Cook was born in 1965, educated and raised in Buckinghamshire, England although since September 2001 he has been a freelance writer, based in Nazareth, Israel, covering the Middle East.
Cook has received a BA Honours in Philosophy and Politics from Southampton University in 1987, a Postgraduate diploma in Journalism from Cardiff University in 1989 and a Masters degree in Middle Eastern studies, with distinction, from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, 2000.
He has been a reporter and editor of regional newspapers between 1988-94, a freelance sub-editor with national newspapers between 1994-96, a staff member of The Guardian and Observer newspapers between 1996-2001, a freelance writer, based in Nazareth, Israel, covering the Middle East since September 2001.
He is also the founder of the Nazareth Press Agency in February 2004.
In regard to reporting on the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Cook claimed that Human Rights Watch (HRW) made statements regarding the intentions of Israel and Hezbollah to target or to avoid targeting civilians which were not justified by the available evidence. A representative of HRW responded, defending the organisation's objectivity. Cook countered that he did not criticise the empirical aspects of HRW's research, only its interpretation of that research.
