The Naked and the Dead and the Brave
For its November/December issue, the
Columbia Journalism Review has put together an astounding collection of first-hand accounts from reporters and photographers in Iraq.
"Into the Abyss -- Reporting Iraq 2003-2006: an Oral History" shares the stories and observations of 47 journalists who have covered the war in Iraq. I first picked up the article thinking I would skim it; I was tired of reading about the relentless bloodshed. But from the first word by
Dexter Filkins of The New York Times through to the last vignette by
Chris Hondros of Getty Images, I was hooked as these brave journalists powerfully described the mix of courage, brutality, arrogance, anger and ignorance that they have witnessed. When I visited the
cjr.org Web site, the audio links unfortunately weren't working, but the photo galleries are stunning and the stories well worth reading.