The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban

The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban
Average customer rating:

An interesting read

Former NPR reporter discovers how the world works

How we are losing Afghanistan.

Intelligent, fascinating, revealing. An exceptional assessment of post 9/11 Afghanistan!

An Outstanding Piece of Analusis

The Punishment of Virtue: Inside Afghanistan After the Taliban
Sarah Chayes
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B000NA1XSK

Book Description

A National Public Radio reporter covering the last stand of the Taliban in their home base of Kandahar in Afghanistan's southern borderland, Sarah Chayes became deeply immersed in the unfolding drama of the attempt to rebuild a broken nation at the crossroads of the world's destiny. Her NPR tour up in early 2002, she left reporting to help turn the country's fortunes, accepting a job running a nonprofit founded by President Hamid Karzai's brother. With remarkable access to leading players in the postwar government, Chayes witnessed a tragic story unfold-the perverse turn of events whereby the U.S. government and armed forces allowed and abetted the return to power of corrupt militia commanders to the country, as well as the reinfiltration of bands of Taliban forces supported by U.S. ally Pakistan. In this gripping and dramatic account of her four years on the ground, working with Afghanis in the battle to restore their country to order and establish democracy, Chayes opens Americans' eyes to the sobering realities of this vital front in the war on terror.

She forged unparalleled relationships with the Karzai family, tribal leaders, U.S. military and diplomatic brass, and such leading figures in the Kandahar government as the imposing and highly effective chief of police-an incorruptible supporter of the Karzai regime whose brutal assassination in June 2005 serves as the opening of the book. Chayes lived in an Afghan home, gaining rich insights into the country's culture and politics and researching the history of Afghanistan's legendary resistance to foreign interference. She takes us into meetings with Hamid Karzai and the corrupt Kandahar governor, Gul Agha Shirzai, into the homes of tribal elders and onto the U.S. military base. Unveiling the complexities and traumas of Afghanistan's postwar struggles, she reveals how the tribal strongmen who have regained power-after years of being displaced by the Taliban-have visited a renewed plague of corruption and violence on the Afghan people, under the complicit eyes of U.S. forces and officials.

The story Chayes tells is a powerful, disturbing revelation of misguided U.S. policy and of the deeply entrenched traditions of tribal warlordism that have ruled Afghanistan through the centuries.

Customer Reviews:

An interesting read.......2007-10-19

Despite the fact that the author doesn't 'beleive in the clash of civilizations' she hits the nail on the head with a number of observations. Foremost among them is the fact that international aid organizations, because of their hatred towards the U.S, blew the death of one of their own out of proportion so as to scare people away from Post-Taliban Afghanistan.

There is also much to learn here about how reporters craft stories and how they twist them. Although the author claims that reporters and journalists are the last line of defense of the free world, she shows how she herself crafted stories, showing wounded children for instance, to fit her narrative.

The telling of the ancient and modern history of Afghanistan, juztaposed with the authors own adventurers between 2001 and 2005 are fascinating. They shed light on tribal politics, on the destruction of minorities, and on the intricacies of this fascinating country. A very good piece of reporting and history and story-telling.

Seth J. Frantzman

Former NPR reporter discovers how the world works.......2007-10-04

In this book, Sarah Chayes travels to Afghanistan after 9/11 and stays there for several years. She begins as a reporter and ends up working in the non-government sector as a minor political player.

This book is written as her personal and professional journey in Afghanistan. She learns there that people are not what they seem. Different agencies of the US government and their allies work at cross purposes. Stupid bureaucratic rules lead to bad policy. Some people don't want to know the truth, or even worse, they know the truth but choose ignore its implications. Or they may even know the truth and want to cover it up.

My first reaction to all this was, "Duh." Anyone who studies foreign policy knows that this is how the world works; Chayes' own story simply provides details from a new place. My second, and more troubling reaction was, "Why is Chayes surprised by this?"

I was repeatedly stunned by her lack of knowledge and naivete. She studied Arabic in college, along with medieval Islamic history. She has a BA and MA from Harvard in these fields. Yet she apparently had no idea how tribal politics or patron-client political systems work. She's surprised that the US Army, US Special Forces, and US Agency for International Development might be supporting different players in Afghan politics. Heck, in Vietnam US forces supporting different players ended up shooting at each other. I'm sure the Soviets had similar experiences around the world.

Her great virtue, and I want to emphasize how impressive it is, is her courage. She is willing to put herself on the line. She returns to Afghanistan when she doesn't have to. She lives in residential areas, not in foreigner compounds. She leaves an attractive career at NPR to head an NGO in Afghanistan on a shoestring budget. She stays in place after receiving multiple death threats (and after investigating their credibility). She has a close friend, and many acquaintances, die. Her courage and her personal commitments as a liberal do-gooder shine through the book.

As a first-hand report of how Afghanistan works today, and how the foreigners in it live, this is an interesting book. However, it's written as a personal journey, which makes it two or three times longer than it need be - - we find out how Chayes learned things, not just what she learned. If you like these journeys, you'll like the book. I found those parts a bit tedious because of the naivete with which she began.

Some early chapters of the book also provide amusing anecdotes on how National Public Radio and other media outlets work. Apparently, they send reporters to foreign countries in order to write up stories consistent with the editors' preconceived notions. They are also supposed to write on the same subjects that other reporters have written on. Of course, we all know this, too, but it's nice to have the confirmation.

So, all in all, a mixed review.

How we are losing Afghanistan........2007-09-10

The author Chayes details how the United States is losing Afghanistan after our brillant success in toppling the Taliban. The main reason is due to support of narrow based warlords who are pillaging the country. Due to supporting the wrong people, we are tarnishing our options as the population is coming to view NATO/U.S. as one and the same with the warlords. Everybody has focused on the fighting in Iraq and how we are losing there, but Chayes book details how both the military and civilian authorities have turned over Afghanistan to the same people that ran it into the ground prior to the Taliban. In her neck of the woods at Kandahar, the US has supported a warlord named Gul rather than better representatives in the Pashtun tribes.

I liked Sarah's book and give her high marks for her journals in Afghanistan. I would point out that Westerners have to be careful of how to tell Third World nationals on how to run their countries. Both is Iraq and Afghanistan, we face situations where people are coming to the forefront in the government. For us to tell them how to run their country smacks of colonialism. However, Chayes is right on the mark in staying that the U.S. made many mistakes in how they occupied this country.

Intelligent, fascinating, revealing. An exceptional assessment of post 9/11 Afghanistan!.......2007-08-07

If your thinking about buying this book, do yourself a favor, BUY IT! Regardless of your motives, this book is worth reading.
Sarah Chayes has produced a revealing and intelligent Occidental glimpse into post 9/11 Afghanistan.
Chayes experiences reporting for NPR and her experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco has given her the deft to negotiate the notoriously suspicious and misogynistic culture that permeates the Middle East. She is an observant and adept diplomat who does not mince words or appear to be beholden to any government agency or Non-Governmental Organization (NGO).
Afghanistan, Chayes observes, is "an entire nation comprised of generations suffering the effects of PTSD." I had never considered such a possibility and if Americans realized this concept, perhaps we could be a bit more productive in our re-construction and social efforts.
For the military, Chayes's analysis of the county's centuries old "yaghistan reflex," which has salvaged generations of Afghans from raiding empires is both brilliant and of important note. Chayes also reveals the not-so-subtle influences of Pakistan on Afghan political and social instability.
This is all wound around the story of Chayes's experiences and her brief but telling assessment of Afghan history.
Chayes includes a perceptive and frank quote by one of her associates, Ayse Yildiz, that could surmise the situation there at least as much as the book's title, "Here we are, a bunch of kids from dysfunctional families, working at a dysfunctional organization, trying to fix a dysfunctional country."
REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ.

An Outstanding Piece of Analusis.......2007-05-07

Sarah Chayes gives a view of Afganistan which goes far beyond what we get in the usual media. She is a skilled detective and finds answers which the military and the State Department cannot.

Naked in Baghdad: The Iraq War and the Aftermath as Seen by NPR's Correspondent Anne Garrels

Average customer rating:

The only way this book could be enhanced...
True Journalisam
Amazing chance to learn the story behind that voice on the radio
Another view!
Annie lays her soul bare in Baghdad

Naked in Baghdad: The Iraq War and the Aftermath as Seen by NPR's Correspondent Anne Garrels
Anne Garrels
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312424191
Release Date: 2004-08-12

Book Description

As National Public Radio's much loved and respected senior foreign correspondent Anne Garrels has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In Naked in Baghdad she reveals how as one of only sixteen non-embedded journalists who stayed in the now legendary Palestine Hotel throughout the American invasion she managed to deliver the most immediate, insightful and independent reports with unparalleled vividness and immediacy.Her evolving relationship with her Iraqi driver/minder Amer, and the wonderful e-mail bulletins sent to friends by her husband, Vint Lawrence, counterpoint the daily events of her life in Baghdad, and result in a deeply moving, and intimate portrait by one of bravest and most enlightening news reporters.

Customer Reviews:

The only way this book could be enhanced..........2006-02-23

The only way this book could be enhanced is to have a CD of her broadcasts for NPR. Unfortunately I live in a part of the country where NPR broadcasts are hard to get and it could have made it even better. Unfortunately because I didn't get to hear the broadcasts I could only guess at their content from what the book mentioned. She writes well and seems to find the "hidden stories". Her husband's e-mails are a great voice from the other side of the correspondents life. Itr only adds to the pleasure that he is also a great writer. He had me laughing at some points I certainly hadn't expected to laugh. Overall though the book is great and highly recommended, however I'm sure it's even better if you've heard her NPR reports.

True Journalisam.......2006-01-24

Enough good words have been said about the book. But ultimately, this book is not about the war. That's why readers who expected to get detailed war stories will be disappointed.

It's about true journalism. Annie showed us the grace under fire, the courage to pursuit the truth, the genuine care for the people she reported on, and above all, the dedication to give a voice to the people who couldn't speak for themselves.

Amazing chance to learn the story behind that voice on the radio.......2005-08-30

As a listener to NPR, I feel so much closer to Garrels after learning the backstory behind her reports from the trenches of Iraq. She has extreme skill and intuition at conducting herself in a foreign country, at making people willing to talk, at befriending the right people.

I learned a lot about how much the Iraqi government practiced supression in the old regime. People were terrified for their lives if they talked to foreign reporters, and Garrels had to pay many bribes to get press credentials. When leaving Iraq, corrupt officials invent tests and fees for Garrels and her assistant to pay. Her stories humanized the Iraqi conflict for me--I met both crooks and good guys through Garrels.

Garrels has a great storytelling style. She'll tell an anecdote and then end with a biting one line zinger. She's as taltened on paper as she is on the air, and I'll be watching for more from this amazing woman.

Another view!.......2005-06-21

Learning Iraq from her is totally different than Television. This is another perspective to war. It is possible to find Iraqi individuals feelings about all situation. Book gives you Iraq before the war, during the war, and after the war. This historical event is explained very well. Book name comes from her naked reporting. Because, she was hiding her satellite phone from Iraqi officers. During the broadcast she reports naked and if officer comes she will say them she is naked and gets extra time for hiding the phone before open the door. Also she slips away from AIDS test due to her age.

This is another must read book for Iraq war.

Annie lays her soul bare in Baghdad.......2005-05-30

I used to hear NPR's anchors say "Thanks, Annie," as they said goodby to each other at the end of even the shortest of broadcasts from Baghdad. After reading this book, I know why. Even the use of her nickname on the air was a way of telling her they cared about her safety, and to take care of herself. And, with the help of Amer, she did, the best she could. This book didn't give sweeping overviews of how the buildup to the war, and then the war itself, went. The Iraqi government was managing the reporters too much for that. But she got away from her minder as much as she could and learned as much as she could, and let the American people know as much as she could. Here, in this book, is the back story of what could not safely be said on the air. It is full of telling details of people she met, their hopes and fears, the things they said and did not say, especially how those changed depending on whether a government official was within hearing distance. She also tells what it was like to be one of only a few reporters left, with few supplies, no electricity, and constant harrassment and demands for bribes. I knew she was a great reporter, and had reported on other wars. This book made me see exactly why she is a great reporter. She is tenacious and courageous and knows what stories to go after. She is willing to use the fact that she is a woman, both with women and men, and the fact that she is no longer young, to get interviews with all kinds of people. She trusts her gut. And when it's time to get out, she gets out. This book taught me more about the war in Iraq than anything else I've read. I just recommended it to a friend who has two sons serving there. I recommend it to others who want to see, not the broad military sweep, but what the buildup and beginning of the war were like for the people.

Average customer rating:

Interesting look at an extraordinary man

The Story of Ernie Pyle.
Lee Graham Miller
Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0837137438

Customer Reviews:

Interesting look at an extraordinary man.......2003-04-24

This biography of World War II's most famous American war correspondant is drawn primarily from letters written to and from Pyle's wife and close friends. Miller quotes these letters throughout the book, and this brings a sense of authenticity to what the author tries to present. The fact that Miller was Pyle's boss and close friend for most of Ernie's adult life also creates a sense of having the inside story to Ernie's life.

Of course as a personal friend Miller somewhat glosses over a few of Ernie's shortcomings, notably his ability to repeatedly leave his tortured wife alone for long stretches of time. But the book is a good introduction to Ernie Pyle and what he meant to the war effort. I read this book prior to reading any of the compilation books of his daily columns, and I'm glad I did because I had some insight into Pyle's perspective on the war and the people who fought in it. This for me made reading his columns even more emotionally moving.

Amazon.com

Evelyn Waugh was one of literature's great curmudgeons and a scathingly funny satirist. Scoop is a comedy of England's newspaper business of the 1930s and the story of William Boot, a innocent hick from the country who writes careful essays about the habits of the badger. Through a series of accidents and mistaken identity, Boot is hired as a war correspondent for a Fleet Street newspaper. The uncomprehending Boot is sent to the fictional African country of Ishmaelia to cover an expected revolution. Although he has no idea what he is doing and he can't understand the incomprehensible telegrams from his London editors, Boot eventually gets the big story.

Book Description

Evelyn Waugh was one of literature's great curmudgeons and a scathingly funny satirist. Scoop is a comedy of England's newspaper business of the 1930s and the story of William Boot, a innocent hick from the country who writes careful essays about the habits of the badger. Through a series of accidents and mistaken identity, Boot is hired as a war correspondent for a Fleet Street newspaper. The uncomprehending Boot is sent to the fictional African country of Ishmaelia to cover an expected revolution. Although he has no idea what he is doing and he can't understand the incomprehensible telegrams from his London editors, Boot eventually gets the big story.

Customer Reviews:

Waugh's farce about the newspaper trade and making a name for oneself.......2006-05-27

Evelyn Waugh's send-up of the newspaper business, and where in other novels he could be bitterly satirical, here he's wildly farcical and broadly comical. William Boot, a nature writer for the DAILY BEAST, ("Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole" is given as an example of his "high-class style" of writing), is mistaken for the novelist John Boot and is sent to the African country of Ishmaelia. Here he encounters other journalists, many of them American, who are all looking for the scoop that will make them famous. Boot meets and falls in love with a woman named Kachen, and immediately the naïve Boot is in over his head romantically. But it's she who slips Boot the news about a planned coup d'etat, and the simple-minded journalist scoops everyone and eventually comes home a hero. Of course the wrong Boot (John) is given knighthood and the book ends, after additional mistaken identities are made, with everything being righted and Boot (William) going back to writing his innocuous nature articles, none the worse (or better) for wear. Waugh's humor is bright and airy, very reminiscent of P.G. Wodehouse, who is actually alluded to at one point in the story. Lots and lots of laughs from beginning to end.

Is it a comedy if you don't laugh out loud?.......2005-09-02

Funny, but only in a clever way, not in a ha-ha way.

I laugh out loud while reading Mark Twain, Douglas Adams, Carl Hiaasen and Paul Theroux.

This just made me smile thinly and sardonically.

Not that there is anything wrong with that...

Clever.......2005-05-07

Overall, a very satisfying read, but somewhat disjointed. The beginning and ending -- the two parts which take place at Boot Magna in the English countryside -- are laugh-out-loud funny. The middle section, which takes place with the protaganist, William Boot, in the mythical African nation of Ishmaelia, is more straightforward and serious. The portions of the book which chronicle Boot's relationship with Katchen felt like they were torn out of a Hemingway book, given the sparse dialog and direct emotions. I felt as if this book might have been started by a very young, impressionable Waugh during a time when he was experimenting with different styles, trying to find the one which best suited him... styles borrowed from Hemingway, Wodehouse, and Greene. Its slightly disjointed nature made me think that it was a book which he worked on in fits and starts... would write a little, put it back in the drawer, revisit it a couple of months later. Overall, it's a very good book by a writer a few years away from his peak.

Brilliant Wit From the Inimitable Waugh.......2005-04-26

Yes, I'd be bold enough to name Evelyn Waugh as one of the world's greatest writers, a true genius when the word actually meant something (it's handed out too freely nowadays!); we shall likely never see his match again. "Scoop" is not only hilarious (I laughed out loud quite often), but the satire is as timely as it ever was. He is a keen observer of human beings and his depiction of the disorderly East African government and the Fleet Street news agency so given to politically motivated perks that a trick cyclist had been engaged to edit the Sports Page on a five year contract is spot on. All of the absurdity is wonderful. An absolute delight.

Stop the presses.......2004-08-18

Call William Boot the Forrest Gump of the 1930s: oblivious to the process he is a part of, he continually finds himself in the right place at the right time, blindly stumbling onto the Big Story that made him a reluctant hero.

In Scoop, Evelyn Waugh -- one of the most famous curmudgeons of English literature -- produces an enjoyable and easy-to-read satire that will recall the novels of P.G. Wodehouse and Graham Greene's lighter efforts. In the book, Mr. Waugh points his razor wit toward the media, royalty, politics, warfare, and travel, all in the context of a fictional and fanciful war in the made-up Republic of Ishmaelia that is based on Italy's ill-fated war in Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), which Mr. Waugh himself covered as a young reporter.

His sharpest barbs are saved for his one-time profession, which he paints as being populated by lazy and back-stabbing prima donnas incapable of independent thought and more interested in style -- or at least the appearance of style -- than in substance. The bland Boot, the story's protagonist who is a decent enough fellow but a hopeless journalist, manages to get far closer to the truth than any of his colleagues but does so only by chance.

Though the attitudes, language, and practices described in Scoop are more than a little dated, there is an element of truth in the picture Mr. Waugh paints of the Fourth Estate (as sad cases like the contemporary one involving one-time New York Times rising star Jayson Blair remind us). The descriptions are, however, greatly exaggerated: it is impossible to imagine a time when writers were sent into the field so poorly prepared, with unlimited expense accounts, and rewarded for sending in cryptic messages that are somehow turned into massive front-page reports. There is a slight element of sour grapes in Mr. Waugh's description of the newsgathering field he failed to excel in, something most obvious from the names he chooses for the fictional newspapers in the story (The Daily Beast, The Daily Brute, etc.).

More importantly, like most popular satires, Scoop is really less about its subject matter than about comforting those who don't move in the same circles as the rich and powerful the book dismantles between its covers -- remember that these are the same people who were expected to buy this book when it was published in 1938. Even critics at that time recognized this in an as-a-matter-of-fact way, referring to Scoop as a comedy of errors Mr. Waugh dashed off to pay the bills between more weighty projects.

But the most serious flaw of the book concerns the way the main character, Boot, evolves ... or fails to evolve. Characters are the cornerstone of any great story and even with a farce like Scoop (compare Boot to the bumbling Wormold in Mr. Greene's Our Man in Havana, another satire produced by a serious writer on a lark) the story is dramatically improved by illustrating the evolution of characters over the length of the narrative. But in Scoop, Boot returns home just the same as when he left. All of the characters, in fact, fail to change at all during the course of the story, with the possible exception of the compelling and shadowy Russian/Hungarian/Pole cum German love interest, Kätchen -- not the best possible work from an author known for producing noteworthy personalities in his more noteworthy novels like Decline and Fall and Brideshead Revisited.

Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57

Average customer rating:

Remarkable story..........
Incredible insight helps the author share this story
Stories of Recovery
Blood Brothers:Among the Soldiers of Ward 57
Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57
Michael Weisskopf
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0805078606
Release Date: 2006-10-03

Book Description

A powerful account of eighteen months in the lives of three soldiers and a
journalist, all patients in Ward 57, Walter Reed’s amputee wing

Time magazine’s Michael Weisskopf was riding through Baghdad in the back of U.S. Army Humvee, an embedded reporter alongside soldiers from the 1st Armored Division, when he heard a metallic thunk. Looking down, he saw a small, dark object rolling inches from his feet. He reached down and took it in his hand. Then everything went black.

Weisskopf lost his hand and was sent for treatment to Ward 57 at Walter Reed Medical Center, the wing of the armed forces hospital reserved for amputees. There he crossed paths with Pete Damon, Luis Rodriguez, and Bobby Isaacs, three soldiers whose stories he learned during months in the ward. Alongside these men, Weisskopf navigated the bewildering process of recovery and reentry, and began reconciling life before that day in Baghdad with everything that would follow his release.

Blood Brothers is the story of this difficult passage—for Weiss-kopf, Damon, Rodriguez, Isaacs, and hundreds of others—a story that began with healthy men heading off to a war zone, and continued through the months in Ward 57 as they prepared their minds and bodies for a different life than the one they left. A chronicle of devastation and recovery, this is a deeply affecting portrait of the private aftermath of combat casualties.

Customer Reviews:

Remarkable story.................2007-07-16

Mr. Weisskopf writes a truely remarkable account of what it is like to go from the battle field through the medical, recovery process. As a surgical technician & Vietnam vet I found his story to be inspiring and very moving. The medical aspects were right on the money!!
Thank you, Mr. Weisskopf, for a wonderfully touching story. I hope you have been able to put to rest the "Why & What If" questions. As far as I'm concerned the motivation doesn't matter. You're a HERO!!!

Incredible insight helps the author share this story.......2007-05-11

As an amputee for the past 4 years or so, I know a few things about the story told by this book. But I was unprepared to be as moved as I was. Michael not only tells the story of how, but he digs deeper into the demons that made him and Pete so much more real.

I don't have war experience, I just had a simple accident. The demons these men fight to get to a place where they can accept the things that happened make this a very powerful story. I highly recommend it to anyone. And I've recommended it to several close friends in hopes they might better understand what it's like to loose part of yourself.

Stories of Recovery.......2007-05-08

Michael Weisskopf is a well known journalist for TIME magazine. During a trip to Iraq as an embedded journalist with an Army unit, the HMMWV he was riding in had a grenade thrown into it. Weisskopf apparently went to pick the grenade up before it detonated, but was too late, losing his right hand in the explosion.

Weisskopf uses this tragedy to document his and a several soldiers with amputations in their roads to recovery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Ward 57, the amputee ward. Weisskopf does a good job of capturing the many aspects of recovery that he and the soldiers go through.

This short book captures very well the processes of recovering from combat wounds, dealing with the traumas both to yourself and those around you, including fellow soldiers who did not survive their accidents.

I highly recommend this book.

Blood Brothers:Among the Soldiers of Ward 57.......2007-04-01

What Michael Weisskopf has done with this story is truly amazing. It was a very emotional book for me, but it is a book that every American should read.I plan on passing this book around. It is a book that you cannot put down.You just want to cheer these guys on, cry with them, and you feel their frustrations. I would love to meet Michael and the men that he writes about to thank them personally for their sacrifices.
I am a Troop Greeter from Maine where most of the flights that are going over and comming home stop for re-fueling.We are soon to have welcomed 500,000 troops. I often wonder how many that I have met that will not be returning home or have been injured. I say a prayer for them after every flight and pray that they will be comming back through our halls.
I can't thank Michael Weisskopf enough for writing this book. It is truly an excellent book.
cakelady2@adelphia.net

Blood Brothers.......2007-01-09

Blood Brothers is highly readable. Michael Weiskopf gives a rare account, as both insider and outsider, of the physical and emotional struggles of individuals to deal with traumatic amputation. He also gives us a glimpse into how the U.S. military deals with its own, as well as political ramifications. Blood Brothers is enjoyable and informative.

Average customer rating:

Mixes Humor, Tragedy, and Irreverence
Wonderful, funny, and very self-affacing
Worth Reading
Above and beyond truth
Better than expected...

My War
Andy Rooney
Manufacturer: PublicAffairs
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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On July 7, 1941, a young Colgate University football player named Andy Rooney reported for U.S. Army training. He was, Rooney allows, not prime military material. He had a knack for enraging the drill instructors with his wisecracks, and for pulling harsh assignments as a result, and his shenanigans got him disqualified from officer candidacy. Still, Rooney survived boot camp and served for a time as an artilleryman until being reassigned to the daily newspaper Stars and Stripes. Lucky for him, too: in 1942 his old outfit ran into trouble in North Africa, fighting against Erwin Rommel, and although few of them were killed, Rooney writes, "there's a good possibility I would have spent all of 1943, 1944, and six months of 1945 in a German prison camp."

In My War, a fine and wholeheartedly irreverent memoir, Rooney--later to gain fame as a 60 Minutes commentator--recounts what happened instead. As a correspondent, he saw combat up-close while honing his craft alongside such fellow chroniclers as Ernie Pyle and Bill Mauldin. What he witnessed will perhaps not please some survivors and students of the war, especially those who revere Gen. George S. Patton--whom Rooney charges with having committed improprieties, injustices, and even war crimes in the quest to secure personal fame.

Though the book is a personal memoir, Rooney has taken pains to square his anecdotes with the historical record. However, he writes, "It is distressing for me to note how infrequently the facts concur with my memory of what happened." (In such cases, he adds, he assumes that the facts are wrong.) Affecting, occasionally disturbing, and thoroughly well-written, Rooney's memoir is a welcome addition to the literature of "the good war." --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The New York Times, USA Today, Book Sense, and Publishers Weekly bestseller, now in paperback in time for the holidays.

My War is a blunt, funny, idiosyncratic account of Andy Rooney's World War II. As a young, naïve correspondent for The Stars and Stripes, Rooney flew bomber missions, arrived in France during the D-Day invasion, crossed the Rhine with the Allied forces, traveled to Paris for the Liberation, and was one of the first reporters into Buchenwald. Like so many of his generation, Rooney's life was changed forever by the war. He saw life at the extremes of human experience, and wrote about what he observed, making it real to millions of men and women. My War is the story of an inexperienced kid learning the craft of journalism. It is by turns moving, suspenseful, and reflective. And Rooney's unmistakable voice shines through on every page.

Customer Reviews:

Mixes Humor, Tragedy, and Irreverence .......2007-02-18

This memoir by Andy Rooney of CBS of his army days during World War II mixes humor, cynicism, and tragedy. Rooney recounts how he was drafted into the artillery in 1941, and then transferred to the army newspaper STARS AND STRIPES. The author recounts his army experiences with a mixture of nostalgia, humor and sadness. The author admits his distaste for the military, and considers him self lucky to have drawn duty as a correspondent. Yet his service record was hardly risk-free. Rooney accompanied B-17 crews on raids over Nazi Germany, then infantrymen as they battled their way after D-Day. Rooney recounts much of the war's horrors and describes several friends and acquaintances that died in combat. The author's irreverent and at times cynical tone (particularly regarding General Patton) reflects both himself and many of the GI's that served in that deadly conflict. The book is generally very readable, although it does slow in a couple spots. Still, this moving 1995 memoir written half a century after Rooney's discharge is worth reading.

Wonderful, funny, and very self-affacing.......2006-06-02

This is a great book. Andy Rooney, who I hate, is likable here in his stories about the GReat War. He tells stories, and jokes, and rubs elbows with all sorts of famous people, and, yet, doesn't seem to be bragging as much as telling. Also, his descriptions of tanks running over bodies and the air war are heart wrenching, beautiful, and terrifying. This book isn't my favorite overall, but it is the biggest surprise I've ever read. I really did love it.

Worth Reading.......2005-10-24

My grandfather was in the Army Air Corp during WWII and would tell wonderful stories about his time in the war (the good and the bad). I think he would have liked Andy Rooney.

I found the book very interesting particularly his insights on Patton. I have an great uncle who served under Patton. His mind never was the same.

Above and beyond truth.......2004-07-26

Andy above and beyond potrayed his position in WW2 if anything played down. Yes he was a private that lucked out as many do in the service,but it seems he is able to tell the truth about it and feels no lesser for the facts. He tells of several heroes and some not so good officers. We have all known those. All in all I found the book very enjoyable and would highly reccomend it to all.

Better than expected..........2003-12-02

Andy Rooney has never been more to me than the nagging, faintly humorous, mildly eccentric curmudgeon that caps each 60 Minutes program. I've seen his newspaper column, but never read it. Indeed, had I not seen this book at a closeout bookseller, I wouldn't own it. But, the bargain price and my interest in WWII convinced me to give it a chance. I'm glad I did.

An enlisted reporter for The Stars and Stripes during the war, Rooney flew missions over Germany, accompanied the allies shortly after D-Day, and continued reporting until victory. In the contemporary catalog of WWII books, his vantage point as a reporter is unique, insightful, and conducive to extended durations of page turning pleasure.

As the title announces, this isn't a book about "the" war. It's about "his" war, his experiences, his opinion. And, in a departure from his 60 Minutes routine, he manages to avoid complaints about matters of trifling importance. Perhaps, this is because there is little of trifling importance associated with WWII. Nevertheless, Rooney faithfully relates the awe of having witnessed, first-hand, an epic period in human history.

In the end, I put down the book and realized, after all these years, that I can enjoy Andy Rooney. I commend this book's honesty and pragmatism, (even though I doubt this is the effect he was aiming for). I am also thankful that, like author's before him, Rooney introduced the general reader to many Americans who didn't come home.

His was a generation of sacrifice unlike anything those who came after are likely to see. Rooney believes them not special people, but people involved in special circumstances. This provides hope that every generation will rise with comparable bravery and commitment whenever liberty is seriously threatened. 4 stars.

Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941

Average customer rating:

Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer
good observer
good introduction to world war 2
Eye witness to evil
I read this book here in Brazil.

Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent, 1934-1941
William L. Shirer
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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This Is Berlin: Reporting from Nazi Germany, 1938-40
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ASIN: 0801870569

Book Description

By the acclaimed journalist and bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, this day-by-day, eyewitness account of the momentous events leading up to World War II in Europe is now available in a new paperback edition.

CBS radio broadcaster William L. Shirer was virtually unknown in 1940 when he decided there might be a book in the diary he had kept in Europe during the 1930s -- specifically those sections dealing with the collapse of the European democracies and the rise of Nazi Germany.

Berlin Diary first appeared in 1941, and the timing was perfect. The energy, the passion, the electricity in it were palpable. The book was an instant success, and it became the frame of reference against which thoughtful Americans judged the rush of events in Europe. It exactly matched journalist to event: the right reporter at the right place at the right time. It stood, and still stands, as so few books have ever done -- a pure act of journalistic witness.

Customer Reviews:

Berlin Diary by William L. Shirer.......2007-05-07

A well-written contemporaneous account of a correspondent's life in Nazi Germany up to 1940. Shirer is almost prescient in his assessment of Hitler's actions and their consequences. It is unfortunate that he could not continue his reporting after 1940, because an account of this caliber of the years when Germany was at war with America, made from inside Germany, would have been a valuable historical record. Shirer is a true journalist; while he offers opinions, they are clearly labeled as such, and do not get in the way of dispassionate reporting of the events he witnesses.

good observer.......2007-01-29

The author makes a large number of observations about what is happening and how it is done. This is along with the historical recording of events. These observations have stood the test of time. They explain the German's rapid success in the early years.

good introduction to world war 2.......2006-12-07

This book is an excellent account of the early years of WWII from the perspective of Mr. Shirer who was stationed in Germany as a print and radio journalist. There is quite a bit of history in this book and I found that it functions as a good introduction to the early history of WWII. It is also enlivened by some of Mr Shirer's personal anecdotes regarding broadcasting. Mr Shirer's close access to many of the leading figures in Germany and his observations of some of the war torn areas of the early German invasions gives a very realistic and graphic portrayal of how the war evolved in Europe. It is also fascinating to hear the speculation about which path the war would take. This is one factor that makes Mr Shirer's book much more interesting than a standard history text which has the benefit of hindsight. In the Berlin Diary, the reader sees history literally being created and develops a better understanding for the difficult choices the allies faced at that time.

Eye witness to evil.......2006-07-29

This is a great book on a number of levels. You know how WW2 came out, the author does not. This book was completed months before Pearl Harbor (last entries were December 1940). So it is a great page turner watching mediocre politicians blunder their way to war.
Also the inside story of the founding of broadcast journalism.

The only type liberal most Americans know is a "Make love, not war" stereotype. Shirer was a different type. The type that was willing to fight facism in any form straight up, blow for blow, shot for shot. (Yet, he also personally knew Ghandi and was a great admirer. I guess Shirer could recognize the limits of non-violence.)

Some other reviewers were upset by Shirer's opinions of Nazis and Germans. I recently read "My Four Years in Germany" by ???? Giraud who was the USA ambassador to Germany from 1913 to 1917. His observations dovetail and add validity to Shirer's observations about the mindset of Germans and their ambitions to dominate Europe, if not the world. He also had chapters on the German education system and Prussiaism which explains the Kaiser Cult. Nazism was a direct descendant of Kaiserism and Pan-Germanism. I spent ten days in Germany and Austria in 2004. While at the Dachau concentration camp I observed 100s of 16 year old German students. One of them told me all German students are required to go to a concentration camp. My son's school field trips are to Disneyworld or Busch Gardens, theirs is to walk through gas chambers. I doubt those bright, active German children regard Slavs as subhumans to be treated like cattle, but that does not mean their grand parents and great grand parents did not.

Another reviewer slammed Shirer for describing with relish the food he ate on short trips outside of Germany before the War in contrast with the rationed poor food in Berlin he had to live on. Obviously that reviewer has never missed a meal in his life.

This is going to turn some people off, but I was also struck by similarties between Nazi propaganda and Fox news. (Techniques, not Jew baiting.) Keep up a particular slant for years and that perception becomes people's realities.

This is a great book which drives home Jefferson's observation, "The natural manure (fertilizer) of the Tree of Liberty is the blood of patriots." This book diary entries shows how Austrians, Checks, Dutch, Danes, Belgiums, French, and (except for the English Channel) the British one by one all refused to fight for freedom and lost all.

I read this book here in Brazil........2006-02-26

I read this book, translated to the portuguese, here in Brazil.It was writen in nazi Germany(some little parts were writen in Portugal).
How an american thought about III Reich, living in that times?If you read this book, you can see.The best in this book are the parts about daily live in nazi Germany and in France defeated in 1940.

Ambushed: A War Reporter's Life on the Line

Average customer rating:

Self centered and biased
A good introduction to life in the war zone
The true story
Same as Penguin Canada Freetown Ambush?
"Ambushed" has something for everyone

Ambushed: A War Reporter's Life on the Line
Ian Stewart
Manufacturer: Algonquin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1565123808

Book Description

Ian Stewart has reported from some of the most dangerous places on earth, but none more dangerous than Sierra Leone. When he was named West Africa bureau chief by the Associated Press, Stewart accepted his new assignment with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. He was one of the AP's youngest bureau chiefs, and over the next year he reported from the front lines of the war-ravaged countries of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and Sierra Leone and coordinated news coverage of some twenty-three others.

AMBUSHED is a fascinating, in-depth look at the extraordinary day-to-day life of a war correspondent. Stewart presents a compelling portrait of the often surreal world that journalists inhabit as they bear witness to violence and give voice to the unspeakable. Appalled by the level of cruelty he witnessed, Stewart was shocked by the indifference of the outside world. Though his stories were sometimes buried deep inside the daily papers, or published not at all, he kept reporting the truth. When armed rebels entered Sierra Leone's besieged capital of Freetown, Stewart and two of his colleagues were ambushed while driving down the street on assignment. One of his colleagues was killed instantly, and Stewart, shot in the head, had a twenty-percent chance of surviving. Astonishingly, he did. With frankness and courage, Stewart tells the story of his extraordinary recovery and the tremendous risks he and other journalists take to give us the news.

Customer Reviews:

Self centered and biased.......2006-10-21

Stewart does give a number of experiences in shocking & vivid detail, but I was hoping for more time spent on the experiences of the people in Africa, opposed to HIS experience of Africa and five entire chapters on his own experience of being shot.
The horrible experiences of the people he sees deserve much more attention than a decadent (an example on page 159) Western reporter who meets an unfortunate experience. On top of this he brings slanted and self-admitted ignorant views on Africa ("The more I discovered, the more I grew angry and disgusted at Africa's recent colonial experience, but I still knew little about African history" page 35).
Stewart makes a few blanket accusations against the West for all that is wrong in Africa ("Europe demonstrated to Africa that self-serving greed outweighed all else" page 129) with no mention to the equally ruthless Arab slave traders who oppressed Africa before the white man. The book makes Stewart seem more self centered than compassionate. His criticism of the west is best re-directed to his own book: "the West's luxury and comfort comes before the human rights of African citizens" page 130.

A good introduction to life in the war zone.......2004-12-01

Ian Stewart's "Ambushed" is a commendable book worthy of use as a introduction to life behind the lines, however it falls short of the actual horrors of war. Stewart's writing is linear, easy to read, and palatable for most readers and the stories he has to tell are courageous. However I am a bit reticent to give his book four or five stars because he, albeit probably unintentionally, doesnt portray the soul-crushing horrors of war as they really are. Having worked and witnessed the atrocities in Sierra Leone, the DRC, and Cambodia myself I sympathize with Ian but I can assure you his book is a trip to Disneyland compared to the actualities of the situation in these war torn countries. I'm glad that his book brings light to the Sierra Leone situation (which fortunatly is being extinguished) to the public. If one wants a more to real life of todays modern and barbaric wars I suggest reading Jon Steele's "War Junkie". This horribly named book was written by an ITN news photographer but he should have been a journalist. Jon has covered twice as many wars as Ian(not that this is a comparision) however no book has ever given me nightmares or brought more emotion to what really happens behind the lines as his book has. Read it with caution, I can still smell the stench of Rwanda's murdered...

The true story.......2003-12-02

In this book you get the information you will not see on any TV station. You recieve first hand the experience of a war reporter. The author is very good about telling you the situation before he travels to his destination. He doesn't hold anything back. He makes the story come alive with his descriptions.
My favorite part of the book was his recovery period. He had to work so hard to find out who he truly was and what he had to overcome was amazing. It opened my eyes to the dangers that reporters face to bring us the news.

Same as Penguin Canada Freetown Ambush?.......2003-01-25

I read Freetown Ambush published by Penguin Canada. If this is the American version of the same book, I highly recommend it.
Stewart's description of Ivory Coast and the disintegration of a society is compelling and the descriptions of the inside workings of the AP is very interesting. The touching story of his recovery is short and sweet. His writing style keeps moving and he explains the confusing situation in West Africa very well.

"Ambushed" has something for everyone.......2002-12-25

When I first picked up Ian Stewart's "Ambushed: A War Reporter's Life on the Line" I had some trepidation. I worried I would finish it with the same feeling I had when I read "All the President's Men." I enjoyed that book, but I had a feeling it was only really compelling to people interested in history, politics or journalism. Not that those topics are boring - they just don't always have much heart or soul.
With Stewart's book, I was pleasantly suprised. Although a good portion of the book focuses on the political climates he faced as a war correspondent, it also gets to the heart of how war affected people in the places he covered. With relative grace, Stewart manages to balance the bare-bones reality of war with the personal struggles he had covering it as the Associated Press' West Africa bureau chief. He brings real emotion to the book by describing both fighting in the streets and the reactions of children who see it every day.
But the real heart of the story is apparent in the final third of the book, after Stewart has been shot in the head by rebels in Sierra Leone. As he describes the rehabilitation process following his injury it becomes more and more evident what war reporters really face. It's really compelling to analyze, along with Stewart, why those journalists do what they do and whether it is worth the sacrifice.
In the simplest terms, the book is interesting because it tells one person's story in a way that most people, not just journalists or history and politics buffs, can relate to. By showing how Stewart covered war and how he dealt with it personally, "Ambushed" opens a window into war that most of us will never get to experience first-hand.

Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya

Average customer rating:

For the Layman
How we really feel
An improvement
Excellent portal into a hellish conflict--and more
An eye-opening experience

Chechnya Diary: A War Correspondent's Story of Surviving the War in Chechnya
Thomas Goltz
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312268742

Book Description

homas Goltz is one of the founders of the exclusive journalistic cadre of compulsive, danger-addicted voyeurs who court death to get the story. In a first-person narrative that reads like an adventure, he explores the war in Chechnya, and focuses on the Samashki Massacre, the symbol of Russian brutality employed to crush Chechen resistance. Goltz relates the saga of this small town (sort of a Grover's Corners of the Caucasus), as it is drawn into war, and the fate of Hussein, the leader of local resistance. Chechnya Diary is a crossover work that will satisfy both armchair travelers as well as political scientists, historians, and policy makers.

Customer Reviews:

For the Layman.......2006-02-01

This is the true story about the struggle the people of Chechnya are going through - a region I know little about. It is written through the eyes of a war correspondent - an occupation I know little about. Goltz brings some understanding to the layman with a direct, no-nonsense writing style that will capture your attention and send your senses reeling through sorrow, joy, dispair, hope and more. A must read for anyone who wants to gain some knowledge of the on-going struggle of Chechnya without wading through a dull textbook.

How we really feel.......2004-10-29

I'll state straight away that I count myself a an old and loyal friend of Thomas Goltz, and I'm a journalist too, so my five stars should perhaps seen in that context. But I believe they are well deserved, not least for the personal bravery the author displayed in getting the story. For me, this book's particular value is that for once it strips away the shield that we reporters feel necessary to arm ourselves with to protect ourselves from emotional involvement with the subjects of our reportage. This is the first time I read the account of someone who has faced up to naked realities of this situation. The result is a rare and compelling tale of the relationship between the interviewer and the interviewed, and set against a backdrop that shows how both sides behave and above all feel when trapped in forces outside their control.

An improvement .......2004-09-06

This book is a sign Goltz has matured since writing "Requiem" and "AZ Diary", and has found his niche. This is to say, maybe he's realized he isn't much for political synthesis or history. He has obviously done a lot of good and original thinking about journalistic ethics in wartime and the "Hawthorne effect"--these are the reasons you want to read this book.

There are a lot of books, historical and journalistic, in several languages, on Chechnya and this is the least exciting and informative of the ten or so of those I've read.

"Allah's Mountains", "Chechnya--Tombstone of Russian Power" and "Chechnya--A Short, Victorious War" are more interesting and written by less self-obsessed authors.

Excellent portal into a hellish conflict--and more.......2004-02-18

Chechnya Diary isn't your typical book about war. For one thing, it reads more like an adventure or a novel than straight history. It's also much more philosophical than I would have expected. The book begins with the quote, "The observer affects the observed," and boy is that statement ever borne out as the story unfolds.

Author Thomas Goltz sneaks into the country to cover the war, and ends up in a small town called Samashki, where he depends on the hospitality of a man named Hussein. Ostensibly there to record the fighting, Goltz soon becomes intimately involved, raising many tough questions about journalistic ethics and the effects of media war coverage.

The book really picks up steam in the second half, as Goltz returns to Chechnya to discover the damage his participation has caused, and tries to rectify it.

It's a thought-provoking book that provides background on the Chechnyan war but also goes far beyond that to dwell on how our shallow media culture affects our understanding of world events (and beyond that, how media coverage actually determines the course of those events as they play out). Goltz is a likable narrator who doesn't shy away from implicating himself when it comes to the sticky moral questions. He brings to life real Chechnyans in such vivid fashion that you'll remember them every time you hear about Chechnya in the news.

I had tears in my eyes as I finished the book. Highly recommended.

An eye-opening experience.......2004-01-23

Until I read 'Chechnya Diary' I was willing to accept what seemed to be conventional wisdom about the conflict in Chechnya--i.e., just another incidence of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Mr. Goltz provides another view: i.e., an effort (at least initally) to restore to a displaced people the homeland of which they were deprived by the Stalinst regime. I also found it refreshing to read something by a journalist who is willing to acknowledge that his presence may have an impact on the turn of events. All in all, I think this is a most enlightening book and, like Mr. Goltz's 'Azerbaijan Diary', a terrific adventure story.

Flirting with Danger: Confessions of a Reluctant War Reporter

Average customer rating:

Wow!!!
Good Book
great read
More Than A Great Read!
Brilliant!

Flirting with Danger: Confessions of a Reluctant War Reporter
Siobhan Darrow
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 038572134X
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Book Description

Former star correspondent for CNN, Siobhan Darrow covered the world’s hottest war zones over the last two decades, reporting from the front lines in Moscow, Chechnya, the Balkans, Albania, Israel, and Northern Ireland. Her fearless pursuit of stories placed her in countless life-threatening situations, prompting Darrow to wonder what about her character so attracted her to adrenaline, and so alienated her from the family life a part of her longed for. Darrow approaches this question with the same honesty–and seat-of-the-pants courage–that established her reputation as a premiere reporter, and the answers she arrives at form this riveting memoir of a woman assigned to cover history in the making, even as she chases down the most elusive “get” of all: her own happiness.

Customer Reviews:

Wow!!! .......2006-01-02

I read this book so fast, couldn't put it down... Ms. Darrow is a fascinating writer, taking you on a fast paced adventure through some of the most important events that happened in recent years. The book stays with you long after you finish reading it, highly recommend it!

Good Book.......2003-12-07

I thought this book was pretty good. It was really intriguing to hear what a person in those situations really thinks about. She's had a very interesting life. She is a very intellectual writer.

great read.......2002-10-17

I ripped through this book quickly, unable to put it down. the writing style was cynical, quick witted, and a touch raw.

adolescent girls should read this not only to learn the battles that other women have fought for their individuality, but also because the author points out how her personal battle was waged on the hand of a few bad decisions and what the price can be for making such decisions.

More Than A Great Read!.......2002-01-22

This is a great story; well written, humorous, and full of fascinating "behind-the-scenes" glimpses of life as a CNN correspondent. In the end, however, the thing that really makes this book worth the read is the author's willingness and ability to share her own personal journey. Her story moved me deeply and made me freshly aware of the joys and challenges of my own life. It also left me wanting to hear more! When is her next book coming out?!

Brilliant!.......2002-01-21

This is one of the best books I've read this year! Darrow is witty, warm, and wise. I found myself comparing my own childhood experiences with hers, and was amazed by how much we have in common. Darrow was honest enough to share the pain and humiliation she suffered growing up without much money, and I could relate.

Siobhan Darrow is a refreshing voice of truth in modern day autobiographies. I recommend this book to everyone! She will transport you all over the world in her global adventures, sharing her unique brand of humor and self-reflection. The book was so exciting, I read it in one evening and the next day began to read it again! As a young woman in the media, I am thankful to have such a great role model.

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