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El Salvador Could Be Like That
Joe Frazier, a longtime veteran of The Associated Press, covered the bloody civil war in El Salvador from 1979-1986. He draws from his vast trove of articles written from the frontlines, interspersing the reporting of facts with personal stories—some funny, some tragic. Broad in its sweep, focused on the daily lives of the war's victims, Frazier's book is an important contribution to to remembering the lessons and recording the history of this mostly forgotten conflict.
From the author's dedication: "The wars that brought us together are forgotten now. So are the lessons they should have taught us. This book is a reminder of both."
Praise from Fellow Journalists for Joseph Frazier's Memoir:
“Puts the reader on the ground as a witness to the unfolding of a civil war, and provides the political and historical background that surfaces the underlying factors that led to the conflict. It is both a memoir and a cautionary tale of the true costs of war as seen from the ground and in the lives of Salvadorans. Frazier evokes the sounds, sights and feelings of wartime El Salvador. Read for its compelling narrative, for its previously untold history of a war, and to support the role of on the ground journalism in our collective understanding of the world.”
—Juanita Darling, Ph.D., assistant professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University, veteran Latin American correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
“This is so much more than the best journalistic account of the war that enveloped El Salvador in the 1980s. It is an exciting, fast-paced adventure story; an insightful analysis of the way nations break apart; a disturbing look at the war correspondent’s life; and above all, a poignant, deeply personal story about a great reporter’s efforts to come to terms with what he has seen and experienced.”
—Stephen Kinzer, International Relations, Boston University, award-winning New York Times foreign correspondent, author of Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua and other titles.
“Joseph Frazier’s book brings all his expertise, compassion and flair to the deeply compelling story of that hidden war which cost 75,000 lives. His eye is extraordinary. He sees through the fog and disinformation of both sides, sees the war’s political complexity, and makes us feel its human cost. And he gets its ironies—Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller are somewhere smiling upon this account.”
—Journalist and filmmaker Mary Jo McConahay, author of National Geographic Book of the Month, Maya Roads: One Woman’s Journey Among the People of the Rainforest.
====
[Adapted from the author's introduction]
I covered El Salvador from 1979-1986, the worst of the war years, for The Associated Press. In addition to wartime coverage, I visited several times later for the AP, and after retirement took solo road trips down from Oregon in 2009 and 2011.
My memoir is a ground's-eye view of the El Salvador war and of what it did to the peasants, the soldiers, the school kids, the union leaders, the shopkeepers, the fishermen and artisans, the parish priests - the everyday, unremarkable people who often wound up in unmarked graves and on the edit-room floor. It is also a look at the politics and economics and social history that underpinned the conflict.
I believe the journalists I worked with there in those years were among the finest anywhere. Too many of them died trying to get the story out.
From the author's dedication: "The wars that brought us together are forgotten now. So are the lessons they should have taught us. This book is a reminder of both."
Praise from Fellow Journalists for Joseph Frazier's Memoir:
“Puts the reader on the ground as a witness to the unfolding of a civil war, and provides the political and historical background that surfaces the underlying factors that led to the conflict. It is both a memoir and a cautionary tale of the true costs of war as seen from the ground and in the lives of Salvadorans. Frazier evokes the sounds, sights and feelings of wartime El Salvador. Read for its compelling narrative, for its previously untold history of a war, and to support the role of on the ground journalism in our collective understanding of the world.”
—Juanita Darling, Ph.D., assistant professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University, veteran Latin American correspondent for the Los Angeles Times.
“This is so much more than the best journalistic account of the war that enveloped El Salvador in the 1980s. It is an exciting, fast-paced adventure story; an insightful analysis of the way nations break apart; a disturbing look at the war correspondent’s life; and above all, a poignant, deeply personal story about a great reporter’s efforts to come to terms with what he has seen and experienced.”
—Stephen Kinzer, International Relations, Boston University, award-winning New York Times foreign correspondent, author of Blood of Brothers: Life and War in Nicaragua and other titles.
“Joseph Frazier’s book brings all his expertise, compassion and flair to the deeply compelling story of that hidden war which cost 75,000 lives. His eye is extraordinary. He sees through the fog and disinformation of both sides, sees the war’s political complexity, and makes us feel its human cost. And he gets its ironies—Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller are somewhere smiling upon this account.”
—Journalist and filmmaker Mary Jo McConahay, author of National Geographic Book of the Month, Maya Roads: One Woman’s Journey Among the People of the Rainforest.
====
[Adapted from the author's introduction]
I covered El Salvador from 1979-1986, the worst of the war years, for The Associated Press. In addition to wartime coverage, I visited several times later for the AP, and after retirement took solo road trips down from Oregon in 2009 and 2011.
My memoir is a ground's-eye view of the El Salvador war and of what it did to the peasants, the soldiers, the school kids, the union leaders, the shopkeepers, the fishermen and artisans, the parish priests - the everyday, unremarkable people who often wound up in unmarked graves and on the edit-room floor. It is also a look at the politics and economics and social history that underpinned the conflict.
I believe the journalists I worked with there in those years were among the finest anywhere. Too many of them died trying to get the story out.
230 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2013
20 people are currently reading
324 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 14, 2013
Astounding and, without a doubt, true. This was current events for me. Now it's history. Things they deny down there categorically, I remember reading about over and over in the less conservative rags in the US. And then there was the AP outlook. I followed it regularly. Nobody messed with those guys and their reporting. Joe was one of my favourites then, and this book proves he is still one of my favourites.
October 4, 2017
Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars
Story of a generous & thoughtful people even in times of war
Reviewed By Sherrie Miranda on October 4, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Frazier's wife who was killed in El Salvador. I found her story to be very compelling.
That said, any story about Salvadorans is always great. The Salvadoran people are generous, thoughtful & unique people; at least the poor and middle class are.
If you plan to go to El Salvador, make sure you read this first!
Learn the story behind: Publish "Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans.” and help us meet our goal. @indiegogo
https://igg.me/at/CrimesImpunityNOLAn...
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” will be out en Español very soon! It is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch... 😉
4.0 out of 5 stars
Story of a generous & thoughtful people even in times of war
Reviewed By Sherrie Miranda on October 4, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Frazier's wife who was killed in El Salvador. I found her story to be very compelling.
That said, any story about Salvadorans is always great. The Salvadoran people are generous, thoughtful & unique people; at least the poor and middle class are.
If you plan to go to El Salvador, make sure you read this first!
Learn the story behind: Publish "Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans.” and help us meet our goal. @indiegogo
https://igg.me/at/CrimesImpunityNOLAn...
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” will be out en Español very soon! It is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch... 😉
August 31, 2019
A needed perspective for someone living in El Salvador. Frazier writes with reverence and hope for the Funes led FMLN in 2012. I wonder what his response is now that Funes is hiding out with the Sandinistas in Nicaragua after fleeing due to corruption charges.
October 4, 2017
Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars
Story of a generous & thoughtful people even in times of war
Reviewed By Sherrie Miranda on October 4, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Frazier's wife who was killed in El Salvador. I found her story to be very compelling.
That said, any story about Salvadorans is always great. The Salvadoran people are generous, thoughtful & unique people; at least the poor and middle class are.
If you plan to go to El Salvador, make sure you read this first!
Learn the story behind: Publish "Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans.” and help us meet our goal. @indiegogo
https://igg.me/at/CrimesImpunityNOLAn...
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” will be out en Español very soon! It is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch... 😉
4.0 out of 5 stars
Story of a generous & thoughtful people even in times of war
Reviewed By Sherrie Miranda on October 4, 2017
Format: Paperback|Verified Purchase
I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Frazier's wife who was killed in El Salvador. I found her story to be very compelling.
That said, any story about Salvadorans is always great. The Salvadoran people are generous, thoughtful & unique people; at least the poor and middle class are.
If you plan to go to El Salvador, make sure you read this first!
Learn the story behind: Publish "Crimes and Impunity in New Orleans.” and help us meet our goal. @indiegogo
https://igg.me/at/CrimesImpunityNOLAn...
Sherrie Miranda’s historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” will be out en Español very soon! It is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11Ch... 😉
December 29, 2024
Interesting and moving account of the El Salvador civil war. I really liked the comparisons to other Central American countries at the time too as it helped place the conflict into the wider context and that of the Cold War too. It did a feel a bit all over the place in terms of chronology at times too though.
August 4, 2013
from http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2013/...
Joseph B. Frazier's El Salvador Could Be Like That is a memoir by a former Associated Press reporter who covered the country during the civil war. Its value lay in Frazier's descriptions of the people and how both everyday life and politics functioned "on the ground," with what I think is a balanced voice, pointing out inconsistencies or outright lies on both sides (though of course the lion's share of the violence was perpetrated by the right). Some of it gruesome, and all of it is sad. It was no easy job for reporters, who were attacked and, of course, lied to.
We gnawed through mountains of spin and did the best we could. There remained for a short time a 1950s-style naivete that told us if the U.S. government was telling us something, it must be true. The facts on the ground quickly educated us otherwise (p. 14).
It is mostly chronological but tends to bounce around a bit (with funny additions like Surfer Bob, a guy from Florida who came to El Salvador for the surfing and then stayed). I noticed that Tim, who writes at Tim's El Salvador Blog, had recently reviewed it and thought the structure made it more important to have some background. I think that's true, but if you're interested in El Salvador and/or the era it's worth a look.
Joseph B. Frazier's El Salvador Could Be Like That is a memoir by a former Associated Press reporter who covered the country during the civil war. Its value lay in Frazier's descriptions of the people and how both everyday life and politics functioned "on the ground," with what I think is a balanced voice, pointing out inconsistencies or outright lies on both sides (though of course the lion's share of the violence was perpetrated by the right). Some of it gruesome, and all of it is sad. It was no easy job for reporters, who were attacked and, of course, lied to.
We gnawed through mountains of spin and did the best we could. There remained for a short time a 1950s-style naivete that told us if the U.S. government was telling us something, it must be true. The facts on the ground quickly educated us otherwise (p. 14).
It is mostly chronological but tends to bounce around a bit (with funny additions like Surfer Bob, a guy from Florida who came to El Salvador for the surfing and then stayed). I noticed that Tim, who writes at Tim's El Salvador Blog, had recently reviewed it and thought the structure made it more important to have some background. I think that's true, but if you're interested in El Salvador and/or the era it's worth a look.
November 27, 2015
Having lived a traumatic childhood in El Salvador, this book brought back a lot of memories. It is written in a biographical point of view and it envelopes the readers with facts and graphic descriptions of violent events.
July 7, 2025
Manchester Arena Bombing -
Attack occurs at 22:31 (BST)
5/22/17
22 casualties (second deadliest attack in UK history)
Bomber is 22 years old
Of Libyan ancestry, Libya = 22 in Chaldean numerology
Attack allegedly occurred using TATP explosives (TATP is an entropic explosive, releasing no heat energy, however scorch marks were found at the scene, indicating possible usage of a fertilizer based explosive device)
Death Grips releases “Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix)” 22 minutes prior to the attack at 22:09 BST
The EP contains references to both the Manchester attack and the Las Vegas shooting (10-1-17)
“Improvised explosives, timeless, but I admire” and “exit wounds and rabbit ears, rabbit holes that last for years. Now can you see I have no fears?” are but two direct references to Manchester.
Ariana Grande was on her Dangerous Woman tour (closing the show with the song of the same name), where she famously wore black Playboy bunny ears.
22 has numerological and occult relevance as the Master Builder, in a triad of master numbers including 11 and 33.
Private investigators hired by the father of the youngest victim, Saffie Ruossos (age 8), came to the conclusion that Salman Ramadan Abedi was on the radar of MI5/MI6, as well as possibly other intelligence agencies, yet they did nothing to prevent this.
I posit an alternate theory, that MI5 may have armed Abedi and allowed him to follow through with the attack, enabling the Teresa May/Donald Trump coalition to foster Islamophobic and xenophobic sentiment and legislation in their respective nations.
My primary theory as to how Death Grips had prior knowledge regarding Manchester, Vegas, and COVID-19 is that Burnett or Hill had somehow uncovered this evidence while trespassing in a local office building (multiple lyrical references to the events being orchestrated by “monsters in cubicles” and Zach cryptically alluring to the discovery while discussing his time squatting in an empty office building, saying he “frequently explores places he shouldn’t be in”.
There may have been a Majestic-12/Majic black site operating out of this building.
On TMS, there are references to burglarizing this building.
“Deep in the klink base, cut straight to the chase, like a triple shot of 180 proof. Kill-o-watts riots, audio violence, bust your windows and take all the loot. System, blower. System’s over.” (klink refers to prison/jail but in the context it’s referring to some sort of highly secretive intelligence state black site operating out of the Ziggurat).
“Discard directly after use, forensics on that wild goose.”/“government plates, I’m a corporation, on location. Fuck location.” (refers to the disposal of the retrieved intelligence documents after being surveilled, possibly by FBI or etc.)
“Hocus, breaking in and centering. Broke in and gave up on everything, everything. Why me?” (Dissapointed, YotS 2018. Refers to the burglary and recovered documents as being the source of Ride’s pessimism and nihilism. This event caused Ride to go from a once optimistic and outgoing individual to someone very withdrawn and paranoid. See previous Fyre Documentary, where you’ll see a younger Burnett in a much better mood/headspace than during his time with Death Grips)
Attack occurs at 22:31 (BST)
5/22/17
22 casualties (second deadliest attack in UK history)
Bomber is 22 years old
Of Libyan ancestry, Libya = 22 in Chaldean numerology
Attack allegedly occurred using TATP explosives (TATP is an entropic explosive, releasing no heat energy, however scorch marks were found at the scene, indicating possible usage of a fertilizer based explosive device)
Death Grips releases “Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix)” 22 minutes prior to the attack at 22:09 BST
The EP contains references to both the Manchester attack and the Las Vegas shooting (10-1-17)
“Improvised explosives, timeless, but I admire” and “exit wounds and rabbit ears, rabbit holes that last for years. Now can you see I have no fears?” are but two direct references to Manchester.
Ariana Grande was on her Dangerous Woman tour (closing the show with the song of the same name), where she famously wore black Playboy bunny ears.
22 has numerological and occult relevance as the Master Builder, in a triad of master numbers including 11 and 33.
Private investigators hired by the father of the youngest victim, Saffie Ruossos (age 8), came to the conclusion that Salman Ramadan Abedi was on the radar of MI5/MI6, as well as possibly other intelligence agencies, yet they did nothing to prevent this.
I posit an alternate theory, that MI5 may have armed Abedi and allowed him to follow through with the attack, enabling the Teresa May/Donald Trump coalition to foster Islamophobic and xenophobic sentiment and legislation in their respective nations.
My primary theory as to how Death Grips had prior knowledge regarding Manchester, Vegas, and COVID-19 is that Burnett or Hill had somehow uncovered this evidence while trespassing in a local office building (multiple lyrical references to the events being orchestrated by “monsters in cubicles” and Zach cryptically alluring to the discovery while discussing his time squatting in an empty office building, saying he “frequently explores places he shouldn’t be in”.
There may have been a Majestic-12/Majic black site operating out of this building.
On TMS, there are references to burglarizing this building.
“Deep in the klink base, cut straight to the chase, like a triple shot of 180 proof. Kill-o-watts riots, audio violence, bust your windows and take all the loot. System, blower. System’s over.” (klink refers to prison/jail but in the context it’s referring to some sort of highly secretive intelligence state black site operating out of the Ziggurat).
“Discard directly after use, forensics on that wild goose.”/“government plates, I’m a corporation, on location. Fuck location.” (refers to the disposal of the retrieved intelligence documents after being surveilled, possibly by FBI or etc.)
“Hocus, breaking in and centering. Broke in and gave up on everything, everything. Why me?” (Dissapointed, YotS 2018. Refers to the burglary and recovered documents as being the source of Ride’s pessimism and nihilism. This event caused Ride to go from a once optimistic and outgoing individual to someone very withdrawn and paranoid. See previous Fyre Documentary, where you’ll see a younger Burnett in a much better mood/headspace than during his time with Death Grips)
January 22, 2024
This was an intense read especially about the parts about making the kids call out for their parents and the soldiers taking orphaned children and raising them as their own. I thank the writer for being so candid. But almost halfway through the book I had to stop reading because it was just too traumatic. It was only until last year that I was able to finish the book. I know very little about Duarte. I have another book about him. I plan on reading that sometime soon. My family is from El Salvador and I remember going there many times over the course of my life and the first time I (I was 5 years old) went I saw the military directing traffic and I didn't understand what was happening. This was Christmas of 1988. My family would tell me stories of where they would have to hide in my cousin's room downstairs when there were bombs going off.
March 13, 2014
Not knowing much about the Salvadoran Civil War, I picked this up to get a bit of background. I think it might be more interesting to people who either are familiar with the author's work as a journalist or who know more about the war to begin with. It was an interesting book, but many of the incidents described are difficult for me to place in proper context. The author does provide some history to anchor them, but his purpose isn't to teach you about the war. As a memoir, it works pretty well, but as a first book on the subject, it was a bit challenging to track at times. Anyway, based on the fabulous reviews from others, I'm guessing my three star review is probably due my failings rather than of the book, but since I can't tell, three stars it is.
May 15, 2014
excellent
January 25, 2016
Very poorly written and barely edited. It was difficult to get through all the typos, and the smug/flippant commentary of the author about such sad topics was almost unbearable.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews