A THOUSAND SUNS

The impact of having been through the experience of “City of Joy” tempted me to pick up one more Dominique Lappiere classic, and this book turned out to be one of the most amazing books, I have ever read. “A Thousand Suns” is one of those books, which I will love to preserve in my personal collection forever. It’s a collection of separate documentaries, which Dominique has collected as a result of his experience as a journalist. But Dominique is no ordinary journalist and he captures no ordinary situation and no ordinary people. The real life characters that adorn this magnificent book are as varied as the intense socio-economic and political situations that they live in.

This book is distinct from other journalistic representations. This can be attributed to Dominique’s articulate and soulful exploration of the individual, silhouetted against the complicacy of the situation.

A pirate who dared to topple the dictatorial regime in Portugal by hijacking a cruise liner…. a matador whose reputation rose to elevate him to the status of the most popular Spaniard ever…. a Japanese assassin who used to think about butterflies in his free time…the architects of Israel who crafted immeasurable achievements…a passionate elephant lover who later sacrificed his life for the cause of elephants against poachers in Africa…. the accomplices of Nathuram Godse…a criminal sentenced to capital punishment…and many other heartrending accounts ornate the intensity of this book.

Dominique has also pictured some personal accounts including his love for cars and long excursions all over the globe and his experience when he was suspected of cancer…. the first depicted one of his passions while the second aroused his worst trepidations. Also, his association with Larry Collins is presented time and again, with systematic accounts of the phenomenal books they have written together.

Will try to get hold of some more of such phenomenal DL books…. about History cum Journalism cum inspiration.