[bksvol-discuss] Books One Review Unfortunately

From: "Chela Robles" <cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 2010 13:16:54 -0800
Books


Review: Sacco strides into a brave new world of journalism with 'Footnotes'.

By Randy MyersContra Costa Times. A PREVAILING VIEW about the plight of 
journalism - often heard expressed by newspaper survivors who count themselves 
lucky to be still practicing it - is that meaningful reporting is facing a 
full-on assault as more and more old-guard institutions wheeze and buckle. Not 
true, entirely. Like many industries, journalism has been forced to change and 
evolve, a necessity born not only out of a recession but also out of 
technological and cultural advances. Will this transformation deliver something 
better? Or will it blog us into an even more polarized atmosphere? Wish I knew. 
No matter the outcome, one irrefutable fact remains - relying on the status quo 
is as useless as that dusty Remington typewriter in the garage. Yet signs 
indicate that substantive journalism is not only alive and well, but thriving 
as it sprints off into exciting new directions. For proof, look no further than 
Joe Sacco's important and relevant book "Footnotes in Gaza. Sacco, an 
award-winning cartoonist, is already a well-known commodity to fans of the New 
York Times and Harper's Magazine. Panels of his illustrated journalism have 
appeared in those publications and also in comic book stores worldwide. His 
reach broadens by the minute, as it should. Anyone wishing to gain greater 
insight about the Palestinian situation will be served well by reading the 
compelling work of this Portland resident. Long before the overused term 
"embedded" became synonymous with war coverage, the Maltese-born Sacco ventured 
into global hot spots, including Bosnia and Israel, where he sought out 
first-hand accounts from people who have weathered injustices and shocking acts 
of violence. With "Footnotes," Sacco focuses on two little-known historical 
events that left hundreds of Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip, one that took 
place in the town of Khan Younis, the other in Rafah. Both occurred in November 
of 1956. Sacco's interest in writing "Footnotes" was sparked when he teamed 
with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Christopher Hedges for a Harper's article 
on life in the town of Khan Younis in the months after the Second Intifada, the 
uprising over Israeli occupation, started in 2000. In the report Hedges filed 
to editors, he addressed the Khan Younis incident, which - according to United 
Nations figures - led to the civilian deaths of 275 Palestinians. For some 
reason, that mention was edited out, leading a disappointed Sacco to want to 
delve deeper. As he conducted interviews, he learned about the even more 
under-reported Rafah incident, in which Palestinian men were killed during an 
Israeli screening process that went wrong. By excavating the rubble of fading 
memories, Sacco pieces together an engrossing and often devastating mosaic of 
what transpired in both incidents. (The bulk of the book is dedicated to 
Rafah.) Since there is such a dearth of information about either, Sacco and his 
guide, Abed, had to sift through various interviews to come up with a reliable 
and cohesive perspective. Through the precise and uncluttered drawings, Sacco 
gives shape to these weathered accounts, and in the process, conveys what life 
is like for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, from the car logjams when roadways 
are suddenly closed to the bleakly poor conditions inside homes. As in 
"Palestine" and "Safe Area Gorazde," Sacco's 360-degree views comes across 
stirringly, not solely because he creates worlds with his pictures but because 
his accompanying words draw compelling pictures of their own. That might not be 
revolutionary, given the quality of illustrated books lately. But it does 
inspire hope that we are in good hands of a new breed of journalists. 
nonfiction TITLE: "Footnotes in Gaza" AUTHOR: Joe Sacco PUBLISHER: Metropolitan 
Books PRICE: $29.95 Pages: 416 booksigning: 7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 14) at Books 
Inc., 1760 4th St., Berkeley . 

----------------
"If you go without playing the trumpet for one day, no one knows, two days, 
only you know, and more than three days without practicing, girl you better 
look out, because everyone will know!"
----------------
Chela Robles
E-Mail: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx
MSNWindowsLive Messenger: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxxxx
Skype: jazzytrumpet
[bksvol-discuss] Books One Review Unfortunately

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