Marian L. (sunfish) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 209 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10
Anderson Cooper is one of my favorite newscasters/journalists. He describes how his personal life and his life as a journalist merged. He was the one who, during and after Katrina, coined the phrase for watching the government as "keeping them honest". An interesting side note is his acknowledgement of the high he receives when in a chaotic world situation. Very good book.
Helpful Score: 8
This is a wonderful book. Anderson wrote it in such a manner that world events take on a very peronal perspecive. You end up feeling a greater personal responsibility and connection to all the countries and particularly our own where the targedy of katrina was also made personal, and about how horrifying it was that our own government didn't do more. As I said, it is a poinent book, and it also has interwoven in the book, about Anderson Cooper's life; his own personal tragerdies, and about his life being a Vanderbilt (his motherwas gloria Vanderbilt).
James D. (yankeeslefty) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
This book surprised me. Of course I know nothing about Anderson Cooper other than what I see on television, but this book is decidedly darker than I expected. Cooper reviews many of his travels into horrible parts of the world, along with delving into the suicide of his brother. I think a proper term for this book might be haunting.
Gail S. (Bella44) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 33 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
Cooper is a great writer and journalist. He did a great job of weaving his own personal history private tragedies throughout this memoir while never losing sight of the greater human tragedies and losses that were being experienced by those around him on a larger scale. Great read!
Heather P. (smilemommy) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I appreciated being able to follow the emotional impact of what high-risk journalism entails. He reveals a big part of his own story, as it relates to what he sees, very insightful!
Kristen R. (krissyj8) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 22 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I have always liked Anderson Cooper as a news reporter, but after reading this memoir I have a whole new appreciation for his life experiences and his profession. He is a Vanderbilt so he is from wealth, but he really had to work his way to the top. He has risked his life to try to bring information to people everywhere and he has true compassion for those in crisis. Some of the sections were hard to digest, but overall he kept the tone of the book less morbid than he could have. I think the writing was amazing and he made his memoir very interesting by mixing his work life with his childhood experiences. I highly recommend this book!
Deborah M. (BookishOne) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
You either like Anderson Cooper or you don't. Regardless, he knows how to write a great book. Very hard to put the book down. It seems like he's seen it all in our world. Mixed in with that is a lot of information about his formative years and what makes him tick. Didn't think I would like this book at all but it ending up being one of my most favorite reads of the year.
Helpful Score: 2
I remember seeing Anderson Cooper on an Oprah episode when he first released this book and was happy to pick it up on the swap because I remember being intrigued when I saw the interview. It sat on my bookshelf awhile but having read it now, I wish I had picked it up sooner. Cooper fully engages the reader by integrating his own very private family tragedy somewhat in the spotlight with his Mom being Glovia Vanderbuilt with his work spotlighting the devastation around him. He is humble and shares his story from the very early days as he tried to make it as a reporter to the present time. Easy flow and easy to get lost in.
Rhonda S. (imapugmom) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Anderson Cooper is a top-notch journalist. This book surprised me by how much he opened up about his personal life...the bad things that he has faced during his life. As a newspaper reporter myself, I can attest that very few journalists come to this type of job without having a difficult past...something that makes them want to make the world a better place by the work they do. The work is also a way to avoid our own personal pain by trying to focus on helping others in their times of turmoil. Instead of the escape he probably wanted his job in the end has made him face many personal demons.
The book wasn't what I expected. But, I am glad I read it. It gives more insight to a wonderful journalist. It definitely explains why he cares so much.
The book wasn't what I expected. But, I am glad I read it. It gives more insight to a wonderful journalist. It definitely explains why he cares so much.
Helpful Score: 2
This was a fantastic book. I really enjoyed it.
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this book was very interesting!!!! Some of the stuff was kind of hard to read about, but i'm sure that's how it happened!!!!
I've always enjoyed Anderson Cooper's shows. This book shows a side of him you don't expect, very real. :)
Effie (Bkcrazee) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 388 more book reviews
Excellent account of his travels. I found his honesty in what he writes about to be very humbling.
Great memoir.
Nicole H. (colie1718) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 70 more book reviews
An extremely well written book. This man knows his subject very well and has the experience to back it up.
Renee (katewisdom) -
This book is good, but really depressing. He makes everything in the book clinical and extremely personal at the same time and I thought it was amazing how much he wanted to be a correspondent. His writing style was very engaging, while it was really hard to read some parts because he was in such terrible circumstances so often, I never wanted to put the book down. I felt terrible about so many of the things he's seen and been through, and even worse for the people that were living in the nightmares he describes and can't leave at the end of the story.
Do NOT read this if you are looking for something light, but it is SO worth reading.
Do NOT read this if you are looking for something light, but it is SO worth reading.
Ronda B. (froglet) reviewed Dispatches From the Edge of the World: A Memoir on + 40 more book reviews
I'm sure most of us have heard and seen Anderson Cooper, but this book is an insight into the person behind the public face. He does an excellent job weaving stories of tragedies he views and reports on with the tragedies in his personal life - losing his father at an early age and the suicide of his brother. He tells of how a reporter in many ways divorces himself from the scenes yet on an inner level feels and reacts in ways that may come out later. I highly recommend this book to anyone who still sees humanity in this world where we see so much that we sometimes overlook the individuals involved.
very interesting
Tish O. (tish) -
This is a poorly written memoir with no depth in the stories. i was very dissapointed and DNF the book.
