In her gripping account of the Iraq war, Jackie Spinner goes beyond the headlines to reveal the challenges of reporting news in a place where danger and fear accompany journalists everywhere. This is a vivid and personal story of her time in Iraq – where for thirteen months she covered the war from its center in Baghdad, Fallujah, Kurdistan, and Abu Ghraib – and of being transformed from a naive woman and rookie correspondent into a seasoned foreign reporter.

Jackie’s account is punctuated by brief vignettes written by her identical twin sister, Jenny, who watched as Jackie was drawn further and further into a world increasingly fraught with danger. Every morning she looked for Jackie’s byline in the Post, knowing only then that her sister had survived another day.

Through it all – the violence and fear as well as the moments of humor, camaraderie, and warmth – Jackie Spinner brings home, with brilliant intensity and candor, what it is like to report on a war under exceptional circumstances.