In Rwanda, he filmed the horrific aftermath to the most brutal massacre of modern times - and his own neck got far too close to the edge of a machete for comfort. In Zaire, he filmed endless fields full of young children deranged by hunger and ravaged by cholera. In Bosnia, Jon realised that he had, in fact, seen and filmed more than he could cope with, and finally spiralled out of control, deep into emotional meltdown.
But somehow War Junkie is also an incredibly funny and exhilarating book. The humour is dark but sharp as broken glass. The action comes so thick and fast you can forget to breathe. War Junkie is shocking, hilarious, deeply moving and, ultimately, it packs a powerful psychological punch. It will challenge everything you thought you knew about modern warfare as it shines an unforgiving spotlight into some of the darkest recesses of recent history.
Media War Junkie. Save Not today. Format ebook. ISBN Author Jon Steele. Publisher Transworld. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of War Junkie. Jan 02, Jeanne Supin rated it it was amazing Shelves: better-world. Early one Saturday morning when I was ten one of my dad's parishioners rode his bicycle with his infant son over for breakfast.
Apparently I was the only one awake, answering the door in my jammies with sleep still in my eyes, and we talked a good while, watching his son play. I kinda remember the morning, or more accurately, I remember the wide front porch, the part of our circular gravel drive where he undoubtedly parked his bike and the way the early morning sun cast gold and silver light thr Early one Saturday morning when I was ten one of my dad's parishioners rode his bicycle with his infant son over for breakfast.
I kinda remember the morning, or more accurately, I remember the wide front porch, the part of our circular gravel drive where he undoubtedly parked his bike and the way the early morning sun cast gold and silver light through the trees. The man's name was Dennis then, 10 years older, and mostly I remember he hung out at our house a lot for awhile and gave me Stevie Wonder's InnerVisions album which I still think is brilliant.
Forty years later my mom forwarded an out-of-the-blue email my parents received from that same man, renamed Jon and the author of this book. He'd found my folks online, and in the course of several emails he described a breathless, jaw-dropping, sometimes horrifying, yet always magically inspiring series of decades. And he thanked my parents for rescuing him all those years ago from a certain kind of death whether literal or figurative I'm still not sure.
We are friends now, Jon and I. I thanked him for offering a richer glimpse of my young parents, when I was too little to see them as real people. And for the Stevie Wonder album. He replied with the memory of our conversation on that porch. We keep up with each other, although as a quiet, ordinary, unknown writer I think I get more benefit from his encouragement than he gets from me.
He and his wife share a cozy home beneath an ancient belltower in a lovely European city. His novel, The Watchers, is due out shortly, and he is busy writing its sequel.
I cannot read more than a few pages of War Junkie without beginning to cry and returning it to my bedside table untouched for many weeks. This is the story of madness. Jon opens with his own breakdown, witness to one too many tragedies, and in the self-deprecating, self-awareness only a saint could posses, he softens the reader's journey through unspeakable horrors by allowing us to ride along more easily in his story as an addict to such circumstances.
But don't be fooled. He may very well be the sanest and most courageous person I know, for he experienced this madness without filters, observing the events, the victims AND himself simultaneously. Then he wrote about it. And finally, recognizing that ultimately all aspects of war are merely dangerous and destructive games, he bravely walked away. He allowed his own being, maybe his own soul, to embody this madness long enough to experience and express its true darkness.
And now having claimed a different life, he's turning that darkness into light. Dec 09, Tamara Niemi rated it liked it. I read this ages ago, but in the midst of working with a lot of people heavily involved in the Ebola outbreak in Beni, DRC, I came back to this. Having coffee with these guys, and yes, they are most often guys, although I know a few female junkies, I saw how close I came to that edge myself.
I'm still involved in disasters and epidemics, but I try to regulate the amount and exposure, knowing that once you start the slide, risk tolerance skyrockets.
It was great fun though going back in this book I read this ages ago, but in the midst of working with a lot of people heavily involved in the Ebola outbreak in Beni, DRC, I came back to this. It was great fun though going back in this book to so many places I'd been during the same period as Steele, although in very different roles. Feb 02, Cybercommando rated it liked it. I am not a fan of lengthy descriptions of surroundings nor chapter long dives into the history of a certain place before getting to the story.
By the time the author describes the 14th tree in the park and how it swayed in the wind, I'm fast asleep. But I do need a certain amount of prose that isn't dialogue.
This book is mostly dialogue along the lines of: "WTF was that? There's a good story in there but I found it hard to digest.
Mar 09, Troels rated it it was amazing. Jon Steele takes you into a sinister world were the story means everything, but comes with a high price that will take the people reporting from the various disasters around the world to the breaking point or sometimes their death.
Despite the seriousness of the topic Steele makes you turn every page in search for what drives a man to the length that Steele goes after a story and also for the adrenaline kick you can almost feel jumping out from the pages. Aug 11, Darkpool rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: people who are not afraid of reality. Shelves: favourites , read-this-century-bg , i-own-it. Heard the author interviewed on the radio, and knew I had to read the book.
Managed to get it from the library, and once I read it I went looking for a copy to buy. Totally blew me away. An intimate look at some of the really awful international news stories from the end of last century. I found this quite unputdownable. Oct 05, Natalie Pavlis rated it it was amazing. The horror and death that Jon Steele has witnessed is unbelievable. His eyewitness accounts of the horrors of Rwanda, Russia, have to be read to be believed.
A riveting and horrifying read. Also some first hand observations of General Dallaire that made me admire and respect him even more than before. Feb 18, Richard Stephens rated it really liked it. An amazing read and provides some insight to events like Bosnia, Rwanda etc that have been missing.
Steele shares his personal experiences and what he saw in a sensative and respectful manner to the victims without being goulish or underplaying them. A great read to whomever wanted to be a war cameraop. May 24, Nelda Hazelhurst rated it really liked it. Sep 13, Tyler Bigney rated it did not like it. One of the rare books I've started, but could only make it 50 pages in before giving up. Jon Steele isn't a writer, at least, not a very good one.
First rule of writing : show don't tell. This book is all tell. The descriptions run flat. There's no character development at all. If you want a good war reporte One of the rare books I've started, but could only make it 50 pages in before giving up. Don't get fooled by this book. Jul 04, Lee rated it liked it.
A sometimes humorous and sometimes very harrowing account of life behind the lens as a news cameraman covering some of the world's worst war zones. At times I felt that there was a little too much focus on the anecdotes about his and his crazy friends' mad antics, whereas I'd have preferred a little more background details about the events they were covering. But for the most part I found this book exciting, and at times heart-wrenching, and I think it is well worth reading. May 12, Daniel Mork rated it it was amazing Shelves: my-books.
This is one of the most brutal books I've ever read, the part that makes is worse is that it's based on what John Steele actually witnessed and not just fiction. John Steele brings you with him on his journeys and you really feel like you're a part of the story, how he manages to really capture the visual with words is really amazing.
Without doubt worth a read. Nov 26, Bernhard Riegler rated it it was amazing. But I have to admit that I am not made of this stuff. Steele describes his incredible experiences as news-cameraman in the worst places on Earth and the resulting haunting nightmares in a great way.
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