Jonathan Alpeyrie wanted to chronicle the war and yet became a prisoner of it. He does give some good insight into the "land where death rules". Will it help y9ou understand why the US military is here; maybe not. Still there are some good nuggets to glean from his account.

The Shattered Lens: A War Photographer’s 81 Days of Captivity in Syria — A Story of Survival by Jonathan Alpeyrie tells the true story of captivity in Syria by rebel forces. Jonathan is a war photographer who travels to Syria and becomes captive by rebels. We are shown this world through the authors eyes. We are shown how he makes his experiance bearable by using humor. There isn’t any outright torture or violence in this book despite the topic of it. Jonathan Alpeyrie was considered a high value captive by his captors.

The Shattered Lens gives us a look at Syria through the eyes of those that live there as well as the authors experiance. We are shown how his family fought to get him released from captivity as well as how even after being captured he continues to be a war photographer in Ukraine. The author has some views that not everyone will agree with, however, I think this is a much needed book at this time due to the subject and the look it gives you inside a war zone.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion of it.

We see them all the time reporting from the front lines with explosions and gunfire often punctuating their coverage. These brave men and women place their lives in harm's way to shed light on the horrors--and even the humanity found during--war. Alpeyrie was one such photographer. He had the misfortune of being kidnapped in Syria and this book retells his experiences in captivity.

If you are looking for descriptions of torture, you will not find it here. Instead you will learn how his days were passed and the coping mechanisms, including humor, he employed to be able to withstand the uncertainty of his current situation.

There is so much to say about the this real life harrowing struggle I am not sure where to even began.
Jonathan Alpeyrie job is what most photography dream of but very few have the courage to do.
Jonahtan Alpeyrie story is or about bring a captive guest than prisoner. He wasn't beaten, or torture but the stress of not knowing what was going to happen had to been torture enough. He is very open about the fact it could have been much worse and he understands he was lucky even blessed that it wasn't.
He was able to take a unknown very frightening time in his life and bring humor into by giving his captor's names. He writes about meaningful relationship he developed with some of his captors and still keeps in contact with them.
As readers read this book you wish to have had pictures to be able to better understand the events during his time in Syria. Many times I found it difficult to understand what Jonathan was describing.
Jonathan has many strong feelings about the political events in the middle east that might not appeal to all readers but he has some very strong points I feel everyone needs to look at and question.

In the end what I found this story having me looking for answers to my question. What is the true meaning of freedom.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher Atria Books for the advance copy

Jonathan Alpeyrie wanted to get that one great shot. Instead what he got was captivity.

"The Shattered Lens" is the account of Alpeyrie's capture by Syrian rebels and his almost three-month stint as their hostage. This is followed by his description of what his family went through trying to free him, and his subsequent return to work as a war photographer, this time in Eastern Ukraine. Throughout his story, Alpeyrie meditates on the meaning of freedom and the experience of being caught up in the tides of history, for better or for worse.

Alpeyrie's story is inherently gripping. His captivity could have been much worse, as he openly acknowledges: he was rarely beaten and suffered nothing in the way of out-and-out physical torture. Instead, he spent weeks in a state of insecurity, sort of as a guest--he was a high-value prisoner--and sort of as a despised captive who had to beg to be allowed to go the bathroom and fend off the sexual advances of his captors. His situation was at times farcical--the description of being forced to demonstrate to his teenage minders the proper technique for kissing and lovemaking was kind of funny to read, and kind of not, just like it appears to have been to experience firsthand--and at times led him to forge a genuine connection with some of his captors, whom, he says, he missed afterwards and made a point of keeping in touch with following his release.

Alpeyrie has a photographer's eye, and it tells in the construction of the narrative, which is both detailed and fragmented: I couldn't help but feel that what the text really needed was some photographs to make it complete. Still, it's a highly interesting read: some of the best moments in the book are his close-up observations of minute details that then illustrate some wider point. Having spent a lot of quality time with rebels around the world, including, obviously, the Syrian rebels that the US is supporting, he has some sharp observations about the dangers of Islamist radicalism and the fact that the West should not necessarily trust these allies they've acquired for themselves. The juxtaposition of Syria and Ukraine is particularly telling, as in both places the West has gotten involved in situations it doesn't understand, and made promises it can't or won't keep to people who are not actually as nice as we think they are. Alpeyrie has strong opinions on the subject that will not necessarily be welcome to all readers, but his story is a timely one, and full of interest for anyone studying this explosive moment in history.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

An enthralling story of the kidnapping of a French-American photographer in Syria. The author writes about his harrowing ordeal and his fears of being tortured or dying during the months of his captivity. He works to gain the trust of his captors and they eventually start seeing him more as a 'friend' than an enemy.

Alpeyrie's descriptions of his captors and the nicknames he gives them makes his ordeal a little less threatening, but there are times when he breaks down with the realization that he may not get out alive. He describes in detail the homes where he is kept and what he does with his time in captivity.

An interesting book that sheds light on the conflict still going on in Syria and the money and people involved.