I realized that I had not been posting a book review for some time! This did not mean that I wasn't reading anything but rather I had been too lazy to actually start writing about it! :p Never too late for reparations, so here's the book I've been reading:
The book intrigued me at the library and my friend was mildly alarmed that I could consider this reference material for my job, but when I started, I found that it was a more fascinating book than I realized.
Nutshell: The book is a chronicle of the experiences of a US interrogator (or 'gator as they are known) Matthew Alexander, as he uses various techniques to extract useful intelligence out of suspected terrorists in Iraq.
Why this book is fascinating
Firstly, the style of the book and the manner in which Alexander approaches his subjects are vastly different from that described in another book about the Iraqi War that I read, which was this:
Of course, you would notice that both men worked in different fields, one in intelligence and the other as a Navy SEAL sniper. The difference that struck me the most though was in the attitude both men had towards their subjects. In Kyle's autobiography, I felt a dehumanizing attitude towards the Iraqis. They were referred to as 'insurgents', not as people. Also, he had a callous way of describing how he shot down his targets, as if he was describing a Counterstrike session.
In his defence, I also think this is a result of his training. He was, after all, a Navy SEAL and trained for combat.
Alexander's attitude is different because of the nature of his work. He was not trained to kill but rather to extract information and he was trained in newer post-Guatanamo techniques. Hence, he talks of building rapport with the prisoners, by talking about their family, sometimes pretending he faced the same family issues as them so that to foster understanding. He also pleads to the prisoners to cooperate so that he can help them or their families.
This is the fascinating bit for me. He employs subtler psychological techniques in his field and altogether has a more sympathetic view towards his subjects, since he has to build a relationship between them before he can do his job. As a result of this, I find that he has a more balanced view towards the war. He does not view his subjects simply as moving targets but more like people with fears and worries for their own lives and those of their families and friends.
While the book is not exactly a manual of interrogation techniques, Alexander does drop some bits about what he uses and his narrative style reads almost like a novel, so it's very easy to read.
Goodreads
You might not know or suspect, but I have read more books than those reviewed on this blog. Those books are tracked in my Goodreads account:
This is a great site for booklovers. Right now, I'm using it to track the books I'm reading and I also use it to create a To-Read list of books that look interesting. However, there are many other features to the site, such as forum groups and review-writing so any book lover should check it out! (And of course, it's free!)
Interested? Here's the link to the site.
So you might have noticed things have been slow on the blog for the past 2 weeks, that's because I've been on holiday! Now that I'm back, there's so much to catch up on doing! I want to:
- blog about the ideas I've been having
- Finish the travel journal of my trip
- Think about some new goals for July
- Think about how to upgrade some of my hobbies
And lastly, I have to think about how to start on some of the above! So I will start with a book review of a book I was reading in June.
The Mind's Eye by Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a photographer and photojournalist. Born in France in 1908, he passed away in 2004. He took many iconic photos throughout his travels as a photojournalist and is most famous for coining the concept of the 'decisive moment'. (More on that later.) The book is a compilation of his writings from his photobooks and also includes essays on his travels.
I bought this book a long time back because I was intrigued by the idea of the decisive moment. I took it to mean a sudden instant in time where suddenly a great photographic shot would present itself. Before I left overseas, I thought it would be good to read the book on the way so that I might get some insight on how to find that 'decisive moment' on my trip.
While I wasn't entirely wrong about the decisive moment, I wasn't entirely right either as I found out from reading the book. I was intrigued enough to pick up another biography on Cartier-Bresson at a flea market later on holiday to find out more and from that book I learnt more about his style of photography. (blog idea: An essay on Cartier-Bresson!)
I would recommend Part 1 for photography enthusiasts. Here, Cartier-Bresson speaks from his perspective about what photography means to him and draws comparisons between photography and drawing. Keep in mind though that he worked a lot during the era of film, so you may have to understand a bit of film processing to really understand his views on darkroom processing and colour film.
Part 2 and 3 then moves on to essays on his travels and on the people he knows. Here are the chapters that some may skip but if you have to, read what he observes about travelling to Russia or China. After all, photography is not just the blind taking of photos, it is also about capturing life and how do you capture life if you are not a keen observer of it?
Overall, I found the book an easy read and it also inspired me enough to learn more about Cartier-Bresson, which I would write about later. (future blog post!) To me, a book that does that, is a good book indeed. :)
