JN134 Week 9 - Book Report

In "It's What I Do" by Lynsey Addario, Addario discusses her personal history and time covering various conflicts overseas. I found that her description of her time in war zones is the most compelling portion of the story, which is no surprise. Although, I would say the portions of her description that I found the most interesting was not the tales of harrowing captures, or narrowly avoiding death, but her social life. I have read many stories about war correspondents and personal  accounts of terrifying experiences, but I rarely read about the relationships formed and lost, or the toll the job takes on their families. Addario discusses meeting her husband Paul de Bendern in Istanbul, the morning before leaving for Tehran. She wasn't crazy about him, and the story itself about how he grew on her wasn't particularly remarkable, but what was happening in their respective lives was incredible. I doubt anyone goes overseas to cover wars with the hope of meeting their spouse.

I found myself somewhere between impressed and stupefied throughout the book as I read about Addario's commitment to her work. After nearly dying of dehydration, being kidnapped twice, beaten, abused and detained, Addario kept going to work.

"It is the way we make a living, but it feels more like a responsibility, or a calling. It makes us happy, because it gives us a sense of purpose. We bear witness to history, and influence policy.” (p. 12)

 Addario did admit she was human, and scared at times.

"While covering wars, there were days when I had boundless courage and there were days, like these in Libya, when I was terrified from the moment I woke up." (p. 2)

I felt tremendous respect for her motivation to work. Addario wasn't an adrenaline junkie or someone out for fame and fortune, she felt it was her duty to document and report the reality of the conflicts and struggles she covered. Addario displayed a fearlessness in her coverage, getting extremely close to particularly dangerous situations.

Many of the photos in the book left me awestruck. The photo of Kurdish peshmerga firing rockets at Ansar al-Islam territory on page 118 was incredible. The landscape in which the photograph was taken was truly beautiful but military equipment, and a recently launched rocket drive home the absolute danger she is literally right next to. A photo on page 208 of U.S. forces pulling body bags through a smoke-filled field immediately got my attention. the composition of the photo is phenomenal and she took the photo in a dangerous battlefield. The fact she was able to take such technically proficient photos in such chaotic environments lends itself to her tremendous courage and skill.

U.S. Soldiers in Korengal Valley following an ambush in 2007. (p. 208)

I felt inspired by Addario to get closer to conflicts and fight my fear as much as possible to properly capture the story -- she also taught me to be extremely careful. I personally don't have the guts to put myself in the situations she did, but the lesson to be careful is still extremely valuable. There are certain events I think about covering and worry about my ability to keep my calm, reading "It's What I do" has shown me that staying calm is incredibly important and it's definitely a skill I need to work on.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in photography, history or journalism. I found nearly every sentence to be compelling. The content and writing was phenomenal and informative. Addario pulls no punches about the injustice and questionable actions she watched take place, regardless of who was perpetrating it.