While most of us live unexceptional lives, lives that conform to the expectations of the societies that harbor us, some souls reject the safe existence and choose, instead, the more dangerous and difficult road of venturing out into the chaotic unknown. The virtues of such an unusual life are obvious. Not only is adventure forever around the next corner, but so too is the opportunity to delve into the moral and intellectual jungles that lie at the heart of man's nature. For to see man operate free of the strictures lawful society imposes upon him is to understand him in a way that we conformists will never comprehend. We cannot step outside ourselves to gain the perspective that the unshackled mind enjoys every day. While One Crowded Hour is an outstanding biography of an exceptional man, it is this lesson that underpins its tale.
Born into the economically depressed rural Australia of the early 1930s, Neil Davis shrugged off the life of a farmer, proscribed to him by family and birth, to become one of the 20th century's most notable combat cameramen. An accomplished athlete and sportsmen, Davis could have lived comfortably, firmly ensconced in an orderly nation with abundant resources and a respect for the law. Instead, he traded the commonwealth for the adventure and bustle of southeast Asia where, for two, blood-soaked decades, he covered the Vietnam War. Not only was Davis often positioned in the front-lines of combat, he was, for most of his career, a one-man team, writing, shooting and narrating two to three minute segments for broadcast on the major news organizations in Australia, Britain and the United States. His work captured some of the war's most memorable moments while earning a reputation for luck -- he escaped fatal wounds on several occasions --, for courage -- he appears to have never ducked an assignment --, and for fidelity to his craft -- he refused to stage any of his segments, believing that he had a responsibility to his viewers to capture the historical facts of the war. After countless near misses, after exhibiting a neutrality that earned him the respect of both capitalists and communists, after seeing the world and immersing himself in its many cultures, Neil Davis amazing career was abruptly ended in 1985 when he was gunned down during a forgettable incident in one of Thailand's many, forgettable coupes.
One Crowded Hour is Mr. Bowden's chronicle of the remarkable life of his friend and colleague. Compiled from Davis' diaries and journals, as well as many hours of recordings in which the two men discussed Davis' unique career, Mr. Bowden not only educates us on the life of a man in love with both Asia and its people, but the essence of what it means to be a war correspondent trapped in the inferno of combat. Rarely armed, these journalists were called upon to carry and utilize heavy equipment in some of the world's hottest combat zones, recording the depravities of man while ignoring threats to their own safety. Though some spirits must surely have been shattered by the enormous, psychological pressures of such circumstances, Davis' numerous close calls seemed rather to immure him to the paralytic effects of fear and chaos.
But as much as Mr. Bowden's biography captures the bravery of the man's work, Davis himself is the winner here. The conformity he rejected, the objectivity he aspired to, and the zest for life he never lost rise above the sins of war and the logistics of war journalism to make this a well-rounded biography of the first rate. For Mr. Bowden chose to let Neil Davis be remembered through his own words and actions which were eloquent and remarkable. This is unforgettable work. (4/5 Stars)
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