Live from the Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad--35 Years in the World's War Zones [Hardcover]

Peter Arnett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1994

A Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent chronicles the excitement, adventure, and drama of his more than thirty-five years of reporting, including details of his Gulf War experiences. 150,000 first printing. $125,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Associated Press correspondent Arnett was made a pariah by U.S. military authorities in Saigon because of his vividly blunt reports from the combat zone. He became controversial again as a CNN reporter covering the opening days of Desert Storm and as an interviewer of Saddam Hussein; he was denounced on the floor of congress and accused by several members of playing Josef Goebbels to Saddam's Hitler. In this engrossing memoir, Arnett describes his adventures and misadventures in covering several wars, airs his views on the media as an instrument of power and provides memorable portraits of several journalistic colleagues. Reporters will find intriguing his account of his methodical training as a combat correspondent by Malcolm W. Browne, AP bureau chief in Saigon. Arnett states as a simple fact that there's no thrill comparable to covering a war, and that he's good at it. Readers of this exciting memoir will agree with him on both counts. Photos.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Arnett refrained from writing a quickie cash-in after the Persian Gulf War. Only about 70 pages of this blunt memoir deal with his Gulf experiences; more than half is devoted to his nearly 13 years as a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter covering the Vietnam War. The controversy surrounding his Gulf reporting is placed in context as Arnett reveals how he occasioned similar, though less hysterical, criticism during the Vietnam war, some of it emanating from the Johnson White House. He offers sharp insights on the requirements for war reporting (aggressiveness, competitiveness, skepticism), and the differences between print and broadcast journalism: after 20 years with the Associated Press, Arnett joined the fledgling CNN in 1981. Readers won't be disappointed with his account of the Gulf War and may want to compare it to CNN producer Robert Wiener's Live from Baghdad: Gathering News at Ground Zero ( LJ 12/91). Recommended for public libraries and journalism collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/93.
- Bruce Rosenstein, "USA Today" Lib., Arlington, Va.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 1ST edition (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671755862
• ISBN-13: 978-0671755867
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,167,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great war coverage, December 5, 2001

By 

Deborah00 (FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live from the Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad--35 Years in the World's War Zones (Hardcover)

Want to know what really happened on the battlefield in Vietnam and else where? Read this book. As with most good journalists who stood firm maintaining the freedom of the press, and gave the public a true picture of what was happening abroad, he was railed on by the Pentagon and Whitehouse officials throughout his career. I've just read the book and something especially haunting was the last chapter. He is covering Afghanistan, the year was about 1993 after the 'freedom fighters' got rid of the communists and the entire country is ridden with corruption, violence, and warring factions. While waiting for his plane to Kabul he has a conversation with an influential Pakistani who blamed the chaos on the "mercurial American foreign policy". Saying "all you Americans cared about was destroying communism, and you welcomed extremists to the struggle and trained them to kill. But many of those people don't like you either, and you're the next target". On the very last page, Arnett ends the book as he is leaving Afghanistan, he writes: "The collapse of the Soviet empire, the end of the Cold War, had not brought harmony to Afghanistan, merely conflict and criminality. And the United States would reap a bitter harvest from the seeds of the Islamic revolution it helped sow. I was glad to be leaving Afghanistan but I knew that the story was not over". I would probably have to go back". As usual,the Pentagon and their right-wing pundits who attack people like Arnett as sympathizers, and conspiracy theorists, have been proven wrong by history, and the current events today.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling account by a master journalist., September 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Live from the Battlefield: From Vietnam to Baghdad, 35 Years in the World's War Zones (Paperback)

A thrilling account by a master journalist who pursued `the story' for four decades over four continents. Guided by a determination to write only what he himself saw, Arnett sent out a steady stream of reports about what was actually happening in Vietnam, shrugging off the official military handouts as the "Five O'Clock Follies." His doggedness, bravery and resourcefulness in getting to where the action was resulted in Pulitzer Prize winning reports. He later became famous, if controversial, as one of the few American reporters to cover the Gulf War from inside Baghdad. An exhilarating read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Audio version - recommended, September 28, 2011

By 

Paul Brooks (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live from the Battlefield (Audio Cassette)

The following comments are for the abridged audio book version of "Live From the Battlefield" by Peter Arnett copyright 1994 by Simon & Schuster. The audio book consists of 2 cassette tapes with a total run time of 3 hours. Peter Arnett reads which, in my oppinion, add a significant degree of historical interest to the narrative.

It was unfortunate that this audio book was abridged. It would of been appropriate if actual excerpts from his news broadcast had been included on a few additional tapes.

The narrative form employed for this audio book consists of several sentences about a particular event or news worthy issue punciated by a lengthy pause. It gave the presentation an episodic feel, which I found disconcerting.

I would certainly recommend this audio book particularly if you have an interest in the Vietnam War and how it was reported. The old expression "The first causality in war is the truth" is clearly explored in this first person account.

Peter Gregg Arnett, born November 13, 1934, is a New Zeland-Americian journalist. He is known for his coverage of war, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. He was awarded the 1966 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his work in Vietnam, where he was present from 1962 to 1975, most of the time reporting for the news agency.

A final note on audio cassettes books. I write these comments in 2011 so that makes these tapes 17 years old. I have no idea how long audio recording will last but these two tapes played without any mechanical problems and the audio was excellent.