Synopses & Reviews
Published in Britain to great acclaim a startling, gut-wrenching memoir of war, personal dissolution, and rebirth based on the author's experiences in Bosnia.
When tragedy strikes Bill Carter's life he finds himself drawn to an unlikely place Bosnia, in the midst of its civil war. Searching for meaning in the heart of darkness, he manages to find lodging in an abandoned tower block and sets out getting supplies to the starved, besieged citizens of Sarajevo. It is there that Carter emerges from his stupor. Inspired by a community of people working to bring relief to the city, he daringly enlists the help of music group U2 and its lead singer, Bono, who set up satellite links on the band's Zooropa tour that allowed ordinary citizens of Sarajevo to speak unedited and live on 90-foot television screens to thousands of concertgoers worldwide.
Just as Michael Herr's Vietnam memoir Dispatches captured the horror of war for the '60s generation, Bill Carter's Fools Rush In will be the seminal book for this generation on the visceral and transformative impact of war in our time.
Review
"Fools Rush In is a wrenching, intensely felt book. After reading it, you may find yourself giving much greater consideration to what in life is important and what is merely trivial." Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Under the Banner of Heaven
Review
"No one can keep the wars straight anymore as they hopscotch from continent to continent. The slaughter in Bosnia has slipped beneath the rising tide washing over our minds. But Bill Carter takes us to his killing ground in Sarajevo and for a while we are there, just as we are in the current killing ground and the next one, also. This fine book is the best guide you are going to find to the rest of your life. And, yes love is always the answer." Charles Bowden, author of Down by the River
Review
"Bill Carter is more than a digital age Huck Finn. He is not merely writing here, he is singing, as if his life depended upon it. And you get the very real sense that it does. This drama is an honest, wry, immensely humane look at coming of age at the edge of a bomb crater. Carter tells this story with a sense of grandeur." Doug Stanton, author of In Harm's Way
About the Author
Bill Carter has produced and directed several documentaries, including the award-winning Miss Sarajevo, which succeeded in bringing international attention and outrage to the plight of the war-torn region. Born in 1966, he has spent the last 15 years traveling the globe, visiting and living in over 40 countries. His jobs have ranged from English teacher to commercial fisherman to assistant film director to photojournalist. He currently lives in southern Arizona.