Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War | Deborah Copaken Kogan

Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War | Deborah Copaken Kogan | A Woman Covers the War Zones

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Shutterbabe: Adven...

	Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War Deborah Copaken Kogan Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2002 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 82 reviews view larger image
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Fresh out of college and passionate about photography, Deborah Copaken Kogan moved to Paris in 1988 and began knocking on photo agency doors, begging to be given a photojournalism assignment. Within weeks she was on the back of a truck in Afghanistan, the only woman?and the only journalist?in a convoy of mujahideen, the rebel ?freedom fighters? at the time. She had traveled there with a handsome but dangerously unpredictable Frenchman, and the interwoven stories of their relationship and the assignment set the pace for Shutterbabe?s six chapters, each covering a different corner of the globe, each linked to a man in Kogan?s life at the time.

From Zimbabwe to Romania, from Russia to Haiti, Kogan takes her readers on a heartbreaking yet surprisingly hilarious journey through a mine-strewn decade, seamlessly blending her personal battles?sexism, battery, life-threatening danger?with the historical ones?wars, revolution, unfathomable suffering?it was her job to record.

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Required Feminist Read

Deborah Copaken Kogan writes about her very young career as a rag tag photojournalist who fearlessly jumped at every opportunity and when opportunities weren't available or were pulled away (she was a woman after all) she made them happen for herself. As a young graduate from Harvard, Copaken moves off to Paris alone to become a war photojournalist. The challenges she faces mirror directly or as metaphors, the challenges that every young woman faces who believes she can make a difference in the world. The sexuality of Deborah's chosen relationships in Shutterbabe are understandable and expected for a young adventurous person. The accounts of the men she chooses to, and is forced to deal with interweave perfectly with the many other challenges that Deborah faces in her career. Critics who compare her sexual accounts and relationships to "what if a man wrote this" are way off base. The gender reverse argument is ridiculous. This is a story of a woman fighting the odds and questioning what life has handed her. Trying to make a difference in a world that doesn't belong to her. A man in the same situation would never have to process the same challenges. Men don't get raped and sexually attacked. OK maybe there are exceptions but a story about a man getting raped would not be a metaphor for what other men experience. A man being shut out of an opportunity because he's a man wouldn't mirror what nearly all men must deal with frequently in their lives. Though not religious, Copaken is inspired by her Jewish roots and her knowledge of the Holocast. She questions the existance of God as she plows through her adventures and thoughtfully produces art that will document and communicate the world's struggles. As she reaches her late twenties and after several years in the "trenches" Deborah experiences a metamorphosis. From the young ideal college graduate to the young woman who recognizes true love and emotional support from a partner, Deborah begins to question the effectiveness and authenticity of her career. She wrestles with the importance of childrearing. She moves to a safer career yet still struggles with the same questions. On one assignment Deborah meets her old male colleagues and finds herself defending her choices to these men with fetus envy(men who try to belittle women who raise children). Shutterbabe is my hero--a woman who makes a difference while young and again as a devoted parent of two children. I look forward to learning of Deborah Copaken Kogan's next phase. I recommend this book to all young people--men and women, to gain a richer understanding of the places we hold in this world and how we all might take a step forward from here. Be inspired by this young woman's incredible bravery and the conviction of her thoughtful choices.

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A Woman Covers the War Zones

This very unusual book is fascinating whether you are interested in pursuing a career in journalism or just curious about what life is like as a woman covering war for a living. This "Shutterbabe" tells the story of her life from behind the camera across different battle zones around the globe. She also tells of the men she meets and gets involved with. There has been some criticism of the book for these tales of sexual escapades, but this is the raw story of a real person's life, and I think that they reflect a complete story, instead of one massaged to make the author look better.

My only disappointment with the story is that she finally gives it all up for motherhood, but that is real life too. Before that, Kogan was a producer for "Dateline" on NBC after her return to the United States. She speaks of tiring of wartime weariness and equates photojournalists to vultures who prey on others' misery--all of which I find disingenuous for someone who made her own living this way for many years. It's ok to change your mind, but I believe that photojournalism is an important way of bringing news to people, and I think Kogan would agree or she would have pursued another way of making a living with her camera in the first place.

Despite these claims, I highly recommend this book to everyone, particularly young women interested in journalism. This book is a real insider's look at covering war, from a woman's point of view, something (unfortunately) we still don't hear that much of, even in the 21st century. Don't miss it.

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loved it

My absolute favorite book - I have read it at least 3 times, which is a record for rereading books for me. It's captivating, but very real.

Didn't last long, did it, before selling out?

There are so few non-fiction accounts of photography lives that I am giving this melodramatic book 5 stars because it is full of facts on how its done. Im sure you might have a quibble with this but this is a life that was lived with a camera by a young intelligent woman. This is how photojournalism is done or should I say was done before the advent of the digital camera. You might prefer to read "The Bridges of Madison County." I dont. I just wonder if she threw in all the gratuitous sex just to pander to such readers to keep them turning the pages. I would so like to read another book full of details like this one. PS In the wonderful British sitcom "Waiting For God" Diana Trent had been a photojournalist and now whe is a rampaging assisted living denizon. It kind of great to picture Diana as Deborah, except of course, for Deborah's big copout to work for Network TV instead and write crappy books. So ugly.

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Great Read