Sunday, December 11, 2016
TOW #12 - Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disaster, and Survival
In the memoir, Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disaster, and Survival, Anderson Cooper recounts his experiences with different types of news stories in a variety of places. Anderson Cooper is an American journalist, television personality, and author. He is most known for his work in CNN news. Hurricane Katrina prompted Cooper in writing this book, which was open for any type of world citizen, no matter who they were or where they came from. In an attempt to present a new perspective on world crises and conflicts, Cooper wrote about many different events like the tsunami in Sri Lanka, war in Iraq, and the hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans. In the beginning of the first chapter Cooper explains, “I’m standing in a pile of rubble. Beneath me the ground seems to move, twisting and turning in on itself. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. The ground isn’t moving at all. It’s maggots, thousands of them. Writhing, squirming, they feast on some unseen flesh” (Cooper 11). Through the use of extensive detailed imagery, Cooper presents an image that most people would not expect to see or even experience in a lifetime. Most people that were not involved in the event and just watched the news on a TV did not see such harrowing images like what Anderson Cooper saw that day, so this gives yet a unique but disheartening perspective on the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka. In the section about the war in Iraq Cooper saw a headline titled, Iraq Explodes, the following day which sparks thoughts to himself which say, “The headline could just as easily have been ‘200 Gallons of Water Delivered to Neighborhood Near Baghdad Airport.’ It would have been just as accurate, though arguably not as important. Perhaps the soldier I spoke to earlier was right: sometimes Iraq is not like what you see on TV” (Cooper 62). Through the use of Cooper’s inner-monologue, it presents logical thinking which speaks for the purpose itself. As much as people watch news coverage of different events, it will never be the same if you were in the exact place that the event happened. In my opinion, I really am enjoying the book and I am very excited to read more. By only reading half of the book, it gives me inspiration to look for many different types of news coverage so I can get many different perspectives rather than just an image or a short article.
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