Customer Reviews

Over There: From The Bronx to Baghdad

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was hoping for an interesting behind the scenes view of the war in Iraq, but what I got was a book full of faux self-analysis and padding. Apparently Feuer realized that he didn't have enough actual material for a book, so he boosts his wordcount with constant Woody Allenish over-analyzation of his motives -- he is almost incapable of stating anything without considering why he states it, or how he feels about it. Add that to that goofy behavior like picking a fight for no particular reason in London and his dysfunctional avoidance relationship with his ostensible bosses, and you have to wonder even more than ever about what gets into the New York Times.

I give the book two stars because there are a few good anecdotes (in particular, the incident of the cookies, and the British officier's response to a lodging request) and because Fuer displays more insight into the real causes of the war than expected, but basically it's a mess. In the end, the author apparently decides, for no good reason, that he's going home and presents, as he does time after time, the home office a fait acompli and leaves without tying up any loose ends (for instance, what happened to Nadia?)

This is nothing but poorly written drivel. A friend in publishing gave it to me. I am so glad I didn't pay for it. Amateur writing coupled with a huge ego. Bleah.

"Three journalists have died in Baghdad. . . American troops are killing journalists in a profoundly foreign country, under cover of a war being fought for savage, greed-crazed reasons that most of them couldn't explain or even understand."

This is a quote from the late "Gonzo Journalist" Hunter Thompson, and Alan Feuer's book captures the same sentiments. A reporter is nothing more than a voyeur, Thompson has said repeatedly, and in this New York Times reporter's case, he has peeped on the underworld of the Bronx Mafia by eavesdropping in Cafes on Arthur Avenue and peeped into the shanty tents of the homeless camped out under the Throgs Neck Bridge. Then he is sent to Bagdad - and thrust into the chaos and confusion of a war he barely understands himself. "Over There," is not a book about the ill-named "Operation Iraqi Freedom" because the author (TR) admittedly does not spend enough time in Iraq to label himself a war correspondent. It is instead a book about a journalist who is parachuted into a gritty warzone and finds himself confronting the same greedy motives he has found covering the mob, dirty CEOs, and hardscrabble, down-on-their luck thieves, back in NYC. It is also a look at the politics of the world's most respected paper and may prompt some high-brow readers who sniff they "only read the Times" to take the hardscrabble reporting of other newspapers just as seriously, if not more so.

I found it very interesting to read this book! I have to say, I was delighted in his writing style, it made me laugh and think, and if he writes another book, I will buy it because I liked his style. It was very interesting to read a reporter write about what he (as a reporter) thought and did, especially in mid-war. How often do we get first hand accounts of the ins and outs of being a reporter? I had no idea how much lag time they suffered, nor had I thought about how intrusive the media can be, with the goal of telling a story to the world.I liked it!

This author is obviously enamored with Hemingwayesque prose, but unfortunately it comes off in a sophomoric and self-absorbed way. I wish that he had more to say about the war and less to say about himself.

Due to the DOD's brilliant policy of "embedding" reporters, there have been very few books written by reporters discussing there view of the war in Iraq. (Where are you David Halberstam?)I was glad to see that Mr. Feuer was brave enough to write about his experience covering the war. Mr. Feuer's book is a classic fish out of water story. He writes an amusing, sarcastic and insightful book about his experience. His book does a great job capturing "T.R's" feelings as he unexpectedly finds himself in the action in Jordan and Iraq. If you are looking for a book that discusses the failures of journalists to adequately cover the war, this isn't the book for you. If you are looking for a great story about one man's journey into a confusing and awful situation, then buy this book.