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marite's review
5.0
Journalisten Lamb har skrevet en svært interessant, spennende og tidvis rystende bok om livet som korrespondent i noen av verdens mest konfliktfylte områder. Spesielt inntrykk gjorde historiene om barneslavene i Elfenbenskysten og Mugabes destruktive framferd mot eget folk i Zimbabwe.
left_coast_justin's review
4.0
I was actually thinking of assigning this three stars, but that would imply it's a run-of-the-mill books, mildy interesting and adequately written. I don't think that's fair to the author, because the real problem I had with this book isn't with its execution, which is well above its peers, but rather because the job she assigned herself in writing it just doesn't much align with my interests.
She's a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times of London, and has spent her working life in exciting and dangerous places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Rio De Janeiro and West Africa. Her job, which she does very well, is fly in, check into a hotel, meet with some bigwigs / military folks / commoners, interview them, and head out. Near the beginning, she mentions that working for a weekly column in the FT allows her to really dig into the story, and not just write up the shallow surface like many other reporters do.
But compared to the type of reading I really like to do, it's still pretty shallow. As an example, let's take the description of the samba school in Rio where she went to report on the experience of participating in Carnivale there.
[Hypothetical paragraph by a 'shallow' reporter]
[Hypothetical paragraph in this 'deep dive' reporter's book]:
These are not actual quotes, though the gist of what is described was taken from the book. And to be fair, she then spent a couple of paragraphs talking about how organized criminals run a lotto system that is tolerated by the officials. But having read about Rio in Peter Robb's brilliant A Death in Brazil, it's almost painful to read about it here, when so much is left out.
A simple case of mismatch between author and reader. And she did have some interesting things to say about Lady Diana and the countries she visited.
She's a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times of London, and has spent her working life in exciting and dangerous places such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Rio De Janeiro and West Africa. Her job, which she does very well, is fly in, check into a hotel, meet with some bigwigs / military folks / commoners, interview them, and head out. Near the beginning, she mentions that working for a weekly column in the FT allows her to really dig into the story, and not just write up the shallow surface like many other reporters do.
But compared to the type of reading I really like to do, it's still pretty shallow. As an example, let's take the description of the samba school in Rio where she went to report on the experience of participating in Carnivale there.
[Hypothetical paragraph by a 'shallow' reporter]
"Despite my protests that I cannot dance, I find myself two hours later with peacock feathers erupting skywards from my head, a pair of glittery wings that enclose my chest and shoulders, a sequined bikini and little else. At first, moving through the streets, I felt awkard and out of step, but then something amazing happened. The music seemed to talk hold of my feet and I found myself catching the rhythm. I never wanted the night to end.".
[Hypothetical paragraph in this 'deep dive' reporter's book]:
"Despite my protests that I cannot dance, I find myself two hours later with peacock feathers erupting skywards from my head, a pair of glittery wings that enclose my chest and shoulders, a sequined bikini and little else. At first, moving through the streets, I felt awkard and out of step, but then something amazing happened. The music seemed to talk hold of my feet and I found myself catching the rhythm. I never wanted the night to end.
While Carnivale is a major contributor to Rio's image, and corporate sponsorship is highly visible in all directions, rumor has it that most of the events are funded by organized crime. Talk of drug money has surfaced in recent years."
These are not actual quotes, though the gist of what is described was taken from the book. And to be fair, she then spent a couple of paragraphs talking about how organized criminals run a lotto system that is tolerated by the officials. But having read about Rio in Peter Robb's brilliant A Death in Brazil, it's almost painful to read about it here, when so much is left out.
A simple case of mismatch between author and reader. And she did have some interesting things to say about Lady Diana and the countries she visited.
elikolina's review
4.0
This was an interesting book, for one because it does not focus on one single event and the news coverage of that, but also because I thought the writer herself was a bit of an interesting person. Her attitude towards her job is very much like the one I have about mine: "Never mind the dangers, this is what I love to do, this is what I'm good at."
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