Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper (2006, Hardcover)

I really enjoyed reading this book. Anderson Cooper has opened his heart and parts of his soul to his readers. He has managed to make the reader feel the pain and loss in his global stories as well as in his personal life. Anyone who has ever lost a loved one or has travelled to war torn or famine stricken areas of the world will know that it is not easy to recover or continue from such devastation. Mr. Cooper shows us that he too has had to struggle with his emotional journey and that he is trying to come to terms with it. I congratulate him for allowing us to travel with him.
I decided to buy this book as I have a huge respect for Anderson Cooper, especially after his Katrina coverage in August 2005.

The book is good but not exactly lighthearted. It covers most of the recent disasters that Anderson has covered as well as the behind the scenes info you don't normally hear. It was nice to hear what he really thinks, not just the objective comments that he has to put forth every night. He is really honest about his thoughts and feelings too which helps put you at the scene with him.

This is a well-written and informative book.
Anderson Cooper describes three major news events in the past year with gripping details and personal comments.
As well as reporting his news experiences, he talks very candidly about himself and his life.
Reading this book was a wonderful experience.
I bought this book because I was very impressed with Anderson Cooper's coverage of hurricane Katrina for CNN. I wanted to read more about his experiences and about himself. I was not dissapointed.
Highly recommended.

I found out about this book when Anderson Cooper appeared on Larry King Live. My mother lives with me and my husband and she and I both wanted to read the book. So I went directly to ebay to find the book at the best price. I do this with about everything now. Ebay offers the best choices and service around with the convenience of home shopping!

This was a phenomenal read! It details Cooper Anderson's life as a reporter, and his writing is so descriptive and vivd, you almost feel like you are right there with him. This is definitely not a happy, read on the beach kind of book...but it is insightful, giving a small glimpse into a life of privilege from a person who has seen every conceivable side of life.

I love Anderson Cooper and wanted to read his book on his travels. Very good book and would recommend it.

There is nothing I didn't like about this book. I loved this book, could not put it down. I do have to tell you I am not a war person at all. I hate even looking at the news to see what is going on. Anderson Cooper reports and writes about it so well because he is so passionate about making a difference. This book really made me appreciate what I have. I am not rich but this book made me feel spoiled. It makes you come face to face with reality. Anderson is very vivid in his details about life in war torn countries. I was walking on my treadmill reading this book at times and felt guilty on how blessed most of us here truly are.

This book was recommended to me by an acquaintance. Not knowing what type of book interests her, I wasn't sure I would like it, but I did. Anderson Cooper very skillfully interweaves experiences from various conflicts as well as his own personal challenges growing up to show us both the best and worst of human nature and, finally, our common humanity. This is a fast and interesting read.

This is an excellent book written by a remarkable man. I couldn't put the book down. I would definitely recommend this book to all.

This book is a great read for the Anderson Cooper fan, and anyone who really wants to know THE TRUTH about the events covered in this book. Cooper does a splendid job, in interspersing his own life drama with actual dramas about people he has interviewed. A first-rate book!

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I had waited to buy this book for awhile. It is an excellent read!
To see how Anderson grew up under the wings of his so famous mother designer Gloria Vanderbilt.

It is quick to the point and edgy. He writes about something sometimes, just briefly, and then goes off onto another subject quickly!

I kinda wish he had gone into much more detail on some of the things that had happened, that is about the only drawback, or negative thing I can think of...

You will be thinking of some of his experiences later after reading this book...about his upbringing and Hurricane Katrina, to name a few....
Excellent read! I hope he writes more books on his experiences! Enjoy!

One of the best books I have ever read. I have always admired Anderson Coooer, but this book just blew me away with his sensitivity and personality. Was not what I expected of him.

i need this book for a test in the college. In 2005, two tragedies--the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina--turned CNN reporter Anderson Cooper into a media celebrity. Dispatches from the Edge, Cooper's memoir of "war, disasters and survival," is a brief but powerful chronicle of Cooper's ascent to stardom and his struggle with his own tragedies and demons. Cooper was 10 years old when his father, Wyatt Cooper, died during heart bypass surgery. He was 20 when his beloved older brother, Carter, committed suicide by jumping off his mother's penthouse balcony (his mother, by the way, being Gloria Vanderbilt). The losses profoundly affected Cooper, who fled home after college to work as a freelance journalist for Channel One, the classroom news service. Covering tragedies in far-flung places like Burma, Vietnam, and Somalia, Cooper quickly learned that "as a journalist, no matter ... how respectful you are, part of your brain remains focused on how to capture the horror you see, how to package it, present it to others." Cooper's description of these horrors, from war-ravaged Baghdad to famine-wracked Niger, is poignant but surprisingly unsentimental. In Niger, Cooper writes, he is chagrined, then resigned, when he catches himself looking for the "worst cases" to commit to film. "They die, I live. It's the way of the world," he writes. In the final section of Dispatches, Cooper describes covering Hurricane Katrina, the story that made him famous. The transcript of his showdown with Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu (in which Cooper tells Landrieu people in New Orleans are "ashamed of what is happening in this country right now") is worth the price of admission on its own. Cooper's memoir leaves some questions unanswered--there's frustratingly little about his personal life, for example--but remains a vivid, modest self-portrait by a man who is proving himself to be an admirable, courageous leader in a medium that could use more like him.

Great book, Cooper does a wonderful job at conveying emotion. The stories he told were very heart-wrenching, it makes you really think. Again, great book!

I loved every word. Anderson Cooper is a great writer and journalist. I think everyone should read Dispatches from the Edge. I give it an excellent review. His real life adventures are both sad and uplifting. He shows with his details the raw evil that comes from some people but he also can show with great depth the kindness and best can come out through the worst times. It is a must read book. It should be required reading in schools around the world. The wars and the graphic details need to be known and people need to learn to see and hear the pain and suffering of humanity. It is told as only Anderson can tell the story. It is even better when he reads it to you on the audio that I also have.

Very informative from both a personal and historic perspective. Written in 1 to 3 page pieces, so it was easy to pick up, put back down, and pick up again. Because it was so good, I picked up at every chance. Great book.

I both read the book and also listened to its audio book version, it's an amazing read to fully understand what really happens in the world behind the news cameras. Anderson Cooper explains the top moments of his life in several places in the world and how it effected him, there's also much about Hurricane Katrina. I highly recommend it to those that are both fans of Anderson and his news or to those that simply want a deeper understanding to what a reporter goes through to get a story.

This was our book club selection this month and I really wasn't expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised. Anderson Cooper has seen his share of disasters, that's for sure. You can only imagine how jaded film crews and reporters must get jumping from one hotbed of disaster to another; they must think same horror, different day and place. Anderson Cooper may have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but you'd never know it to read his prose; he paints a vivid picture of recent wars and catastrophes, and he links in his own personal loss but reminds us that there is goodness in the world as well. A good, quick read!

Promt delivery with the book is perfect shape , as described. Would recommend this vendor and would purchase with confidence.

This book is terrific. He describes in detail his journey throughout he world and how it has changed him and his outlook on life.

This book is very inspiring and I highly recommend it.