First published 2006
Anderson Cooper stands in the wreckage of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, one stop in a year that took him from the tsunami-devastated coasts of South Asia to the conflict zones of Baghdad. As a CNN correspondent, Cooper witnesses chaos unfold across the globe. He documents suffering in Niger, covers civil wars, and reports from disaster zones where normal life has collapsed. Each assignment tests his ability to communicate devastating human stories through television. The crises he covers begin to reshape his understanding of journalism and his own life. Cooper writes with the same emotional directness that marks his television reporting, weaving together memoir and firsthand accounts of the most dangerous stories of our time. His journey through these volatile situations reveals how witnessing extreme human suffering and resilience changes the observer as much as those living through the events.
Genres: non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, journalism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: memoir, personal-journey
Setting: Baghdad, New Orleans, Niger, South Asia
Period: Hurricane Katrina
Audio CD · HarperAudio