Naked in Baghdad: The Iraq War and the Aftermath as Seen by NPR's Correspondent Anne Garrels
Aug 2004 · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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About this ebook
National Public Radio's correspondent provides a brilliant, intimate, on-the-ground account of history in the making with Naked in Baghdad.
As NPR's senior foreign correspondent, Anne Garrels has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. She is renowned for direct, down-to-earth, insightful reportage, and for her independent take on what she sees. One of only sixteen un-embedded American journalists who stayed in Baghdad's now-legendary Palestine Hotel throughout the American invasion of Iraq, she was at the very center of the storm. Naked in Baghdad gives us the sights, sounds, and smells of our latest war with unparalleled vividness and immediacy.
Garrels's narrative starts with several trips she made to Baghdad before the war, beginning in October 2002. At its heart is her evolving relationship with her Iraqi driver/minder, Amer, who becomes her friend and confidant, often serving as her eyes and ears among the populace and taking her where no other reporter was able to penetrate. Amer's own strong reactions and personal dilemma provide a trenchant counterpoint to daily events. The story is also punctuated by e-mail bulletins sent by Garrels's husband, Vint Lawrence, to their friends around the world, giving a private view of the rough-and-tumble, often dangerous life of a foreign correspondent, along with some much-needed comic relief.
The result is enthralling, deeply personal, utterly authentic--an on-the-ground picture of the war in Iraq that no one else could have written. As Chicago Sun-Times critic Lloyd Sachs wrote about Garrels's work in Baghdad, "a few choice words, honestly delivered, are worth more than a thousand pictures . . . In your mind's eye, they carry lasting truth."
As NPR's senior foreign correspondent, Anne Garrels has covered conflicts in Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. She is renowned for direct, down-to-earth, insightful reportage, and for her independent take on what she sees. One of only sixteen un-embedded American journalists who stayed in Baghdad's now-legendary Palestine Hotel throughout the American invasion of Iraq, she was at the very center of the storm. Naked in Baghdad gives us the sights, sounds, and smells of our latest war with unparalleled vividness and immediacy.
Garrels's narrative starts with several trips she made to Baghdad before the war, beginning in October 2002. At its heart is her evolving relationship with her Iraqi driver/minder, Amer, who becomes her friend and confidant, often serving as her eyes and ears among the populace and taking her where no other reporter was able to penetrate. Amer's own strong reactions and personal dilemma provide a trenchant counterpoint to daily events. The story is also punctuated by e-mail bulletins sent by Garrels's husband, Vint Lawrence, to their friends around the world, giving a private view of the rough-and-tumble, often dangerous life of a foreign correspondent, along with some much-needed comic relief.
The result is enthralling, deeply personal, utterly authentic--an on-the-ground picture of the war in Iraq that no one else could have written. As Chicago Sun-Times critic Lloyd Sachs wrote about Garrels's work in Baghdad, "a few choice words, honestly delivered, are worth more than a thousand pictures . . . In your mind's eye, they carry lasting truth."
Ratings and reviews
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A Google user
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Despite living in a comparative international backwater of Brisbane, Australia I do get to met authors as they do the author circuit . The most sincere writer was Nicholas Evans who opened up and spoke with wonderful honesty . After reading "Naked in Baghdad " I saw the same qualities evident , thank you for a thoughtful and honest account of a dreadful time for most Iraqis . Your long suffering husband's notes were a good contrast of what was happening outside of your dangerous and narrow world . Stay safe.
Regards ....Peter Holles
P.S. Hope you have now stopped smoking now you are out of war zones.
Arnold Zimprich
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June 11, 2023
An immeasurably precious account of how Saddam's reign came to an end.
About the author
Anne Garrels began her career in journalism reporting for ABC News in the Soviet Union, Central America, and at the State Department, which she also covered for NBC. Since 1988, she has been a foreign correspondent for NPR, reporting from Russia and the other former Soviet republics, China, Saudi Arabia, Mongolia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, the West Bank, and most recently, Iraq.
A fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in 1996-97, she has received Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University and Overseas Press Club awards. She in on the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists. When she is not covering the world's hot spots, she lives in Connecticut with her husband, artist Vint Lawrence, and a menagerie that at last count included three dogs and three cats.
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