Publication Feb. 25, 2025
After reading this, I'm never going to watch news clips of wartime correspondents quite the same way. They always somehow manage to look so pulled together, cool and calm. Dahler's book reveals the backstory. Far from pulled together, like they've just stepped from a 5-star hotel, Dahler's shared past experiences are often harrowing and anything but calm. He notes that more journalists are injured or killed just getting to the source of action than are actually killed by bombs or bullets and, whoa, some of his flying experiences illustrate that scary tidbit. Let's just say, his job as a journalist has been anything but dull.
I won't detail all his jobs or exploits, but they do range from bartender to news anchor. In fact, he was one of the first on the scene on 9-11, albeit without a camera or crew. Instead, he had to rely on a rapidly dying phone battery and the knowledge source in his own head since there were definitely no script writers handy. For someone who was told by one of the standardized tests that he wasn't suited for being in journalism, he's done well. That said, while I couldn't quite conjure up an image of him in my head but was certain I've seen him onscreen, he's also gotten around. He says his career might be described as a series of "almosts" and it seemed to be true. Some in a good way, some not as rewarding. His news idol was Charles Kuralt and his early work was patterned after Kuralt's series of road reports, ranging from the likes of Carolina artists and moonshiners to fishermen and Civil War reenactments and more. He would late film things like deep diving, an encounter with a shark (ouch!) and meeting the likes of Mother Teresa, Kobe, the then Melania Krauss, and Leo DeCaprio, not to mention many others. He also did a stint with the FOX network, which I found highly interesting and, yes, revealing of the state of news today. He missed being with a fire ladder company headed into the World Trade Center disaster when he couldn't locate his camera, one he later found exactly where it was supposed to be and where he'd already looked. Just one of those fateful "almosts" in his career.
To be honest, I hesitated asking to review this book for fear it's be a dull rendition of how great he was, blah, blah, blah. I'm glad I didn't listen to myself. Dahler writes a fascinating tale, one taking a hard look at many different things, including lives he encountered that bring the people to life. His tales of the people of Afghanistan were particularly moving to me as that country is once again in the news as I type. We even get a short burst of info on tank structure and why, not to mention he saw a young, badly injured solder on the war front who was burnt over a large part of his body in an explosion. That young man, who I knew only as the winner of a Dancing With the Stars season, was JR Martinez. Nope, nothing dull about Dahler's story and it was, well, not always an easy read as I can imagine the man may have the occasional nightmare even now, but a fascinating one that gave me lots of food for thought.
Bottom line, there's much, much more for you to take in. From his early life as a military kid who was frequently bullied and beat up at each new school to an abusive father, he didn't have it easy but shows what you can do with determination and a bit of luck. He even trained in karate and loved dogs and horses, even housed K-9 handlers (dog Miranda) during recovery efforts from the World Trade Center, so it wasn't all news/battlefield oriented. Seriously, if you want a behind the scenes look at the news world, or entertainment world in many case nowadays, you need to read this book. In the process you'll get to know a remarkable man who has definitely left a mark on our world. My sincere thanks to #PineHillPress for allowing me this sneak peak at this #DonDahler memoir. It was fascinating and made me think. Two big things in my mind.
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