Rating: 
Summary: A book about the real issues we face -- and a great read!!
Review: How often can you read a great adventure story, and also have it deal honestly and thoughtfully with the tough choices that women have to make today? (Eve Ensler meets Robert Ludlum?) Its a strange and rare combination but for me it really worked -- I could not put this one down, and I'm still thinking about it four days later. Kogan is one gutsy woman, who in her 20's took a lot of chances (and made a lot of mistakes) like we all did, except on a bigger scale. She was trying to make it as a photojournalist in Europe, a lone woman in a 'boys club', while also sorting out men, love, sex and, eventually, family. Its painful and familiar to walk it through with her -- and she does not hide or gloss over the story or her feelings. She often finds herself in over her head -- gets stabbed by heroin junkies in Zurich, gets lost alone in the African jungle, almost blown up in the mountains of Afganistan -- but in each case learns, gets tougher, and brings the story home. Same with men, some of whom are abusive, or needy or closed -- but in the end make Kogan wiser and stronger. After all the bullets and bombs, she comes home to New York and has to fight NBC about getting flex-time, and spending more time with her son. That's when you realize as unique as her story is, most women go through the same path: naive and struggling in our 20's, wiser and (hopefully) happier in our 30's, but with a few scars.
Rating:
Summary: Picture Perfect!
Review: I just finished reading Shutterbabe by Deborah Copaken Kogan and it is one of the best books I have ever read! From the moment I picked up the book, the story pulled me in and held me captivated, waiting to see what would happen next. The book was full of interesting and vivid detail about her various assignments, that take us from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Kogan as photographer and writer expertly and beautifully allows the reader to see what she sees. Ever drawn to capturing the heart of humanity amidst the violence and chaos. Kogan's story and her photographs are equally compelling and poignant. Her discussion of the craft of photography and photojournalism were very real and quite interesting! I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes to read about adventure, travel, photography, and life.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, its different
Review: This book is far from being a typical account by a photojournalist of her experiences - and that's quite unfortunate especially given the interesting locations where the author worked. To be blunt, this book is a poorly written combination of a tawdry romance novel and a mediocre travel-log. What disappointed me most is that while Kogan traveled to places like the Israel, Afghanistan, Romania and Africa all while major news events were occurring, she spends little time discussing the political situation and her craft. Rather, in the first two thirds of the text, in practically every few pages she describes her very frequent sexual encounters with a series of different men she just met in more far detail than necessary. One of these worth mentioning is that after describing her lastest fling, she writes of how her next assignment is to photograph IV drug users for a story about AIDS. Quite a transition. But does she get it?? In addition, she spends an inordinate amount of time discussing the poor living and hygenic conditions during her assignments rather than the subject matter. Perhaps more disturbing is that while Kogan is doing her best to portray herself as a very driven liberated feminist, she also details several instances of being seriously beaten and/or date-raped by men she is involved with, inaddition to frequent instances of verbal abuse by her employers. Yet she stays with them. She seems to miss the point completely. It appears that Kogan wrote this book mainly as therapy to purge her memory of past mistakes. After recently reading The Bang Bang Club, an excellent account of photojournalists in South Africa, this book is a real disappointment. If your looking for a good account of photojournalism, this is not it.
Rating:
Summary: Boring Memoir of a Shallow, Spoiled Brat
Review: This is the most shallow, disappointing memoir written by a young woman that I've ever read. I love memoirs, and the most powerful in the genre are those that take an experience or period in one's life and leave the reader with not just an enjoyable (humorous, poignant) read, but something to think about -- a truth exposed, a shared journey to ponder, a relatable world view, etc. This story is so bad that I'm shocked it got published in the first place. Not only is the author's writing style abysmally boring, but there's no story here. Sure, peering into the life of a young, female photojournalist could have been fascinating, but instead, this entire book consists of the author alternately acting like a complete egomaniac (do we really CARE about her shallow romantic conquests?), or playing the victim (okay, we KNOW you're a tiny, short woman in a man's world -- we GOT that, stop repeating that!). Here's this little princess who grew up incredibly privileged playing for a few years after college by gallivanting around Europe with her camera. So what? And what does she LEARN in the end? That she'd rather get married and have babies? Huh?! In a memoir of a photojournalist, you'd think there might be some interesting photos to save this book -- no such luck. Instead, all we get is the Cosmo-style photo on the front cover, trying to make this spoiled girl into a "ShutterBABE." Please. For any 20- or 30-something women out there looking for a great read, save yourself some money and buy something that won't put you to sleep. This one's a DUD!
Rating: 
Summary: I was so angry I couldn't sleep
Review: For days I would rush home from work and continue reading this book until the wee hours of the morning. I was unable to put it down. I told my colleagues to run out and purchase it. Her writing is superb and the stories well told. It appealed to me as a photographer, professional Art Director and someone who has worked in the news media for nine years. I could completely relate to the bad choices in love she made and the internal struggle that occurs after you have seen and read just one too many horror stories. After you spend a long time as a journalist the people and stories can sometimes (but not always) become just another part of a day's work. Then I got to page 212 and I was outraged that Mrs. Kogan so smugly insulted all of the women and peole out there who paved the way for her to even attend Harvard as a Jew and a woman. I thought that after world travel and living in different cultures for six years you were supposed to become enlightened and supportive towards others, especially women, who have chosen the path less traveled. I was so angry after finishing her book because I felt duped. I felt as jilted as Mrs. Kogan felt when she described one of her bad love stories. Of course, Mrs. Kogan is allowed to make choices to leave her career to raise children--and I am the first one to salute that choice. I am far from a militant feminist, but a feminist nonetheless. It is as tough of a choice to leave your career, as is the choice to balance work and family. How people choose to deal with that is their decision. But how dare she judge those of us who have or may choose to do otherwise in such a self-rightous and smug manner! It's almost as if she absorbed more poison living in the burbs of DC (she couldn't wait to flee) then she learned photographing the world of war and death.
Rating:
Summary: exhibitionism meets sophomoric writing
Review: shutterbabe is a true abomination. it's not simply that the author has no real story to tell beyond the ambitious and loveless sex that defined her twenties. it's that she can't write. the prose here is breathless and Valley Girl vapid. there's not a single memorable line. the poorness of the prose is particularly painful and noticeable in light of the author's frequent, grating boasts about her own superior intelligence. moreover, shutterbabe is astonishingly devoid of wisdom, growth, insight. kogan's deepest philosophical musings sound like this: "Then there's the whole Holocaust thing. As far as our reasoning goes, two Jews who get married have a moral responsibility to populate the world with more Jews." my guess is that there is more to parenting than that.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Gutsy!
Review: I throughly enjoyed this book! It is a great read about following dreams and self-discovery. "Thank You" to Deborah Copaken Kogan for taking a huge risk and sharing such an intimate portrait of your life with the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the reviews, trust your gut...
Review: This one let me down. There's a credibility issue that I can't completely explain. And...well...the real story here is one of a young woman's encounters with men and the bric-a-brac that goes into it. At times I found myself offended that war was used as a backdrop for what seemed like a psueudo-erotic fieldtrip abroad. The connection between the author and the tragedy of war, the cultures and histories involved...well, it isn't there, or, if it is, then it did not resonate with me. Instead I was reading a story where being a "photojournalist" comes across as being a cool and engaging cover for tramping through distant corners of the world. But even getting that much out of the book, after finishing it I can't say I understand why she chose to write it.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. If a reader does not enjoy the book then maybe they do not understand its purpose. I think that the author is a brave woman for all of her choices and adventures and I thank her for sharing them.
Rating:
Summary: Shudder Babe
Review: Proof, once again, that no one should be allowed to write an autobiography before the age of 65.
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