One of the most prolific and daring journalist/ writers that I've had the privilege of reading. Author of The Perfect Storm, Junger makes a living writing about the misadventures and daily lives of others as well as himself. Whether writing from Kashmir about kidnapped tourists or describing a helicopter rescue gone terribly awry, Sebastian Junger allows you to feel as if you're along for the ride. Junger grew up near the port of Gloucester, Maine; an acculturation of the fishing community that he so vividly portays in his book. He studied anthropology at Wesleyan University, graduating in 1984 and has, in essence, been writing ethnographies of peoples and their societies ever since.
In his second book, "Fire", Junger explores the dangerous diamond trade in Sierra Leone, genocide in Kosovo, and guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan. For National Geographic, he profiled anti-Taliban warrior Ahmed Shah Massoud in an article entitled "The Lion in Winter". Junger spent several weeks with the leader of the northern alliance and reported:
"Everything I'd heard, made Massoud seem like an ordinary man, not only a great fighter but a very fair-minded, educated, enlightened man," and to learn the truth Junger "descended into Massoud's mud-walled kerosene-lit command centers, dodges Taliban shells, and forced himself to face the horrors of war." Two days before 9/11, Massoud was assasinated in Afghanistan by two suicide bombers.
For his article "The Forensics of War', Junger won the National Magazine Award. His
freelance investigative brand of "
seat of the pants" journalism has covered everything fron the war in
Bosnia to the bravery of
smoke jumpers fighting fires in the western wilderness. His work is often found in the magazine
Outside as well as
Men's Journal,
Vanity Fair and
The New York Times. I somehow imagine him, at this very moment, somewhere in a
bunker in
Iraq getting
up close and personal.
In honor of the seacoast community he has come to know, Junger has established The Perfect Storm Foundation to aid the children of fishermen in their quest for education with cultural grants to children whose parents make their living by commercial fishing.
http://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/shasha/junger.html
http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/author_xml.asp?authorID=5054
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0103/life.html
http://www.pageonelit.com/interviews/Junger.html