I WAS TEN WHEN my father died, and before that moment, that slap of silence that reset the clock, I can’t remember much. There are some things, of course—fractals, shards of memory, sharp as broken glass.

Cooper is giving us Dispatches from the Ego of Anderson Cooper, but. He has the experience to do a Dispatches like that by by Michael Herr, but falls woefully short shirking behind poetic metaphor like the above and such statement that sound deep, but really are shallow:

Nothing was certain, but everything was clear.

Well, like he says, he has no feeling:

The more you’ve seen, the more it takes to make you see. The more it takes to affect you. That is why you’re there, after all—to be affected. To be changed. In Somalia, I’d started off searching for feeling.

These are my honest assessments, and it feels harsh to criticise Anderson at all sense he is laying bare ins inability to articulate his need to individuate aware from his mother Gloria Vanderbilt's NYC posh background, his father's Southern family values while dealing with his brother's suicide and diving past the who, what, when, where or reportage to confront the most difficult: why.

This book touches on a tsunami in Ceylon, war in Iraq, Katrina, and more. This audiobook edition includes an interview with Cooper.

When I see Anderson Cooper reporting for CNN, I see a strong, articulate, through journalist. When I see him next to Kelley Ripa on ABC's "Live with Kelley," I see a warm hearted, gentle soul. However, this book casts a light on Cooper that goes unnoticed. This isn't just a book about his successes and journey of becoming one of America's most respected journalists. This is a book about someone who is still grieving the traumatic events of their childhood. This is a book about someone who still hasn't found the answers they are looking for. I caution those who want to read this book; it can very much diminish your spirits. Even though Cooper has lived a life of privilege, he certainly doesn't feel like that has helped him as a person. Cooper describes vivid accounts of his coverage of wars and natural disasters and how these events help him find solitude and self sufficiency. However, this is also a book that highlights the journalism industry and shines a light that the public rarely sees. Cooper describes the struggle of getting a job, even with a Yale education and the struggles and dangers journalists around the world face. Without a doubt I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in journalism and admires Cooper's work.

I learned things about Anderson Cooper that I didn't know, but I feel like he could have put more into the book. He's been through a lot and I thought he was holding back. However, I get a sense that part of that is his personality. Still, if you're going to write a book, put your all into it. I also wish there was more on the time he spent in the Balkans, but that's because I just visited that area.

This was the perfect bathroom book. Anderson Cooper writes short chapters about being a correspondent covering disasters and wars. His decision to go around the world reporting on human suffering was made after his brother's suicide. The book intersperses stories from his work with memories of his brother and his father who died of of a heart attack at a young age. Anderson has a way of finding humanity in calamities.

his book was readable and uplifting even though the subject matter was very depressing.

There are not many public figures I would enjoy having a beer or two with, but Anderson Cooper makes the short list. He's a true journalist in this era of talking heads. He has the ability to see through the crap and does not lose sight of the humanity in each story.

Who would predict that a privileged childhood -- a Manhattan Vanderbilt -- could turn out such a down-to-earth and driven personality? His personal story is woven throughout chapters covering war, tsunami disaster, more war, and Katrina. The pain from his brother's suicide is laid bare, apparently never far from the surface.

A good read.

This is Anderson Cooper's compelling memoir that is both intense and a personal look into his journalist life covering some of the world's most harrowing events. His firsthand accounts of war zones, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises are both gripping and profoundly moving. And his writing is vivid and engaging, capturing the chaos and emotional weight of his experiences with remarkable clarity.

I was deeply emotional when he spoke of his beloved brother, Carter and their relationship as children then as adults. The reflections on the impact of these events on his own life and the lives of those he encounters add depth to the narrative. The book oscillates between personal anecdotes and broader reflections. And is a great ready for anyone interested in journalism, global events, and personal stories of resilience.

I admit that I was drawn to read this book mostly because my friend Wendy kept playing CNN on the telly when I was in Chicago last winter and the advertisement for the New Year's Show kept running. Anderson Cooper is the perfect poster boy for a romantic ideal of journalism -- the tough journalist who goes into places where other people turn a blind eye to because he cares, the journalist who gives voice to the anonymous victims who suffer in the face of disaster and the quiet heroes who work to save them. Here, Cooper provides a psychological backstory of trauma and grief as explanation for the motivation behind his career: the man had lost his father (heart attack) and his brother (suicide).

The narrative/memoir hovers between compelling and stilted, mostly due to the style of the writing which seems a bit weak. Cooper attempts to use metaphors and details to organise the narrative, jumping between his memories of his family and his memories reporting in Africa and on Hurricane Katrina, however, most of the prose is written in a pedestrian style somewhat resembling reportage; his style is strongest when describing his experiences in the field, but the personal parts, while revealing, tend to come across as slightly cliched (here, he is saved by his use of personal detail). He's certainly had experiences that are worth telling; I wish he just told them better.

An easy read for the plane or a book to read quickly over the weekend.

This book has a very unique tone. Until the chapter “Aftermath”, he talks of everything like... like an alien! Like, no passion, no emotions, a total outsider. It was almost scary. I wonder, hearing fragments of his life, how he leads his daily life now?

Felt like he has such an interesting life and the book was only a few hundred pages and just didnt really delve in as much as it could have. Disappointed.

I picked up this book in my 'memoirs reading phase'. Actually, I have never watched any of Anderson Cooper's shows. So for me it was a clean slate when I started reading the book.

I feel Mr. Cooper has squeezed the 'pathos' lemon a little too hard, and the taste by the end was utterly bitter. I appreciate his sharing of many heart wrenching stories which are absolutely unimaginable. But the thing with stories like these is that there is no need to add extra zing to them. After a hundred pages or so, a feeling of numbness charges through the mind, which is not easy to shake off.

Along with this book, I also was reading "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah . Despite its controversy, the story-telling style used by the author was so realistic that it humbles one down to being extra happy for all we have got.

I believe Mr. Cooper also realizes the numbness he is creating as he does check himself from time to time to the incredulous nature of his job.

As it is said, that the best story we can tell is the one of ourselves. The story of his brother weaved into the book was heartfelt and his reactions much more real.

“They die. I live. It’s the way of the world, the way it’s always been. I used to think that some good would come of my stories, that someone might be moved to act...I’m not sure I believe that anymore...One place improves, another falls apart. The map keeps changing; its impossible to keep up...”

At first I thought it curious a journalist would write a book about the stories he’s covered. What does he still need to say...I remember Katrina happening - and not understanding, then or even now, how such an epic disaster could happen... Partly, though, it’s a meditation - or exorcism even - of the personal impact of the stories on him, what he experienced, how it shaped him. What it did and didn’t mean to him. The moral quandary and contradiction of a career based on others’ pain and disaster...Rwanda, Somalia, the tsunami...Also, I like Anderson Cooper and his writing style - so vibrant, yet concise. The personal interludes are interesting but sometimes the connection to his reporting isn’t smooth, feels forced. And yet I feel the common thread...the moments when you feel too much, at others that inability to feel what you think you should feel in the face of horror...a book that will stay with me long after it’s finished...

This is no bit of fluff tossed off by rich kid Cooper. Despite his silver spoon, Cooper has seen his share of tragedy and emotional hardship. The travails of his mother were the stuff of tabloid delight, but did you know that his brother committed suicide when Anderson was still in college? It is clear that this haunts him to this day. Cooper, his protestations notwithstanding, is clearly an adrenaline junky. He has enough self-awareness that he sought treatment for this addiction. It did not take. He describes his experiences in various hardship locales (South Africa, Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq, post-Katrina) in a moving manner. The details he offers certainly add considerable texture to what we know of a correspondent’s perils. The information he shares about his family make him a very human reporter.