Robert Young Pelton

Pelton was born July 25, 1955, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. At age 10, he began attending Grade 6 at Saint John's Cathedral Boys' School in Selkirk, Manitoba. The school is acclaimed for a wilderness curriculum featuring one thousand mile canoe trips, snowshoe marathons, raising animals, and advanced study of Latin, history, and religion. Later, an offshoot/affiliate school (St John's Ontario) became known for the deaths of a number of students in what became known as the Lake Timiskaming tragedy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.recoilweb.com/zeroed-in-robert-young-pelton-139796.html|title=Zeroed In: Robert Young Pelton|first=Rob|last=Curtis|date=August 8, 2018|website=Recoil}}

At age 17, Pelton began in the Toronto mailroom of the ad agency BBDO before being promoted to copywriter.{{cite web |url = http://rolfpotts.com/robert-young-pelton/|title = Robert Young Pelton's Come Back Alive|date = December 2005|publisher = Vagabonding with Rolf Potts| access-date= 2017-09-02}} He then worked for various multimedia companies that did product launches, which led to him working for Apple Inc., where he worked on the Lisa and later the Macintosh launch.{{cite web|url= http://lost.art.br/ryp_e.htm|title= Interview: Robert Young Pelton|publisher= Lost Art|access-date= 2017-09-01}}{{cite web | url = http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK04Ak01.html| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071014234653/http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HK04Ak01.html| url-status = unfit| archive-date = 2007-10-14|title = Mercenaries or 'contractors'? Licensed to Kill by Robert Young Pelton|publisher = Asia Times Online with David Isenberg| access-date= 2009-04-09}} His first break as a writer came in 1991, when he reported on the Camel Trophy, an annual competition by Land Rover across difficult terrain in Africa. Pelton competed for the U.S. team and published his account in Soldier of Fortune.{{cite news|last1=Siler|first1=Wes|title=Breaking the Law with Robert Young Pelton in the Fastest Truck Ever|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2162971/breaking-law-robert-young-pelton-fastest-truck-ever|access-date=2 September 2017|work=Outside|date=March 8, 2017}}

In 1993, Pelton purchased the name of the Fielding's Travel Guide from William Morrow and Company and published a couple of traditional guides{{cite news|last1=Mantell|first1=Suzanne|title=Travel's Long, Strange Odyssey|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20060130/7482-travel-s-long-strange-odyssey.html|access-date=6 September 2017|work=Publishers Weekly|date=January 27, 2006}} that were focused toward younger, independent travelers.{{cite news|last1=Dubin|first1=Zan|title=Adventurer Publishes a Field Guide for the Fearless|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-12-25-ls-12378-story.html|access-date=6 September 2017|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 25, 1996}}

Pelton licensed data-based travel content to companies such as Microsoft and IBM, selling his businesses to turn full-time to conflict coverage in the mid-1990s. He began with a two-book deal from Random House (The Adventurist and Come Back Alive), a television series from Discovery (The World's Most Dangerous Places), and a major web event with ABC News called Dangerous Places. Pelton created the concept of "solo" or "solo journalist".{{cite news|last1=Sperber|first1=Amanda|title=Robert Young Pelton on His Expedition To Find Joseph Kony|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-young-pelton-on-his-expedition-to-find-joseph-kony|access-date=5 September 2017|work=Daily Beast|date=November 16, 2011}} defined as a person who provides text, video, photos, and audio from remote regions without support. He founded the website Dangerous Magazine at which he published his own and other writers' articles about adventure travel.{{cite web|title=About Dangerous Magazine|url=http://dangerousmagazine.com/about-dangerous-magazine/|website=Dangerous Magazine|access-date=5 September 2017}}{{cite web |last1=Moulton |first1=Sam |title=Adventurer Robert Young Pelton on Dangerous Places |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1900846/interview-issue-2012-adventurer-robert-young-pelton-dangerous-places |website=Outside Online |access-date=24 January 2021 |language=en |date=20 June 2012}}

In January 2003, Pelton was on assignment for National Geographic Adventure in the Darién Gap when he and two 22-year-old travelers were abducted by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The trio was held in the jungle for 10 days before being released.{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/01/24/colombia.journalists/ |title=3 Americans freed, 2 journalists still captive in Colombia |access-date=September 2, 2017 |publisher =CNN News |date=January 24, 2003}}{{cite news|last1=Markey|first1=Sean|title=Adventure Writer Reportedly Kidnapped in Panama|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0122_030122_kidnapping.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030416024434/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0122_030122_kidnapping.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 16, 2003|access-date=2 September 2017|work=National Geographic News|date=January 22, 2003|ref=Markey}}{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0605/columns/robert_young_pelton.html|title=Robert Young Pelton's World: The Kidnap Course|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200104/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0605/columns/robert_young_pelton.html |archive-date=2016-03-03 |access-date=2017-09-02 |date=May 2006|publisher=National Geographic}}{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Nicole|title=Adventure Magazine Reporter Recounts Ten-Day Kidnapping by Colombian Death Squad|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0127_030127_PeltonQA.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030401215133/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0127_030127_PeltonQA.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 1, 2003|access-date=2 September 2017|work=National Geographic Adventure|date=January 27, 2003|ref=Davis}}

Pelton contributed to National Geographic Adventure as both a contributing editor and a columnist from January 2001 to 2007. In December 2007, he released an article on Blackwater Worldwide. He was involved in negotiations with the President of Equatorial Guinea regarding the early release of coup plotters Simon Mann and Nick du Toit, who had worked for Executive Outcomes in the mid-1990s. The story was documented in the May 2008 Men's Journal article "How to Stage a Coup".{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In 2006, Pelton teamed up with Eason Jordan, former head of international news for CNN, and several others to launch Iraq Slogger, a clearinghouse of news and information coming out of Iraq during the Iraq War. The site was intended to aggregate articles by both foreign correspondents and Iraqi journalists, as well as nonprofessionals.{{cite news|last1=Gahran|first1=Amy|title=Iraq Slogger: Pro + CitJ from former CNN Chief|url=http://www.poynter.org/2006/iraq-slogger-pro-citj-from-former-cnn-chief/79923/|access-date=28 August 2017|work=Poynter|date=December 24, 2006}}{{cite news|last1=Mitchell|first1=Greg|title=Former CNN News Chief To Launch 'IraqSlogger' Site|url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/news/former-cnn-news-chief-to-launch-iraqslogger-site/|access-date=28 August 2017|work=Editor & Publisher|date=December 13, 2006}}{{cite news|last1=Filkins|first1=Dexter|last2=Mazzetti|first2=Mark|title=Contractors Tied to Effort to Track and Kill Militants|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/world/asia/15contractors.html|access-date=26 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=March 14, 2010}} According to Pelton, the site had insufficient income and ceased operations in 2009.{{cite news|last1=Corn|first1=David|last2=Schulman|first2=Daniel|title=The Pentagon's Stringers|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2010/03/robert-young-pelton-eason-jordan-isn-praedict|access-date=26 August 2017|work=Mother Jones|date=March 29, 2010}}

In December 2008, Pelton travelled the Horn of Africa with both pirates and an anti-piracy crew researching the industry. Pelton resumed immersion-style coverage in January of 2009 by going inside the U.S. Army's controversial Human Terrain System.{{cite web |url = http://www.mensjournal.com/new-war-for-hearts-and-minds|title = Afghanistan: The New War for Hearts and Minds|publisher = Robert Young Pelton speaks with Men's Journal| access-date = January 21, 2009}} Around that time, he also spent a year as an advisor to NATO's Afghanistan commander.{{cite news|url = http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/12/02/2009-12-02_taliban_karzai_will_prevent_a_us_victory.html?r=news%2Fpolitics|title = Too Many Obstacles For Victory in Afghanistan|publisher = Robert Young Pelton with the New York Daily News| access-date = December 2, 2009|date=December 2, 2009}}

In 2008, Pelton and Jordan founded AfPax Insider, a newsgathering and research service in Afghanistan and Pakistan modeled on Iraq Slogger. The venture provided free content on its website and was partially funded by the U.S. military.{{cite news |url = http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5609836,00.html|title = Setting the record straight on Robert Young Pelton|publisher=Deutsche Welle|access-date = May 26, 2010}} Controversy arose when a Defense Department official who was operating an unauthorized spy ring{{cite news|last1=Mazzetti|first1=Mark|title=Inquiry Finds U.S. Official Set Up Spy Ring in Asia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/29/world/asia/29intel.html|access-date=28 August 2017|work=The New York Times|date=October 28, 2010}} allegedly diverted funds that were intended to pay the open-source project.{{cite news|last1=Stein|first1=Jeff|title=Setting the record straight on 'contractor' spies|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/05/times_corrects_spy_contractor.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015205926/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/05/times_corrects_spy_contractor.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 15, 2012|access-date=26 August 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=May 25, 2010}} According to Jordan, the venture never had a "full-fledged launch" into offering a premium subscription service to private clients, and due to insufficient funding, remained a free website until it became inactive in August 2009.

In 2011, Pelton created Somalia Report. With assistance from around 140 locals and western editors, Pelton provided ground coverage of al-Shabaab, pirates, governments, contractors, intelligence groups, and regular people on a 24/7 information website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In June of 2015, Pelton started publishing the Migrant Report to track the movement of refugees and migrants.{{cite news|title=Website to document global migration phenomenon launched|url=https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20150619/local/website-to-document-global-migration-phenomenon-launched.573192|access-date=21 December 2017|work=Times of Malta|date=June 9, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Xuequan|first1=Mu|title=Website specializing in migration news launched in Malta|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-06/19/c_134342085.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414102538/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-06/19/c_134342085.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 14, 2016|access-date=21 December 2017|work=Xinhuanet|date=June 19, 2015}} The venture was sponsored by a non-profit organization in Malta. and provided in-depth coverage from Libya, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

;The World's Most Dangerous Places

Pelton's first major writing project was his self-published guide to conflict, The World's Most Dangerous Places.{{cite news|last1=Hatcher|first1=Thurston|title=Book advises how to survive in trouble spots|url=http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/03/02/danger.side/index.html|access-date=2 September 2017|work=CNN|date=March 2, 2001}} The New York Times {{Cite web|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2421969/striated-caracara-most-remarkable-creature-meiburg-book-review|title=You've Probably Never Heard of the World's Smartest Bird of Prey|first=Paul|last=Kvinta|date=April 2, 2021|website=Outside Online}} described it as "One of the oddest and most fascinating travel books to appear in a long time". CNN called the book a "compendium of the world's frightful places."{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/03/02/danger.side/index.html|title=CNN.com - Travel - A compendium of the world's frightful places - March 2, 2001|website=edition.cnn.com}}

The first edition was written in 1993; it currently is in its fifth edition from Harper Resource.{{Cite web |last=Pelton |first=Robert Young |date= |title=Robert Young Pelton's The World's Most Dangerous Places - HarperCollins |url=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/robert-young-peltons-the-worlds-most-dangerous-places-robert-young-pelton?variant=32117869051938}}

;The Adventurist

The Adventurist is Pelton's autobiography that covers his childhood and an assortment of later travel experiences around the world up until 1999.{{cite web|title=The Adventurist: A Life in Dangerous Places|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-385-49567-7|website=Publishers Weekly|access-date=21 December 2017|date=May 29, 2000}}{{cite journal|title=The Adventurist|journal=Kirkus Reviews|date=May 15, 2000|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/robert-young-pelton/the-adventurist/|access-date=21 December 2017}}

;Come Back Alive

A real-world survival guide, written in a humorous style.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

;Hunter, Hammer and Heaven, Three Worlds Gone Mad

A 2002 book on Pelton's journey into three wars in three tiny countries Chechnya, Sierra Leone, and Bougainville, which were examples of a jihad against the Russians, a mercenary war for resources, and an eco war to preserve a native lifestyle.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

;Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror

Pelton has written about contemporary private military contractors, as well as his experiences with US Special Forces in the opening weeks in the War on Terror.{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA906ajeky8|title= Robert Young Pelton discuss the growing role of mercenary contractors in war zones and the privatization of National Security|date=January 12, 2010 |publisher= UCLA|access-date= }}{{cite web |year=2009 |url = http://iraqforsale.org/robert_pelton.php|title = Kerry Candaele's interview with Robert Pelton |publisher = Iraq for sale| access-date = 2009-04-09 }}{{cite web |url = http://www.harpers.org/archive/2006/09/sb-six-questions-robert-young-pelton-1157654152|title = Six Questions for Robert Young Pelton|publisher = Ken Silverstein with Harper's| access-date = September 6, 2006}}{{cite web |date=February 7, 2007|url = https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/jan-june07/outsourcing_02-07.html|title = Congress Investigates Private Military Contracts in Iraq|publisher = PBS| access-date = 2009-04-09 }} Of Licensed to Kill, one reviewer summarized: "He is a journalistic story-quilt of characters engaged as private security contractors and mercenaries in a variety of settings from Afghanistan to Equatorial Guinea... The pages turn... because Pelton's stories are intrinsically interesting."Peter J. Woolley, "Soldiers of Fortune," in The Common Review (Spring 2007), pp. 46–8; or http://www.thecommonreview.org/fileadmin/template/tcr/pdf/TCR54.pdf Retrieved December 27, 2011. The book was reviewed by author and filmmaker Sebastian Junger ("An incredible look into the murky and virtually impenetrable world of private military contractors . . . Pelton may well have seen the future.") and terrorism expert Peter Bergen ("A rollicking read that takes the reader inside the murky world of military contractors—from the craggy passes of the Afghan-Pakistan border to the extreme danger of Baghdad's airport road, to the diamond fields of Africa. Licensed to Kill is not only a great travelogue, [but] it also has some important things to say about the brave new world of privatized violence").{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

;Raven

Raven, Pelton's only novel, is a fictionalized account of his early life interwoven with experiences in the Pacific Northwest.{{Cite web |last=Pelton |first=Robert Young |title=Raven: One Boy Against the Wilderness |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49350024-raven}}

;Civilian Warriors

In July 2013, Pelton stated in an interview with Spy Talk's Jeff Stein{{Cite web|url=http://www.andmagazine.com/content/phoenix/13104.html|title=Page moved: Blackwater Book Flap|website=www.andmagazine.com}} that Erik Prince had come to him to fix a ghostwritten autobiography that Prince had been unsuccessfully trying to publish since February 2008 with Regnery{{Cite web|url=http://www.publiceye.org/magazine/v23n3/regnery_publishing_rightweb.html|title=PublicEye.org - The Website of Political Research Associates|website=www.publiceye.org}} and again in 2010{{Cite web|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/09/blackwater_chief_erik_prince_t.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203053626/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/09/blackwater_chief_erik_prince_t.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 3, 2013|title=SpyTalk - Blackwater founder Erik Prince targets Democrats in memoir|website=The Washington Post}} with Simon & Schuster. According to the interview, Pelton rewrote Prince's book, hired a fact-checker to remove numerous plagiarized passages from the previous writers, and dissuaded Prince from self-publishing,{{Cite web|url=http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/blackwater-founder-associate-fight-over-memoirs|title=Blackwater founder, associate in fight over memoirs | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com|date=July 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723090507/http://hamptonroads.com/2013/07/blackwater-founder-associate-fight-over-memoirs|archive-date=July 23, 2013}} getting Prince a US$1 million advance from Adrian Zackheim at Penguin Publishing.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In late 2001, Pelton began writing feature stories for National Geographic Adventure and then continued writing a column until 2009 entitled, "Pelton's World" for National Geographic Adventure. His feature stories for National Geographic covered his journeys into Afghanistan, Iraq, and Colombia.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Pelton has written for and been profiled in numerous magazines including The World's Most Dangerous Friend by Tim Cahill in Men's Journal and Outside magazine covering topics such as Blackwater, the U.S. military Human Terrain System, South African mercenaries, and American military volunteers in rebel-held Burma.{{cite web | url=https://www.vqronline.org/people/robert-young-pelton | title=Robert Young Pelton | VQR Online }} He also has written about his time with Somali pirates and maritime anti-piracy security teams for Bloomberg Businessweek and security contractors in Iraq for Popular Mechanics.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In May 2014, Vice magazine released a multimedia event{{Cite web|url=http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/251381/vice-devotes-entire-issue-to-south-sudan/|title=Vice devotes entire issue to South Sudan | Poynter.|date=May 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513102526/http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/251381/vice-devotes-entire-issue-to-south-sudan/|archive-date=May 13, 2014}} which featured Pelton traveling{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/war-is-boring/who-can-save-south-sudan-ec16c85b5f77|title=Who Can Save South Sudan?|first=War Is|last=Boring|date=May 12, 2014|website=Medium}} with photographer Tim Freccia and with a former Lost Boy, Machot Lap Thiep,{{Cite web|url=http://www.humanosphere.org/2014/05/seattle-man-former-lost-boy-in-vice-report-on-south-sudan-crisis/|title=Seattle man, former Lost Boy, in Vice report on South Sudan crisis | Humanosphere|date=May 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513171247/http://www.humanosphere.org/2014/05/seattle-man-former-lost-boy-in-vice-report-on-south-sudan-crisis/|archive-date=May 13, 2014}} to South Sudan at the height of the fighting. It was the first time in Vice's 21-year history{{Cite web|url=http://www.vice.com/read/introducing-saving-south-sudan|title=Introducing the 'Saving South Sudan' Issue | VICE United States|date=May 13, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513150638/http://www.vice.com/read/introducing-saving-south-sudan|archive-date=May 13, 2014}} that a single author and single photographer created an entire issue on one topic. The 130-page, 50,000-word article was also released online In conjunction, a three-parter 40-minute documentary film entitled Saving South Sudan accompanied the article. {{cite news|url=https://www.poynter.org/news/vice-devotes-entire-issue-south-sudan|title=Vice devotes entire issue to South Sudan|last1=Hare|first1=Kristen|date=May 12, 2014|work=Poynter|access-date=3 September 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/znw8za/theyre-all-coming-here-0000283-v21n4|title=They're All Coming Here - Chapter 1|last1=Pelton|first1=Robert Young|date=May 15, 2014|work=Vice|access-date=3 September 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/saving-south-sudan/|title=Saving South Sudan|website=Top Documentary Films|access-date=3 September 2017}}

Artist Billy Tucci illustrated and wrote a 64-page illustrated novel entitled Roll Hard based on one of Pelton's chapters in Licensed to Kill. The book documents the true story of a team of Blackwater misfits who must travel up and down the most dangerous road in Iraq. Pelton rode every mission with the team for a month, which routinely came under attack. After Pelton left the team, they were hit by an IED with one fatality and a number wounded. Wired magazine described it as "At a time when comics are still dominated by busty babes, zombies, and superheroes wearing tights, Pelton and Tucci's gritty, journalistic portrayal of America's fighters-for-hire is a profound departure."{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2012/07/blackwater-chronicles-billy-tucci/|title=Go Inside a Mercenary Company in Iraq in Unflinching Comic Blackwater Chronicles|first=David|last=Axe|magazine=Wired|date=July 18, 2012|via=www.wired.com}}

Publishers Weekly described the book: "While that's a prime setup for endless scenes of action-movie carnage, the narrative instead focuses on the men as professionals and what makes them put their lives on the line for a daily payout around $600. It's that spotlight on the humanity of the contractors that make this an engaging read, and artist Tucci (Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion) turns in understated, realistic artwork that is among the finest of his career. While the role of contractors in the Iraq conflict is controversial, this gives it a human face."{{cite web | title=Comics Book Review: Roll Hard by Billy Tucci and Robert Young Pelton. Adventurist Media (adventuristmedia.com), $9.99 trade paper (54 p) ISBN 978-1-940418-00-1 | website=PublishersWeekly.com | date=2013-11-29 | url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-940418-00-1 | access-date=2020-07-10}}

In order to gain access, Pelton has spent an unusual amount of time living with, traveling with, and documenting some of the world's well-known insurgent groups. Some of the groups Pelton has lived with and interviewed include: the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, the LURD in Liberia, MILF in the Southern Philippines, Bougainville Revolutionary Army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Southern Sudan, the Taliban in Afghanistan, the FARC, and AUC in Colombia, the Chechen rebels and the Karen National Liberation Army, the Karen National Union and the Free Burma Rangers in Burma{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11817561|title= Burma's rebels fuel post election fears of violence |date=November 22, 2010|publisher=The BBC |access-date=November 23, 2010}} His access and interviews initially were to create The World's Most Dangerous Places. His unusual and death-defying efforts to get this access soon then morphed into his TV series and then into a series of other books and film projects.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Pelton has described and shown how he gets access and world exclusive interviews in his TV series The World's Most Dangerous Places for the Discovery Channel, investigating and reporting from the inside the drug business in Colombia and Peru, the mafia in Georgia and Turkey, and bounty hunting in Mexico.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Pelton executive produced{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/10/02/pelton/|title=CNN.com - Robert Young Pelton: Insights into Afghanistan - October 2, 2001|website=edition.cnn.com}} and hosted seven one-hour specials for Discovery from 1998 until 2003. Pelton travels to meet rebel leaders in Afghanistan, Chechnya, the Philippines, Colombia, West Africa, and even militias in the United States. His list of interviews includes Afghan leaders like Massoud and General Dostum, African child soldiers and rebels in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Sudan, Colombian rebels included the FARC's Mono Jojoy, Alphonso Cano, and Marulando, along with many other wanted leaders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUk1ZBUQSYw|title=Robert Young Pelton - His Travels To "The World's Most Dangerous Places" and The Future Of War|via=www.youtube.com}} One of his most well-known interviews is his exclusive interview of "American Taliban"{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9378343|title=A Tale of Two Guantanamo Sentences|website=NPR.org}} John Walker Lindh. His interview was featured on CNN and became the first time an American al Qaeda member had been interviewed{{Cite web|url=https://www.kathryncramer.com/kathryn_cramer/2006/01/the_truth_about.html|title=Robert Young Pelton: The Truth about John Walker Lindh|website=Kathryn Cramer}} after 9/11.

After the publication of his book "The World's Most Dangerous Places" by Fielding Worldwide and then Harper Collins Pelton was a popular talk show guest. His solo efforts to "Dangerous Places" were featured by ABC News in a multi-part series on ABCNews.com. This idea was then developed into a long-term contract and documentary series with Discovery Communications He then began to make an eponymous series of documentaries, first in partnership with 44 Blue and then with Academy Award nominee Jonathan Stack. Pelton would also partner or assist other investigative filmmakers.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The Crescent and the Cross: Pelton's first documentary for Discovery takes viewers to the Philippines where he tracks down the country's most wanted terrorist, visits a crucifixion, stays with the MILF/BIAF in Mindanao, and becomes the first to film a Marxist rebel group on the island of Negros.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The Lion of Panjshir: Pelton spends three years trying to get to Massoud but is blocked by border guards, avalanches, and the Taliban. He documents his time with the Taliban during their occupation of Kabul and on the front lines. Later after teaming up with legendary cameraman Peter Jouvenal he finally interviews Massoud. The film is archived {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZJ1igUb4li1_hXi59boRLA|title=Massoud Foundation - YouTube|website=www.youtube.com}} on the Massoud Foundation site.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Inside Liberia: Pelton journeys to the civil war in Liberia where he lives with a group of rebels who are surrounded by Charles Taylor's forces. Pelton befriends the Small Boys Unit who after a battle rewards him with a severed head. As conditions worsen the film lays out the horror of starvation and war with the help of James Brabazon, who had journeyed with the rebels a year earlier. Brabazon gathers evidence of smuggled weapons and Pelton would later journey to Equatorial Guinea to negotiate the release of their security detail who were caught up in the failed coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/04/my-friend-the-m/|title='My Friend, the Mercenary From Hell'|magazine=Wired|via=www.wired.com|last1=Shachtman|first1=Noah}}

Inside Colombia: An intense journey into a three-sided war with right-wing death squads, leftist guerrillas, and the government forces. Pelton is plunged into violence as he witnesses the murder of civilians, interviews the leaders of the FARC, and goes deep inside the cocaine business. Pelton was accompanied by writer Tim Cahill who later wrote "The Most Dangerous Friend" for Men's Journal and featured in his book "Hold the Enlightenment" and Men's Journals "Wild Stories" compendium.{{Cite web|url=http://www.adventurecollection.com/in-conversation-with-tim-cahill/|title=In Conversation with Tim Cahill|date=August 19, 2017}}

The Legend of Heavy D and the Boys: General Dostum{{Cite web|url=https://www.sofmag.com/the-last-warlord-the-life-and-legend-of-dostum-the-afghan-warlord-who-led-us-special-forces-to-topple-the-taliban-regime/|title=The Last Warlord: The Life and Legend of Dostum, the Afghan Warlord Who Led US Special Forces to Topple the Taliban Regime|date=September 4, 2018}} invites Pelton to cover his battle against the Taliban where Pelton documents ODA 595 later known as the "horse soldiers' a group of 12 men fighting on horseback. Pelton documents the Battle of Qali Jangi and its horrific aftermath and gives the world his exclusive interview with John Walker Lindh and an inside look at how secret special operations teams work.{{Cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/central/12/20/ret.walker.transcript/|title=CNN.com - Transcript of John Walker interview - July 4, 2002|website=edition.cnn.com}}

Kidnapped: While his film crew waits in Texas to do an anniversary show on 9/11, Pelton is delayed. He has been kidnapped{{Cite web|url=https://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/broadcasts/720318|title=Colombia / Journalists Kidnapping / Pelton, Smaker Interview | Vanderbilt Television News Archive|website=tvnews.vanderbilt.edu}} by the AUC-BEC death squads and is marched through the jungle at gunpoint.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kidnapped-writer-is-freed-after-an-adventure-too-far-125712.html|title=Kidnapped writer is freed after an adventure too far|date=February 6, 2014|website=The Independent}} His captors release him when the leader of the AUC Carlos Castano remembers Pelton from the first interview Pelton had set up. Pelton also recounts his time in Chechnya and his motivations. This event was also recreated by actors as part of the National Geographic's Locked Up Abroad{{Cite web|url=http://natgeotv.com/ca/locked-up-abroad|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607090325/http://natgeotv.com/ca/locked-up-abroad|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 7, 2013|title=Locked Up Abroad|website=National Geographic - Videos, TV Shows & Photos - Canada}} series.

House of War: Pelton produced "House of War" with documentary director Paul Yule to document the largest and most bloody battle in Operation Enduring Freedom, the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi.

Pelton went to Iraq to cover the war for ABC Investigative and then led a search for a find of chemical-tipped rockets for CBS's 60 Minutes. Pelton eventually chose to stay along the Syrian border with insurgents and later document evidence of mass graves around the country, traveling in a red Bentley previously owned by Uday Hussein.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Pelton would return to Iraq in late 2004 to live and work with a Blackwater USA security team running Route Irish in Baghdad while researching his book Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Iraq Guns for Hire: National Geographic hired Pelton to go inside the world of private security contractors for the film Iraq: Guns For Hire. as part of their Explorer series. Pelton provides unique access to several companies like Blackwater, Reed, Triple Canopy, and others in this human look at the dangerous job of protecting people and cargo in Iraq.{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0992349/|title=Iraq's Guns for Hire|date=January 21, 2007|via=IMDb}}

Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers – a documentary by Robert Greenwald with footage and interviews of Pelton discussing mercenaries and contractors{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0815181/|title=Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (2006) - IMDb|via=www.imdb.com}}

Shadow Company – A feature-length documentary by Nick Bicanic with assistance from Pelton. The documentary voiced by Gerald Butler also features Pelton's exclusive footage and interviews discussing his time with mercenaries and private security contractors in Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Afghanistan, and Iraq.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Weapons of Mass Deception: Danny Schechter's documentary{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFkqtxTJPoU|title=WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception|via=www.youtube.com}} is about how the media was manipulated during the Iraq War. Pelton provides footage and commentary on his time in Iraq working for CBS 60 Minutes and ABC News Investigative Unit.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Saving South Sudan: Pelton's documentary for Vice was the first time the White Army had been filmed in combat and the first interview with Riek Machar and his wife after they fled to the bush. The film was part of a web event that was released along with Pelton authoring an entire issue of Vice magazine on South Sudan and Pelton's trip published by Vice.{{Cite web|url=http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/251381/vice-devotes-entire-issue-to-south-sudan/|title=Vice devotes entire issue to South Sudan | Poynter.|date=December 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207050229/http://www.poynter.org/news/mediawire/251381/vice-devotes-entire-issue-to-south-sudan/|archive-date=December 7, 2014}}

Soldiers of Fortune: Pelton helped Dylan Welch produce an investigative piece about a plot to overthrow the government of Libya by a group of mercenaries backing Khalifa Haftar{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/soldiers-of-fortune/12662570|title=Soldiers of Fortune|date=September 14, 2020|via=www.abc.net.au}} in ABC Australia Four Corners "Soldiers of Fortune" documentary.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In 2013, Pelton launched a crowd funded campaign to locate Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.{{cite news|last1=Groll|first1=Elias|title=So Crazy It Just Might Work|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/10/29/so-crazy-it-just-might-work/|access-date=3 September 2017|work=Foreign Policy|date=October 29, 2013}}{{cite news|title=Filmmaker plans mission to track down Joseph Kony|url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/2781632115001/?#sp=show-clips|access-date=3 September 2017|work=Fox News|date=October 29, 2013}}{{cite news|last1=Bell|first1=Stewart|title=Canadian adventurer defends funding expedition to find Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canadian-adventurer-defends-funding-expedition-to-find-ugandan-warlord-joseph-kony|access-date=3 September 2017|work=National Post|date=November 5, 2013}}{{cite web|last1=Grant|first1=Will|title=Funding the Hunt for Warlord Joseph Kony|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/1920426/funding-hunt-warlord-joseph-kony|website=Outside|date=December 5, 2013|access-date=3 September 2017}}

As of 2014, Pelton was a strategic advisor to the founders of the Search and Rescue NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station or MOAS. In addition to advising the charity, Pelton arranged feature profile articles in the New York Times, Outside, BBC, ITV, and other media. Pelton also provided on-the-ground research on migrant conditions in camps and prisons in Libya, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Europe.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror | year = 2007 | edition = Reprint edition (2007) | publisher = Three Rivers | isbn = 978-1-4000-9782-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/licensedtokillhi00pelt/page/368 368] | url = https://archive.org/details/licensedtokillhi00pelt/page/368 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = DP Professional Strength| date = 2007 |edition= 2007 | publisher = Collins | isbn= 978-0-06-112021-3|page= 304 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = The World's Most Dangerous Places| date = 2003 |edition= 2003 | publisher = Collins | isbn= 0-06-001160-2|page= 1088 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = The Adventurist, My Life in Dangerous Places| year = 2001 |edition= 2001 | publisher = Broadway | isbn= 0-7679-0576-8|page= 268 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = Hunter Hammer and Heaven, Journeys to Three World's Gone Mad | year = 2002 | edition = 2002 | publisher = The Lyons| isbn = 1-58574-416-6 | page = [https://archive.org/details/hunterhammerheav00pelt/page/320 320] | url = https://archive.org/details/hunterhammerheav00pelt/page/320 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = Come Back Alive | year = 1999 | edition = 1999 | publisher = Main Street | isbn = 0-385-49566-8 | page = [https://archive.org/details/comebackaliveult00pelt/page/304 304] | url = https://archive.org/details/comebackaliveult00pelt/page/304 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = Hired Guns|edition= 2007 | publisher = Constable and Robinson| isbn= 1-84529-590-0|page= 320 }}
• The Best American Travel Writing
• Best Adventure and Travel Stories
• {{cite book |last1=Robert Young Pelton|author-link1= Robert Young Pelton|last2=Mark Bowden |last3=Tracy Kidder|last4=Philip Taubman |editor1-last=Nate Hardcastle |editor2-last=Clint Willis |title=American Soldier: Stories of Special Forces from Iraq to Afghanistan |edition=First Edition (2002) |date= 2002|publisher=Da Capo|isbn=1-56025-438-6 |page=364 }}
• Boots on the Ground
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = Fielding's Hot Spots, Travel in Harm's Way | date = 1997 | edition = 1997 | publisher = Fielding Worldwide | isbn = 1-56952-166-2 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldingshotspot00robe/page/256 256] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldingshotspot00robe/page/256 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton | author-link = Robert Young Pelton | title = Fielding's Borneo: The Adventurous Guide to the Island of Borneo Covering Brunei, Kalimantan, Sabah and Sarawak/1995 (Fielding's Borneo) | year = 1995 | edition = 1995 | publisher = Fielding Worldwide | isbn = 1-56952-026-7 | page = [https://archive.org/details/fieldingsborneoa0000pelt/page/704 704] | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldingsborneoa0000pelt/page/704 }}
• {{cite book | last = Robert Young Pelton| author-link = Robert Young Pelton| title = Three Worlds Gone Mad: Dangerous Journeys through the War Zones of Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific| year = 2003|edition= First edition (2003) | publisher = The Lyons| isbn= 1-59228-100-1|page= 320}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.comebackalive.com Come Back Alive], Pelton's website

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Category:1955 births

Category:Living people

Category:Adventure travel

Category:Canadian documentary film directors

Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States

Category:Film directors from Edmonton

Category:Journalists from Alberta

Category:Writers from Edmonton