecute-a-pirate-6181|website=psmag.com|accessdate=8 March 2015}}</ref>

==Works==

* ''Too Much of Nothing'' New York : Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. {{ISBN|9780786711963}}, {{OCLC|52460026}}
* ''Sweetness and Blood: How Surfing Spread from Hawaii and California to the Rest of the World, with Some Unexpected Results.'' New York, NY : Rodale, 2010. {{ISBN|9781605294278}}, {{OCLC|922046069}}
* ''The Desert and the Sea : 977 Days Captive on the Somali Pirate Coast'', New York, NY : Harper Wave, 2018. {{ISBN|9780062449177}}, {{OCLC|967079760}}

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Michael Scott}}
Category:University of California, San Diego alumni
Category:Journalists from Los Angeles
Category:American expatriates in Germany
Category:American people taken hostage
Category:1969 births
Category:Living people

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Scott Moore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Scott_Moore) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Scott_Moore?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.