A 360 Glimpse

On a rare occasion one afternoon about a year ago, I found myself watching Oprah. The newest "inductee" into her book club was titled Dispatches From the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters and Survival by Anderson Cooper. Hmmm. I was certain I had heard that name before, but where? As an individual easily frightened and depressed at watching the news, I try to keep updated on foreign affairs just enough so I don't have to watch it everyday on television. For this reason, I didn't immediately recognize the name as that of the popular CNN anchor and host of his own show: Anderson Cooper 360.

Anderson Cooper was born in New York, New York, the son of Wyatt Cooper and the famous Gloria Vanderbilt. Unable to find a job as a reporter (in the early 90s), Cooper made a fake press pass and traveled to Rwanda, Somalia, Bosnia and Asia where he began covering wars on his own and selling the footage. This ultimately lead to a job with Channel One. From there he landed his first network job at ABC. In 2001, he took a job at CNN where here covered the war in Iraq in the late night hours. In 2003 he was given his own show.

His book, Dispatches From the Edge, is the story of his life personally and as a journalist. His use of imagery in his writing makes you feel like you are next to him, walking through the disaster left by Hurricane Katrina or fleeing from gunfire in Rwanda. He tells the story of his father's death, his mother's fame and his brother's suicide. The reader learns how Anderson Cooper has been shaped not only by his own life experiences and personal struggles, but by what he has come to know of war and the struggles of others.

Now when I tune in to watch Anderson Cooper 360, I watch his eyes. I look into them because I feel like reading his book has given me a new perspective on a man who before was "just a guy behind a desk." It has also given me a new perspective on what is going on overseas - things that we never see and hardly ever think about. But we should.

If you read a book this year, I hope this is one of them. There aren't many happy stories to tell on its pages, but it's an incredible story of journalism, life, tragedy, war and suffering. Well-written and unforgettable.

Jillian

-photo courtesy of Amazon.com -
- order the book on Amazon (it's also at Borders) -

biography information from Dispatches From the Edge by Anderson Cooper