Where War Lives: A Journey into the Heart of War Book

Graphic and not for the faint of heart, Watson's account of his journalistic career in the trenches of the world's nasty conflicts will have little effect on those persons who should read it most - those desensitized by the constant parade of horrors on the nightly news. Watson's chilling stories about Somalia, in particular, demonstrate just what is wrong with the prior administrations' military policy. However, the overall tone is depressed - not surprising, given his PTSD and self-medication with drugs and alcohol - and most of the passages describing his personal life seem irrelevant and/or self-serving.

Recommended with reservations for those wishing to read a first-hand account of events in Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. But do skim over the more personal sections - prior reviewers have complained of a lack of feeling, and that failing is most obvious in those parts. It would be easy and cruel to make the observation that Watson won his Pulitzer for a photograph and not a story but for the fact that the overwhelming tone is that of a man deeply depressed by his work cataloging the more depraved acts of man.