
Marian L. (
sunfish) wrote on 3/22/2007...
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
Anderson Cooper is one of my favorite newscasters/journalists. He describes how his personal life and his life as a journalist merged. He was the one who, during and after Katrina, coined the phrase for watching the government as "keeping them honest". An interesting side note is his acknowledgement of the high he receives when in a chaotic world situation. Very good book.
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a wonderful book. Anderson wrote it in such a manner that world events take on a very peronal perspecive. You end up feeling a greater personal responsibility and connection to all the countries and particularly our own where the targedy of katrina was also made personal, and about how horrifying it was that our own government didn't do more. As I said, it is a poinent book, and it also has interwoven in the book, about Anderson Cooper's life; his own personal tragerdies, and about his life being a Vanderbilt (his motherwas gloria Vanderbilt).
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book surprised me. Of course I know nothing about Anderson Cooper other than what I see on television, but this book is decidedly darker than I expected. Cooper reviews many of his travels into horrible parts of the world, along with delving into the suicide of his brother. I think a proper term for this book might be haunting.

Gail S. (
Bella44) wrote on 1/28/2007...
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Cooper is a great writer and journalist. He did a great job of weaving his own personal history private tragedies throughout this memoir while never losing sight of the greater human tragedies and losses that were being experienced by those around him on a larger scale. Great read!
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Engaging and moving memoir detailing the correspondent's visits to hot spots around the world from Niger to New Orleans. His first-hand accounts of world events are incredibly detailed and fascinating, especially his deeply moving report on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I think the immediacy is what makes this book so special - these events happened so recently. The way he weaves in his own life story and its tragedies highlights his personal search for answers and a sense of peace. Highly recommended.
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
I appreciated being able to follow the emotional impact of what high-risk journalism entails. He reveals a big part of his own story, as it relates to what he sees, very insightful!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Anderson Cooper is a top-notch journalist. This book surprised me by how much he opened up about his personal life...the bad things that he has faced during his life. As a newspaper reporter myself, I can attest that very few journalists come to this type of job without having a difficult past...something that makes them want to make the world a better place by the work they do. The work is also a way to avoid our own personal pain by trying to focus on helping others in their times of turmoil. Instead of the escape he probably wanted his job in the end has made him face many personal demons.
The book wasn't what I expected. But, I am glad I read it. It gives more insight to a wonderful journalist. It definitely explains why he cares so much.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a fantastic book. I really enjoyed it.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I remember seeing Anderson Cooper on an Oprah episode when he first released this book and was happy to pick it up on the swap because I remember being intrigued when I saw the interview. It sat on my bookshelf awhile but having read it now, I wish I had picked it up sooner. Cooper fully engages the reader by integrating his own very private family tragedy somewhat in the spotlight with his Mom being Glovia Vanderbuilt with his work spotlighting the devastation around him. He is humble and shares his story from the very early days as he tried to make it as a reporter to the present time. Easy flow and easy to get lost in.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I have always liked Anderson Cooper as a news reporter, but after reading this memoir I have a whole new appreciation for his life experiences and his profession. He is a Vanderbilt so he is from wealth, but he really had to work his way to the top. He has risked his life to try to bring information to people everywhere and he has true compassion for those in crisis. Some of the sections were hard to digest, but overall he kept the tone of the book less morbid than he could have. I think the writing was amazing and he made his memoir very interesting by mixing his work life with his childhood experiences. I highly recommend this book!