Breathing the Fire: Fighting to Report---And Survive---The War in Iraq | 
 enlarge | Creator: Kimberly Dozier
Publisher: Tantor Media
Category: Book
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $19.48
You Save: $15.51 (44%)
New (24) Used (5) from $19.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 928019
Format: Audiobook, Cd, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 8
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.5 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 1400106451
Dewey Decimal Number: 070.92
EAN: 9781400106455
ASIN: 1400106451
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20081119222050T
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Product Description
CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who battled back from critical injuries sustained in a Baghdad bombing on Memorial Day in 2007, seizes that event as a pivotal moment from which to assess her world---her rise to network broadcasting, the demands on and perils of women covering dangerous events, and the politics around her.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
"Breathing the Fire" breathes life into your vision of the war November 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This documentary of Kim Dozier's experience as a CBS correspondent in Iraq is revealing; not only does she discuss the experience of wounded soldiers but she herself becomes wounded in a bomb blast in Iraq.
From discussing frankly what it is like to be a woman correspondent with a major news network to the treatment as patient, first in Landstuhl in Germany, then in the US, Dozier learns the hard way about the medical system and about terrible wounds and pain. You'll get very angry about her treatment in the US hospital (but from stories people I know here tell me, some of what she experienced is what happens day to day to anyone --from call buttons put out of reach, no one answering alarms on equipment to having her complaints--valid, ignored.)
This is an unusual memoir--not only eyewitness to events in Iraq and the US but firsthand experience of being wounded. Though Dozier "becomes the story" rather than reporting the story, I think you can insert "any soldier" into her experience minus, perhaps, the experience of being a soldier sent into battle with a mission, and learn just a small amount about the terrible price our men and women are paying for volunteering for this duty. None of them will tell you about the pain and suffering but Kimberly Dozier can. A must read.
Great Book! September 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great read. It brings another perspective on the war in Iraq.
Good read, great reporting August 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
First off, full disclosure. I have met Kimberly, and we have exchanged emails. I respect her as a journalist, and now as an author.
Her book is a quick read, but not always a pleasant one. In her brisk style honed as a broadcast writer conveys a candid and authoritative narrative. I found three themes of particular interest.
Her description of military medical practices is fascinating. She gives a detailed yet comprehensible explanation of the life-saving methods practiced by corpsmen and medics on the battlefield. Procedures immediately after the explosion are clearly spelled out, and I think that has to be a comfort to anyone who has a friend or relative in harm's way.
She also tells us about the long and agonizing rehabilitation process from start to finish. Too often we only hear about the tragic incident and then the outcome, whether it's happy or bittersweet. The gut-wrenching middle gets left out or short-changed. But Kimberly clarifies the recovery process without being maudlin or grotesque. This book is highly recommended for anyone facing long recovery from serious injury (and for their family and friends).
Kimberly's decision regarding the choice of psychotropic drugs versus counseling is instructive and can be a guide to others in similar situations. She recognized, or perhaps just sensed, that she did not need drugs. Of the three states of mental health problems -- stress, distress and disorder - she was battling the first two, but not the third.
Her counseling references also are in stark contrast to the situation for many active military personnel. DOD recognizes other mental health professions for independent insurance reimbursement, but not certified counselors. This is a disturbing disincentive, particularly at a time when the shortage of mental health care services for military personnel and their families is well documented. Maybe her book will prod (or shame) the military establishment into making counselors more readily available to service personnel and their families.
Her editors let her down in a few places (dropped words, redundant passages), but otherwise "Breathing the Fire" is a good story told well, with interesting information and revelations for just about any reader.
A compelling story from an embedded journalist August 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is an excellent book, contemplative and moving in its detailed descriptions of a U.S. news reporter's first hand experience of war. Dozier's discussion of her near death and recovery from severe injury and loss is as captivating as it is frightening. Written in the prose style of a scrupulous reporter but with the rhythm of fiction, the book brings the reader into places of desire, anticipation, shock, betrayal, anger and triumph.
Breathing the Fire is recommended for anyone concerned about the Iraq war -- a real war that permanently affects the lives of journalists and photographers, soldiers, translators, health care workers and their families.
An amazing woman with an amazing story July 29, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read this book thinking, "I am not sure if I can relate to this". War stories are not my reading genre of choice. But, I had met Kim over the phone one day and so received an e-mail from her letting me and all her address book addressees that her book had been published. So, I ordered one from Amazon not quite knowing what to expect. This book is so NOT a war story. It is the courageous story of a woman with a goal who achieved that goal, a goal which led her into combat where a life-changing event changed her life forever, as well as so many other lives. I was drawn in the moment I started reading. Kim's writing is clear, concise, factual, with just the right amount of emotion and personality. She lets people in to her very personal yet very public experience without a hint of self pity or any reference to a "poor me" attitude. The book is an inspiring one about a woman of intelligence, bravery, dedication, and love who dared to follow her dream, went through a nightmare, and is today a source of strength to people chasing a dream or living with their own struggle.
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