Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War

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.

I bought this book while walking around a bookstore. I wasn't sure what to expect out of it.. I saw the title and, being an aspiring photographer myself, decided to see waht it was about.I was pleasantly surprised by the book. I liked reading about her adventures, though there was one part in Romania (the orphanage) that was pretty hard to stomach. She does talk a lot about her sexual encounters with the men she happens upon in her travels, but I don't think it's what the book is about.... it's just what people are focusing on. SHe didn't write a book about getting laid.. it just happened to be a big part of what went on then. My only complaint, and not enough to knock a star off, is that there were more pictures. She's very descriptive, but there were some things that I wish I could've seen through her lens that weren't included.It's a very inspiring book if you give it a chance.

Deborah Copaken Kogan has written a truly stunning memoir. Shutterbabe is a well written, tell all story of what her life in photojournalism was like, and what drove her to get out. It is brutally honest, funny, and shocking all at the same time. The courage that it takes to go into a war zone with nothing but a camera, or to mingle with junkies in a Zurich park is beyond measure. Time after time she came out with the photos, although each time it seems that she sacrifices a little of her own soul. The one time that she gave someone else the photo op is probably her proudest moment, when she uncovered the horror of the Romanian orphanages. Shutterbabe deserves to be read by all.As an aside, if you have the opportunity to see Deborah Copaken Kogan on her current author tour, go! I was able to see her last night in Milwaukee and she is just as entertaining, witty, and funny in person as she was in the book. She is a very good reader and her slide show will amaze you.

It's a MEMOIR folks. This is ONE woman's compelling, disturbing and exciting account of her life as a 22-year-old, naive, precocious, resourceful, sexual and idealistic photojournalist FRESH out of Harvard. If you enjoy memoirs about contemporary culture and appreciate authors who are honest about who they are and what they want, then you'll find "Shutterbabe" FASCINATING, DISTURBING, COMPELLING and EXCITING, just as I did. I could NOT put this book down. (It reminded me of reading Paul Theroux's "My Secret History"). For those of us who took the well-worn path of security, safety and suburbia right after college, "Shutterbabe" offers a glimpse inside a life fraught with high-risk, enormous determination, heroism, big goals and idealistic dreams. "Shutterbabe" should be required reading for all girls 15 and up! THIS is what's possible!

SHUTTERBABE is one of the best books I've read. Period. It's factual, honest, frank, funny, and quick-moving. The author spends time telling us about herself because it's through her "lens" that the reader sees the situations described in the book. She is open about her past failures and modest about her triumphs, always crediting luck and fate more than her own superiority. I also appreciate the way she exposes journalism's dark side -- the fact that she had no control over how her pictures were used once she sent them (and her captions) to her agency, for example. Kogan sat down and wrote a personal, heart-felt account of the experiences she had in the male-dominated world of international war and drug photojournalism. She tells the reader more than most of us would tell our best friends or mothers, let alone our diaries. Her pictures are excellent, but her writing is even better. It's some of the best I've ever encountered. Women in their 30s will especially enjoy this book.