Coop

I just finished Anderson Cooper's book, "Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival"

I will admit...I really knew little of him before picking this book up. I knew, as the fashionista I'd like to think I am, that his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt. I knew that he had silvery grey hair and assumed he was MUCH older than he is. I also knew that when Katrina happened, the event seemed to spin his career from just a journalist into an iconic voice of the people.

At the risk of saying too much, I think that Anderson Cooper needs to have more than just a show on CNN or a blog at CNN.com at he needs to be heard daily via networks and radio -- hell, he could run for president and knock that squelcher out...but...

What I loved about his book? It's funny and it's sad. It's a quick read, and written well, and often times moved me to tears.

Highly recommended, but mentally prepare yourself: this is the real thing. He has truly seen the events he speaks of. He has smelled the smells. The terrible and frightening sights that make most of us flip the page or turn the channel, he has been there and has walked the walk. He has spoken with the survivors and/or the victims of events all over the world. He has laughed and cried with these people. He has seen their loss first hand...

But while he is telling these stories, he speaks of his owns losses. Some might think of him as the "poor little rich boy" (ironic, since that is what his mother was touted "Poor Little Rich Girl" in the NY papers after the horrifying death of his brother). While one might figure out having gone to Yale on his mothers dime wasn't really roughing it, you never feel as he pulls his "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" punches, as you realize, traveling to this fifth-world countries on his own with nothing but a backpack, a camera and some frightened crewman, really makes him one hell of a journalist -- grounded and makes his writing raw and real. He never mentions money because where he goes, it makes little difference. He never talks of the riches he's seen, because he has seen so much horror and loss.

He is so real that you can't shake him, but so interesting you can’t put the book down. And you really feel like you’ve been given a spot on history lesson.

He's officially made it to the dinner table -- you know, "If you could choose 10 people, dead or alive, to have dinner with." He's got a permanent seat at my table.