A review by audaciaray
Rolling Blackouts: Dispatches from Turkey, Syria, and Iraq by Sarah Glidden

3.0

The stories of this book all take place during a 2010 trip to Turkey, Iraq, and Syria - when Syria was the most stable of the places the group visits. American military invasion in Iraq is the central backdrop; it's really a book about how journalism is done, plus struggles with what the US has wrought in the Middle East. The main characters are a group of white American journalists and a vet who served in Iraq. Most of the action of the book are interviews and conversations, with only a little exploration of the cities. There's a lot of very compelling meta stuff about journalism and representation, with just the tip of the iceberg emerging around the conflicts in the region. If you want more about the political situation, this is not the right book. If you want to think more about journalism in conflict zones, I really recommend [b:The Photographer|5967064|The Photographer|Emmanuel Guibert|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440566390s/5967064.jpg|6139997] (also a graphic novel) and [b:Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War|127503|Shutterbabe Adventures in Love and War|Deborah Copaken Kogan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1171936405s/127503.jpg|1843967].