Reviews for The Bosnia Files: An Intimate Portrait of Life Behind the Lines

The average rating for The Bosnia Files: An Intimate Portrait of Life Behind the Lines based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-01-16 00:00:00 Amy Millman The daily life in Iraq as described by Farnaz Fassihi shouldn't surprise those who are disposed to reading this book. I think it would be a surprise to those who only experience the Iraq War through cable TV news. The overwhelming TV reporting on Iraq has been sound bites on the US troops, individual heroic efforts, sports, smiling people with purple fingers and the effectiveness of "the surge". If there are stories about the total loss suffered by people Amal al-Khudeiry or how people like Fatin cope after a twin sister has been "gunned down" they are drowned out by the frequency of the "experts" who talk about winning, tactics, strategies and politics. We've read about high profile kidnappings but has there been a story about a middle class family who sold everything only to have a dead body returned to them? Has there been a personal follow up story on a released Abu Ghraib inmate? I read in this book and elsewhere that there have been two million refugees, but do not recall one TV media story on any refugee in these past 5 or so years. The Wall Street Journal has courageous reporters in Farnaz Fassihi who faced enormous risks and Daniel Pearl who did not return. They did their part. Fassihi praises her company, but on p. 208 another picture emerges. Her editors ask how can she call Iraq a "disaster" with the US election at hand. They tell her she would "validate" the "critics". This is Orwellian logic. A 5 car auto wreck can be called a "disaster", but the destruction of total neighborhoods cannot because there is an election at hand. The news should be cleansed or withheld so criticism will not seem valid. This, for me crystallized the state of our media. It has great technology, courageous reporters and access to support (security, translation, etc.) but its self censorship distorts its accuracy. As long as accurate reporting is considered "validating" "critics" the public will never get a straight story. Books like this tell the story, for those who will invest the time to learn.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-04-26 00:00:00 Nathan Arcy This book is pretty depressing but I liked it nonetheless. I really liked the topic of day-to-day life in Iraq. The book actually starts out before the invasion so it provides a good contrast of before and after. Ms. Fassihi does an excellent job describing the at times indescribable chaos of war. I really learned a lot from this book.