War for Dummies? Garthwaite's Breezy Guide to Conflicts: Page 2 of 2

To its credit, however, How To Avoid Being Killed In A War Zone does offer some sound advice for those planning trips—whatever their purpose—to difficult environments characterized by conflict. This is particularly true in its opening pages where Garthwaite delineates a helpful checklist of items to direct the preparation process. As she correctly notes, travelers can’t merely go along for the ride but “need to have thought through all the risks before” leaving home “and made sure [to] have done everything possible to minimize them.” To this end, readers are reminded to attend to the simple things that can easily get lost in the excitement of imminent departure: making sure visas have been secured, passports are updated, sufficient cash is on hand, medications are in full supply and your next of kin knows exactly where you’ll be, and when, in the event of misfortune or trouble.  The book also tenders helpful hints of what to generally expect in areas experiencing social, political and environmental turbulence and how to recognize the signals of situations that are about to get rough. 

But one gets the sense that Garthwaite loses the thread of her own best intentions when talk of negotiating the unpredictable dynamics of rioting crowds and natural disasters gives way to detailed discussions of how to skin bears for dinner, deliver babies, and fire automatic weapons. This last topic is especially troubling, as Garthwaite devotes surprisingly little consideration to the ethical and legal dilemmas at issue when non-combatants engage in gunplay on the battlefield. Instead, readers are stuck with a book that begins to feel like a hybrid of A Boy’s Life and Soldier of Fortune, and are left dizzy by its whirlwind tour though every possible scenario that could confront the would-be extreme adventurer.   

Beyond these considerations, however, the dirty secret of Garthwaite’s book—whispered repeatedly throughout its pages—is that the pros don’t actually follow their own advice. In some cases, doing so directly threatens the macho mystique of the profession itself. As Garthwaite points out, “Where there is danger...bravado follows. War zone junkies with years of experience writ on their faces will tell you to have another drink and ‘forget the curfew,’ the underlying message being that you should join in the naughtiness to be part of the gang.” More frequently, though, we learn that sticking to the game plan becomes impossible when bullets scream past your ear, mortars tear up everything around you, and the rebels you’re following are preparing for the final assault. Leith Mushtaq, an al Jazeera cameraman, frames it best: “Sometimes I can’t control myself when I work in a war zone. I feel ready to die for the job. It’s not work—it’s making history.” 

All of which begs the question: who is this book actually for, then? After all, it’s hard to imagine either grizzled veterans of the trade or newbies just hitting the scene feeling comfortable pulling out Garthwaite’s book—with its shockingly fluorescent red packaging and title splashed in bold block lettering across the cover—in the heat of battle, or even packing it to begin with for those quiet moments alone in the hotel.  

A clue may be found in a reader’s comment at the Washington Post’s online review of Garthwaite’s guide.  “I’m buying it,” BJ Smith enthused. “Not that I am planning to be a journalist or to travel in war zones, but I'll love the vicarious experience.” And that’s just it: in the same way that mud-stained reports from the trenches, or epic travelogues that recount treks across Afghanistan on foot excite the imagination with experiences most of us will likely never have, Garthwaite’s survival guide will speak most deeply to those who wish for safe escape from the protections of the nation-state at peace, but only momentarily. For that small portion of the population willing to risk it all for the next big story, or even just an adrenaline rush, it’s unclear how much can be meaningfully gleaned from a guidebook. This is especially so, as the long list of reporters killed in action certainly attests, the moment you enter an arena in which you’re just as likely to lose your head as you are a limb. Or more tragically still, your life.  

Michael Busch is research associate at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, and program coordinator at the Colin L. Powell Center for Leadership and Service at The City College of New York, where he teaches political science and international studies. Follow him on Twitter at @michaelkbusch.

How To Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone by Rosie Garthwaite (London: Bloomsbury, 2011)