Dispatches from the Edge

By: Anderson Cooper

Narrated by: Anderson Cooper

Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Few people have witnessed more scenes of chaos and conflict around the world than Anderson Cooper, whose groundbreaking coverage on CNN has changed the way we watch the news.

After growing up on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Cooper felt a magnetic pull toward the unknown. If he could keep moving, and keep exploring, he felt he could stay one step ahead of his past, including the fame surrounding his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, and the tragic early deaths of his father and older brother.

But recently, during the course of one extraordinary, tumultuous year, it became impossible for him to continue to separate his work from his life. From the tsunami in Sri Lanka to the war in Iraq to the starvation in Niger and ultimately to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Mississippi, Cooper gives us a firsthand glimpse of the devastation that takes place. Writing with vivid memories of his childhood and early career as a roving correspondent, Cooper reveals for the first time how deeply affected he has been by the wars, disasters, and tragedies he has witnessed, and why he continues to be drawn to some of the most perilous places on earth.

Striking, heartfelt, and utterly engrossing, Dispatches from the Edge is an unforgettable memoir that takes us behind the scenes of the cataclysmic events of our age and allows us to see them through the eyes of one of America's most trusted, fearless, and pioneering reporters.

©2006 Anderson Cooper (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Biography/Memoir, 2007

"Cooper is an intelligent, passionate man." (Publishers Weekly)

Really different than what I was expecting.

I actually thought I was going to like this book more than I did. Maybe it's because Anderson Cooper seems a certain way on the news and comes across quite differently in his own words. I was put off initially by the way Cooper presented himself as almost an adrenaline junkie, feeling bored if he was not covering a war or stationed in some other dangerous place. It felt unseemly that he was drawn to places of such misery, especially after he went on at length about his reaction to the press that wanted to cover news of his brother's suicide. I hadn't known that he grew up with such vast personal wealth, which sort of exacerbated my impression of him as a person who was not truly connected to the misery he was seeing.

This was not the case with his discussion about Hurricane Katrina, however, and this was by far the best part of the book. He may have been better off sticking to that subject while periodically inter-cutting to his own story as he did throughout the book. The other parts weren't bad or poorly written, but he clearly felt a personal connection to the Katrina story that came across better and more clearly than the other stories described.

Inspiring

Anderson Cooper is a role model in my life. This book made that more true.

Compelling perspective

You never think about the reality of the disasters you watch on tv news- Anderson spelled it out very clearly in this book. His voice is very easy to listen to as well. Highly recommend.

exposed wounds

In his own words and voice, Anderson Cooper takes the listener through first person accounts of some recent and terribly tragic events. Woven into the book is a dash of memoir, giving the listener a sense of Cooper's background...also tragic in many ways, but inspiring as well.

Fascinating, moving and wise

Anderson Cooper shares why his personal relationship with memory and grief has driven him to a career focused on making people see and remember. Highly recommended for the context it offers on some of the most gripping and complex news stories of the past decade – and for the insights it gives into the minds of the journalists on the ground and the people who share their stories with them.

Fascinating

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dispatches from the Edge?

Katrina

What three words best describe Anderson Cooper’s performance?

flat, clear, dull

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There are too many to list

Any additional comments?

This is a fascinating little book, but the surprise is that such a superb newscaster is such a flat reader. He would be better served by a different reader. Especially compelling is his section on Katrina. This is something that every American should read, or listen to. We must make sure it never happens again that a disaster is so incredibly bungled.

Outstanding

I love this book! I love his writing so honest and thoughtful. Anderson Cooper is the best!

Didn't finish

I like Cooper and saw him on Oprah promoting this book and was prompted to buy it. I think that it was ok, but I didn't finish it. I got a little bored with the stories, but I am sure that an adventure lover would enjoy it.

Ugh ... boring to listen to

The content of the book is average at best. Basically Anderson Cooper is giving his memoirs of his life's adventures. He's done some interesting things and gone to a lot of cool places but it felt like he was forcing the romance and the drama out of a lot his passages.

The reason I dropped this down to two stars is Anderson reads the audio book and I found him monotonous and to be honest I only got through 3 hours of the book because I found him putting me to sleep on the way to and from work.

I listen to audio books while doing cardio at the gym too and it made me want to stop working out and get a milkshake it was so boring.

Sorry Anderson, I dig you on TV just your book was a non-starter for me.