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Never the Hope Itself: Love and Ghosts in Latin America and Haiti
by
Gerry Hadden (Goodreads Author)
A former NPR correspondent takes you into his own ghost-filled life as he reports on a region in turmoil. Gerry Hadden was training to become a Buddhist monk when opportunity came knocking: the offer of a dream job as NPR's correspondent for Latin America. Arriving in Mexico in 2000 during the nation's first democratic transition of power, he witnesses both hope and uncert...more
Paperback, 345 pages
Published
September 6th 2011
by Harper Perennial
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Note: I won a copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.
Writing about what I read would probably be easier if I paused every once in a while to take proper notes. I stubbornly continue to neglect to tear my self away from a good book because I don't like to be pulled out of the story. I would rather bury myself in it. The characters. A sense of time. A sense of place. Gerry Hadden succeeded in making his experiences come alive on the page. Great for me. Bad for you becaus...more
Writing about what I read would probably be easier if I paused every once in a while to take proper notes. I stubbornly continue to neglect to tear my self away from a good book because I don't like to be pulled out of the story. I would rather bury myself in it. The characters. A sense of time. A sense of place. Gerry Hadden succeeded in making his experiences come alive on the page. Great for me. Bad for you becaus...more
I guess it portrayed more to me about what it is like to live the life of an international correspondent, than information about Latin America and Haiti, except in an indirect way. Currently as an expat living abroad it made me think what a challenge it must be to be a visitor some where trying to get at the heart of situations and find new fresh perspectives on a story. I just find it difficult to know a place after really living there for sometime, it's hard to imagine capturing it on brief vi...more
Always wary of the overly stretched-out, boring narratives of someone else's so-called adventures (especially where they must 'find' themselves), I started this one a little apprehensively. But before I knew it I was hooked. A fiction regular might not be pleased with the constant switching from one event to the next, but each new crisis Hadden encounters becomes so quickly engaging to the reader that he won't even notice the disruption. The characters become real within an instant and the immer...more
This tale, or series of connected tales, by a former NPR reporter about his time covering Latin America, has great humor, vivid descriptions of people and places, and most of all, excellent storytelling. Each person we meet as we accompany Gerry on his journey, often to places destroyed by war, drugs, poverty, and despair, becomes alive to the reader. Every place he goes and person he encounters is unique and Gerry brings them to life with great specificity. It's a lively story, full of life and...more
Jan 08, 2012
Barbara Skuplik
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
culture,
developement,
foreign-affairs,
foreign-aid,
globalization,
historical,
non-fiction,
political,
politics,
social-science,
world
I really enjoyed this book. So often South America has been neglected in the news/media, often overshadowed by the plight and atrocities happening in the Middle East, Balkans, and Africa. Gerry Hadden writes a beautiful, raw, honest, and unbiased recollection of his time covering the elections in Haiti, his time in Mexico, and reporting for NPR all over Latin America. I appreciate the honestly with which he wrote this book, and the detail with which he described certain life events, his thoughts...more
Never the Hope Itself
Gerry Hadden
I received this book as part of the Goodreads first reader program.
To be a reporter, especially one dropped into a foreign country is difficult. That’s the least you can say. You don’t know the people, the culture, all the players and their hidden agendas. So, how do you communicate fair and accurate news back home?
Hadden becomes a reporter for National Public Radio (NPR) through what he describes as a whirlwind process. He leaves the spiritual path he had chosen...more
Gerry Hadden
I received this book as part of the Goodreads first reader program.
To be a reporter, especially one dropped into a foreign country is difficult. That’s the least you can say. You don’t know the people, the culture, all the players and their hidden agendas. So, how do you communicate fair and accurate news back home?
Hadden becomes a reporter for National Public Radio (NPR) through what he describes as a whirlwind process. He leaves the spiritual path he had chosen...more
At first, I wasn't sure I was going to like this book. Gerry Hadden spent a lot of time in the early chapters convincing me not to like him - he complains about his assistant being six minutes late and kicks a family out of his house in Mexico City. How, I wondered, was this guy ever on the verge of becoming a Buddhist monk? He seems far too high-strung, far too easily shaken. But, as I read on, I discovered a truly delightful memoir, and a portrait of a man who is not afraid to present himself...more
I loved this book. Easy to read, totally real, infinitely interesting. As I got closer to the end, I began to wonder how this book could end, because it felt like it needed to be written to infinity, literally. But! When I got to the end, it really made sense, so even though I was disappointed it had to end, I got it... This won't make sense maybe? But read it!
Pretty astonishing story, packed with vivid scenes of my pal Gerry's days covering Haiti and Latin America for NPR. He writes like the skilled fiction writer he is and pushes you down into a world that's by turns bewildering, horrifying, laugh-out-loud funny, romantic, and achingly sad. Terrific stuff.
The account of an NPR reporter and his personal and work adventures in Mexico, Haiti and Central America. It's nothing too special but if you are a fan of NPR and want to gain some insight into the life of a reporter, I recommend it.
I first would like to state that I received this book through the goodreads giveaway. I feel it was a really interesting book and I enjoyed it. It is often that South America has been neglected in the news – media. I appreciate the pictures showing life that he added as an insert in the middle of the book. The author has written a beautifully honest recollection. I appreciate the honestly with which he wrote this book with all the detail in which he has explained certain life events. The way he...more
Well-written memoir, but I would have liked a bit more history/context along with the personal anecdotes.
I wrote this so my opinion doesn't count.
May 02, 2013
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