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"A riveting memoir of years of living dangerously."--"Kirkus Reviews"For the countless readers who have admired Philip Caputo's classic memoir of Vietnam, "A Rumor of War," here is his powerful recounting of his life and adventures, updated with a foreword that assesses the state of the world and the journalist's art. As a journalist, Caputo has covered many of the world's troubles, and in "Means of Escape," he tells the reader in moving and clear-eyed prose how he made himself into a writer, traveler, and observer with the nerve to put himself at the center of the world's conflicts. As a young reporter he investigated the Mafia in Chicago, earning acclaim as well as threats against his safety. Later, he rode camels through the desert and enjoyed Bedouin hospitality, was kidnapped and held captive by Islamic extremists, and was targeted and hit by sniper fire in Beirut, with memories of Vietnam never far from the surface. And after it all, he went into Afghanistan. Caputo's goal has always been to bear witness to the crimes, ambitions, fears, ferocities, and hopes of humanity. With "Means of Escape," he has done so.… (mere)
This is one hell of a good book. It's hard to believe it's been around for nearly 20 years now. I got the latest edition with a new author's note from 2008, although it wouldn't have been necessary. The book holds up well, and I especially enjoyed reading of details from the author's childhood and youth in the Chicago suburbs, his early fascination with trains and space travel ("Escape Velocity"), amplified further later in the book when he travels as an adult to the villages in Italy where his grandparents came from in a section called "The Old Country."
In his long career as a journalist and writer, Caputo has traveled to dozens of countries and war zones, often putting his life on the line, treading a fine line between bravery and foolishness, always searching for the "escape" from the humdrum kind of lives so many men are tied into. And yet he is not afraid to admit how frightened he often was, giving his accounts the ring of utter authenticity. Nearly 30 years ago I read his bestselling Vietnam memoir (althought I must admit I don't remember much of it anymore, so will have to read it again now). It's probably not surprising then, that perhaps one of the best sections in this book deals with his memories of his return to that country to cover the fall of Saigon, that ignominious end of the American misadventure there. I had to laugh at the following passage describing his final exit -
"I will not panic, I said to myself. I will behave with courage and dignity. If any women and children must board before me I will let them. I will be brave and honorable ... Most of the women could not run very fast because they were carrying bags filled with gold ingots, and, forgetting my instructions to myself, I nearly trampled them as I made for the chopper ..."
The section on his coverage of the early years of the Soviet-Afghan war was equally fascinating, detailing the hardships endured when he was nearly forty and operating on a gimpy leg resulting from being shot during the Lebanese "fighting." As he described the mujahidin leaders telling him they needed "stingahs" - Stinger missiles - from the Americans to deal with the Soviet gunships, I was reminded of the book and film, "Charlie Wilson's War." Thinking of that, it occurred to me that this particular book might have easily been titled, "Phil Caputo's Wars."
Obviously I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to say here, so I'll just repeat what I said earlier. This is one hell of a good book. ( )
"A riveting memoir of years of living dangerously."--"Kirkus Reviews"For the countless readers who have admired Philip Caputo's classic memoir of Vietnam, "A Rumor of War," here is his powerful recounting of his life and adventures, updated with a foreword that assesses the state of the world and the journalist's art. As a journalist, Caputo has covered many of the world's troubles, and in "Means of Escape," he tells the reader in moving and clear-eyed prose how he made himself into a writer, traveler, and observer with the nerve to put himself at the center of the world's conflicts. As a young reporter he investigated the Mafia in Chicago, earning acclaim as well as threats against his safety. Later, he rode camels through the desert and enjoyed Bedouin hospitality, was kidnapped and held captive by Islamic extremists, and was targeted and hit by sniper fire in Beirut, with memories of Vietnam never far from the surface. And after it all, he went into Afghanistan. Caputo's goal has always been to bear witness to the crimes, ambitions, fears, ferocities, and hopes of humanity. With "Means of Escape," he has done so.
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In his long career as a journalist and writer, Caputo has traveled to dozens of countries and war zones, often putting his life on the line, treading a fine line between bravery and foolishness, always searching for the "escape" from the humdrum kind of lives so many men are tied into. And yet he is not afraid to admit how frightened he often was, giving his accounts the ring of utter authenticity. Nearly 30 years ago I read his bestselling Vietnam memoir (althought I must admit I don't remember much of it anymore, so will have to read it again now). It's probably not surprising then, that perhaps one of the best sections in this book deals with his memories of his return to that country to cover the fall of Saigon, that ignominious end of the American misadventure there. I had to laugh at the following passage describing his final exit -
"I will not panic, I said to myself. I will behave with courage and dignity. If any women and children must board before me I will let them. I will be brave and honorable ... Most of the women could not run very fast because they were carrying bags filled with gold ingots, and, forgetting my instructions to myself, I nearly trampled them as I made for the chopper ..."
The section on his coverage of the early years of the Soviet-Afghan war was equally fascinating, detailing the hardships endured when he was nearly forty and operating on a gimpy leg resulting from being shot during the Lebanese "fighting." As he described the mujahidin leaders telling him they needed "stingahs" - Stinger missiles - from the Americans to deal with the Soviet gunships, I was reminded of the book and film, "Charlie Wilson's War." Thinking of that, it occurred to me that this particular book might have easily been titled, "Phil Caputo's Wars."
Obviously I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to say here, so I'll just repeat what I said earlier. This is one hell of a good book. (