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Naked in Baghdad
The Iraq War and the Aftermath as Seen by NPR's Correspondent Anne Garrels
Anne Garrels(0)
About
As National Public Radio'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 email 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.
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 email 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.
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Reviews
"Anne Garrels risked her life to bring the war in Iraq to her listeners, even after her network suggested she leave Baghdad for her own safety. She couldn't offer pictures, but she didn't need to - her extraordinary reporting skills and personal courage combined to create a powerful and compelling portrait of war."
William Cohen, former Secretary of Defense
"When I hear that a report from Annie Garrels is about to come on the radio, I stop what I'm doing and listen. I know I'm going to learn something remarkable from some place I've never been and am never likely to go. Her reports from the crumbling Soviet Union and the resurrected Russia, from Afghanistan in turmoil and Baghdad under fire stand out as some of the bravest and most enlightening repor
Cokie Roberts, ABC News
"Anne Garrels is an extraordinary person and a rare kind of journalist. Blessed with a razor-sharp intelligence and bravery in equal measures, she is also knowledgeable, fair-minded and unerringly honest. As a uniquely trustworthy American voice from the far-flung battlefields of today's new world, Garrels deserves the attention of as many of her fellow citizens as possible."
Jon Lee Anderson, author of The Lion's Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan