I went to hear war correspondent Janine di Giovanni speak this weekend at the Southbank, as part of the Economist Books of the Year festival.

Her stories of conflict and despair were harrowing, and her talk raised the age-old debate of whether journalists should help those in need or remain impartial observers when covering wars.

Janine recalled an incident when NATO had accidentally bombed the place where she was stationed. The guy in charged handed her bandages to help the wounded but the photographer refused. His argument was that getting involved would compromise his impartiality – that he was a journalist, first and foremost. Janine, too. But she argued that being a human being superseded it all.

There’s no easy answer. Thinking about it takes me right back to journalism school, engraving ‘Wu Tang’ into the desk with a protractor while trying to figure it out.

Regardless, I recommend getting stuck into Janine’s latest book, ‘Ghosts by Daylight’. It’s about her life as a war correspondent, falling in love, and living with her demons.