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War Junkie: One Man's Addiction to the Worst Places on Earth
Soon after starting work as an ITN cameraman, Jon Steele began to feel strangely at home in the kind of places ordinary people get evacuated from. In Moscow, he filmed in the midst of chaos as armed rebels and militia fought hand-to-hand battles on the streets. In Rwanda, he filmed the horrific aftermath to the most brutal massacre of modern times. In Zaire, he filmed endless fields full of young children deranged by hunger and ravaged by cholera. And finally in Bosnia, Jon realized that he had seen and filmed more than he could cope with, and finally spiralled into a deep emotional meltdown.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
16 people are currently reading
364 people want to read
About the author
Jon Steele
18 books119 followersJon Steele was born in the American Northwest in 1950 and was raised in Great Falls Montana. He worked an assortment of legal and illegal jobs all accross America before joining Independent Television News of London. Jon earned a reputation as one of the world's top cameramen in dangerous environments. His autobiography, 'War Junkie' was published in 2002 by Transworld and is today recognized as a cult classic of war reportage. In Baghdad, on the day before the Iraq War began, he put his camera on the ground and quit. Jon moved to the south of France and lived without a television, radio or newspapers for a year. He spent his days writing and taking walks in quiet places. In 2007 he traveled to Iraq, alone and without support of any news organization. He lived for three months with an American combat unit, filming their lives and recording their emotions for the award winning documentary, The Baker Boys: Inside The Surge. Currently Jon lives in Switzerland with his Jordanian-born wife and the two abandoned cats they found in an Amman road.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 2, 2011
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 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.
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.
March 20, 2012
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.
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.
June 27, 2023
This book was a thoroughly wild ride, and that's its strength. It is utterly compelling, deeply interesting, and very honest. It's a perfect example of sincerity and excitement saving a book from less than stellar language -- and I will admit that the writing is not always the best. It has a rather sensationalised tone that is reminiscent of tabloid newspapers looking to outrage and horrify, but the difference here is that while tabloids are doing it carelessly to sell copies, Steele does so sincerely. There is no ulterior motive and it does not feel as though the style is trying to emotionally manipulate me. And perhaps most importantly of all, Steele is a cameraman.
I cannot fairly review the writing without acknowledging this fact. Steele sees the world in shots and frames; he sees it play out like footage he has shot, and this has led to a fascinating writing style. While some of the dialogue pushes my ability to suspend disbelief (some of it does not read how people would ever talk; I suspect it's a summarisation honest to the spirit rather than attempts to directly reconstruct real conversations) the pacing and the action and the clarity of the scenes is undeniable. It's excellent. If a director was possessed by the desire to turn this book into a movie he would not have to bother hiring anyone to turn it into a script: it's already there. I found it very effective and very exciting. I'm a photographer, and I see the world in a similar way: in frames and shots. It is not the same thing but it's close enough that I could pick up on Steele's language and follow along in my head. Reading this was like watching a documentary full of real footage more than actually reading -- the kind of thing that made me genuinely forget I was reading, because it all happened so vividly. Yes, perhaps there are moments where the writing is not as strong, or where it's a little overdramatic -- but we are dealing with huge situations here. We're dealing with life and death and people being maimed and killed and dying of horrific diseases right in front of our narrator's eyes. When the horror is that large, everything sounds a little melodramatic. Words cannot do it justice. I won't hold that against Steele. He does a fantastic job of bypassing words and crafting the images instead, and it's very impressive. I can sincerely say that I've never read anything like it.
Also, sue me. Reading should be entertaining. It should be wild. When you're reading about topics like this, it should be honest and visceral and uncomfortable. This book did it well, and if not for the occasional sections where the dialogue was just that little bit too grating, I'd probably give this five stars. Hell, I might yet. I'm almost certainly going to reread this at some point, and now I know what I'm in for I can quite easily see myself getting so caught up in everything else that it's no longer so jarring.
Steele has a fascinating way of looking at the world and translating it into something he can share. It takes sincere talent to showcase one's expertise in a visual medium over into prose, but he manages it. It's very impressive, and it's a real privilege to see.
I cannot fairly review the writing without acknowledging this fact. Steele sees the world in shots and frames; he sees it play out like footage he has shot, and this has led to a fascinating writing style. While some of the dialogue pushes my ability to suspend disbelief (some of it does not read how people would ever talk; I suspect it's a summarisation honest to the spirit rather than attempts to directly reconstruct real conversations) the pacing and the action and the clarity of the scenes is undeniable. It's excellent. If a director was possessed by the desire to turn this book into a movie he would not have to bother hiring anyone to turn it into a script: it's already there. I found it very effective and very exciting. I'm a photographer, and I see the world in a similar way: in frames and shots. It is not the same thing but it's close enough that I could pick up on Steele's language and follow along in my head. Reading this was like watching a documentary full of real footage more than actually reading -- the kind of thing that made me genuinely forget I was reading, because it all happened so vividly. Yes, perhaps there are moments where the writing is not as strong, or where it's a little overdramatic -- but we are dealing with huge situations here. We're dealing with life and death and people being maimed and killed and dying of horrific diseases right in front of our narrator's eyes. When the horror is that large, everything sounds a little melodramatic. Words cannot do it justice. I won't hold that against Steele. He does a fantastic job of bypassing words and crafting the images instead, and it's very impressive. I can sincerely say that I've never read anything like it.
Also, sue me. Reading should be entertaining. It should be wild. When you're reading about topics like this, it should be honest and visceral and uncomfortable. This book did it well, and if not for the occasional sections where the dialogue was just that little bit too grating, I'd probably give this five stars. Hell, I might yet. I'm almost certainly going to reread this at some point, and now I know what I'm in for I can quite easily see myself getting so caught up in everything else that it's no longer so jarring.
Steele has a fascinating way of looking at the world and translating it into something he can share. It takes sincere talent to showcase one's expertise in a visual medium over into prose, but he manages it. It's very impressive, and it's a real privilege to see.
December 10, 2018
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 to so many places I'd been during the same period as Steele, although in very different roles.
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.
February 2, 2017
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?"
"Oh my god"
"Get down"
CRASH
"Did you see that?"
"Run over there"
BOOM
CRASHHHH
"Let's run over to that hotel"
etc. etc. page after page.
There's a good story in there but I found it hard to digest.
This book is mostly dialogue along the lines of:
"WTF was that?"
"Oh my god"
"Get down"
CRASH
"Did you see that?"
"Run over there"
BOOM
CRASHHHH
"Let's run over to that hotel"
etc. etc. page after page.
There's a good story in there but I found it hard to digest.
August 11, 2007
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.
March 7, 2014
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.
February 18, 2019
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.
Read
March 6, 2020A great read to whomever wanted to be a war cameraop
March 18, 2023
Jon Steele has lived an interesting life, and his insights about the practical aspect of working as a news cameraman are good. Unfortunately, the writing leaves a lot to be desired. While there are places where it finds its stride (particularly, when he's talking about his work on the ground), the writing is overall too juvenile and clunky to provide the full story.
Significant sections are unnatural, like reading the script for a cliché movie. Several times I found myself thinking that no one talks like this, and it gave me dreadful secondhard embarassment. Intimate and sincere moments are written for an audience, never coming across as heartfelt. When he talks about meeting Kate, his wife, he says the right things to indicate that he admires her and loves her, but only because the right way to say those things has already been written. This extends to anyone in the book, to varying degrees.
In other areas, the story improves, particularly in the second half. While the narrative is never good, there's real emotional substance when he talks about Rwanda and covering the cholera epidemic.
None of this is to say that his life is corny and fake, of course; if anything, the good parts make it more regretable that this book just didn't come together, as he's lived quite an interesting life and clearly thinks of the world in an interesting way. Unfortunately, this just didn't come across in the writing. Steele would have benefited from stepping back and directly telling his story, rather than trying to show this through a blow-by-blow account of his life. The final chapter is touching, and it's regretable that such reflection is saved until the end; I would have liked to see that same thoughtfulness in his relationships with colleagues and the women in his life, his drug use, certain incidents that left a horrible mark on him, and his mental breakdown.
Significant sections are unnatural, like reading the script for a cliché movie. Several times I found myself thinking that no one talks like this, and it gave me dreadful secondhard embarassment. Intimate and sincere moments are written for an audience, never coming across as heartfelt. When he talks about meeting Kate, his wife, he says the right things to indicate that he admires her and loves her, but only because the right way to say those things has already been written. This extends to anyone in the book, to varying degrees.
In other areas, the story improves, particularly in the second half. While the narrative is never good, there's real emotional substance when he talks about Rwanda and covering the cholera epidemic.
None of this is to say that his life is corny and fake, of course; if anything, the good parts make it more regretable that this book just didn't come together, as he's lived quite an interesting life and clearly thinks of the world in an interesting way. Unfortunately, this just didn't come across in the writing. Steele would have benefited from stepping back and directly telling his story, rather than trying to show this through a blow-by-blow account of his life. The final chapter is touching, and it's regretable that such reflection is saved until the end; I would have liked to see that same thoughtfulness in his relationships with colleagues and the women in his life, his drug use, certain incidents that left a horrible mark on him, and his mental breakdown.
January 2, 2016
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 . To describe mortar shelling he uses the words "KACRASH!" . There's no character development at all. To make sure I was making the right decision in giving up the book I flipped ahead to page 333 and found the word "KACRASH" again.
If you want a good war reporter book, Anthony Loyds , My War Gone By, I Miss It So, and of course Dispatches by Michael Herr are a million times better than this.
Don't get fooled by this book.
KACRASH!
If you want a good war reporter book, Anthony Loyds , My War Gone By, I Miss It So, and of course Dispatches by Michael Herr are a million times better than this.
Don't get fooled by this book.
KACRASH!
July 5, 2014
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, 2014
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.
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.
November 29, 2014
ma lugesin seda raamatut oma kuu aega, mõne lehekülje kaupa, kuna ei suutnud suuremat doosi korraga vastu võtta. hirmus, hirmus, mida inimesed üksteisele teevad. ja meie vaatame uudistest lõiku, sööme samal ajal võileibu ning unustame nähtu kohe. kas tõesti võitsid võitluse heade ja langenud inglite vahel tegelikult viimased?
November 26, 2016
Nachtwey, Capa & Co always were my heroes. 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. His fine sense of humor makes the reading despite all the horror a pleasure.
January 8, 2013
This book is plain old amazing. The imagery used is so powerful it makes you feel as if you're there in Rwanda running for your life. This book is anything but a deterrent for young photographers looking to become war time journos.
March 22, 2023
Kuigi esimese kolmandiku järel oli pidev, hüsteeriline adrenaliinikirjeldus nii tüütuks ja igavaks muutunud, et olin lähedal katkestamisele (pealegi jäi mulje, et ega autor vist ei tea, kus ja miks ta on?), siis lõpuks osutus siiski päris võimsaks raamatuks.
April 26, 2015
awseome, and he lived to tell about it.
April 8, 2007
The synopsis of this book says it all.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews