Sebastian Junger
Encyclopedia
Sebastian Junger is an American author, journalist and documentarian, most famous for the best-selling book The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, his award-winning chronicle of the war in Afghanistan in the 2010 movie Restrepo
, and his 2010 book War.
, the son of Ellen Sinclair, a painter, and German-born Miguel Junger, a physicist. He grew up in the neighborhood of the Boston Strangler
, which later inspired his 2006 book A Death in Belmont about the event. He graduated from Concord Academy
in 1980 and received a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Wesleyan University
in cultural anthropology
in 1984.
In 1997, with the publication of his work, The Perfect Storm, he was touted as a new Hemingway
, and helped usher a renewed interest in adventure non-fiction. He received a National Magazine Award
in 2000 for "The Forensics of War," published in Vanity Fair
, where he still works as a contributing editor. In early 2007 he reported from Nigeria on the subject of blood oil. With photographer Tim Hetherington
, Junger received the DuPont-Columbia Award
for broadcast journalism for his work on The Other War: Afghanistan, produced with ABC News and Vanity Fair, which appeared on Nightline
in September 2008.
His most recent book, War, revolves around Junger's time spent with a United States Army platoon in Afghanistan
. Junger, along with Hetherington, used material gathered in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan for the book and to create a documentary feature Restrepo
which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary - Feature and won the Grand Jury Prize for a domestic documentary at the Sundance Film Festival
in 2010. On April 27, 2011 Junger was presented with the "Leadership in Entertainment Award" by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
(IAVA) for his work on Restrepo
.
He lives with his wife Daniela in New York City
, where he co-owns a bar called The Half-King.
" (in fact, the general use of the term originates from this book), focusing on the loss of the Gloucester
fishing boat Andrea Gail
off the coast of Nova Scotia
and its six crew members, Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford, Alfred Pierre, David Sullivan, Bugsy Moran, and Dale Murphy. It was subsequently made into a film
by Warner Brothers.
At the time of the storm, Junger was recovering from a wound to the left leg that he suffered when working as a tree trimmer in the Boston area. His chainsaw had torn into his leg.
He established The Perfect Storm Foundation to provide cultural and educational grants to children, nationally, whose parents make their living in the commercial fishing industry.
crimes. Junger received the PEN/Winship
award for the book. Although a different man was convicted, Junger raises the possibility that the real killer was Albert DeSalvo
, who eventually confessed to committing several Strangler murders, but not Goldberg's. Goldberg's house was a mile and a quarter from the Junger family home, where Albert DeSalvo was doing construction work on the day Goldberg was killed. In fact, Junger stated in an interview that he grew up with a studio portrait of DeSalvo on his family's wall.
One day in 1962, before Junger was a year old, a photograph was taken. It shows Junger sitting on his mother's lap, and, standing behind them, two laborers who had just completed work on an extension to Junger's parents' house. Only two of the four subjects are looking directly at the camera: the baby and a stocky, smooth-haired man behind him, Albert DeSalvo.
Critics of the book have argued: i) Junger's story withholds the strong evidence against the convicted murderer, Roy Smith, presented by many witnesses who testified at the trial; and ii) Junger never reveals that Smith's conviction was upheld upon appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
Critics further maintain: a) the description of Smith's day in Belmont omits the complete testimony by the official of the state agency that sent Smith to clean the victim's home, and the certainty of the time that the children coming home from school saw Smith cross the street as he left the Goldberg home; b) Smith lied pertaining to his time of arrival and time of departure from the Goldberg home; and c) other evidence stated in the opinion proves that Smith lied about cleaning the house and other important matters.
Junger's book raises the possibility that Smith's conviction was founded on circumstantial evidence, and in part on racism, because the prosecution's narrative of Smith's day in Belmont was built on witnesses who remembered seeing Smith chiefly because he was a black man walking in a white neighborhood. Smith had cleaned the victim's house on the day in question and left a receipt (for his work) with his name on the victim's kitchen counter. There was no physical evidence, such as bruises or blood, linking Smith to the crime. In 1976, he was granted commutation of his life sentence; however, before his release, Smith died of lung cancer.
In his final analysis in A Death in Belmont, Junger can draw no conclusions about the guilt or innocence of Smith or DeSalvo. The victim's daughter has vigorously disputed Junger's suggestion that Smith might have been innocent.
. Massoud was assassinated on September 9, 2001. Junger's portrait of Massoud gives one insight into how differently Afghanistan might have fared in the post-9/11 invasion had Massoud lived to help reclaim the country from the Taliban. Fire also details the conflict diamond trade in Sierra Leone, genocide in Kosovo
and the hazards of fire-fighting in the Idaho wild.
, as director with photographer Tim Hetherington
. The two worked together in Afghanistan on assignment for Vanity Fair. Junger and Hetherington spent a year with one platoon in the Korengal Valley, which is billed as the deadliest valley in Afghanistan. They recorded video to document their experience, and this footage went on to form the basis for Restrepo. The title refers to the outpost where Junger was embedded, which was named after a combat medic, Pfc. Juan Restrepo, killed in action. As Junger explained, "It’s a completely apolitical film. We wanted to give viewers the experience of being in combat with soldiers, and so our cameras never leave their side. There are no interviews with generals; there is no moral or political analysis. It is a purely experiential film." Restrepo, which premiered on the opening night of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival
, won the grand jury prize for a domestic documentary. The actor David Hyde Pierce
presented the award in Park City, Utah. Junger self-financed the film. Restrepo was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
(2010), but also in Junger's best-selling book War (2010), which rewrites and expands upon his Vanity Fair dispatches. Time magazine
named War a "Top Ten Non-fiction Book" of 2010.
Restrepo (film)
Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British/American photojournalist Tim Hetherington....
, and his 2010 book War.
Background
Junger was born in Belmont, MassachusettsBelmont, Massachusetts
Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census.- History :Belmont was founded on March 18, 1859 by former citizens of, and land from the bordering towns of Watertown, to the south; Waltham, to the west; and Arlington, then...
, the son of Ellen Sinclair, a painter, and German-born Miguel Junger, a physicist. He grew up in the neighborhood of the Boston Strangler
Boston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
, which later inspired his 2006 book A Death in Belmont about the event. He graduated from Concord Academy
Concord Academy
Concord Academy is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory school for grades nine through twelve, located in Concord, Massachusetts...
in 1980 and received a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
in cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
in 1984.
In 1997, with the publication of his work, The Perfect Storm, he was touted as a new Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
, and helped usher a renewed interest in adventure non-fiction. He received a National Magazine Award
National Magazine Award
The National Magazine Awards are a series of US awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City...
in 2000 for "The Forensics of War," published in Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
, where he still works as a contributing editor. In early 2007 he reported from Nigeria on the subject of blood oil. With photographer Tim Hetherington
Tim Hetherington
Timothy Alistair Telemachus Hetherington was a British-American photojournalistwith work that "ranged from multi-screen installations, to fly-poster exhibitions, to handheld device downloads." He was best known for the documentary film Restrepo , which he co-directed with Sebastian Junger; the...
, Junger received the DuPont-Columbia Award
DuPont-Columbia Award
The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award is an American award that honors excellence in broadcast journalism. The awards, administered since 1968 by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, are considered a broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, another...
for broadcast journalism for his work on The Other War: Afghanistan, produced with ABC News and Vanity Fair, which appeared on Nightline
Nightline
Nightline, or ABC News Nightline is a late-night news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. It airs weeknights, usually for 31 minutes. Created by Roone Arledge, the program featured Ted Koppel as its main...
in September 2008.
His most recent book, War, revolves around Junger's time spent with a United States Army platoon in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. Junger, along with Hetherington, used material gathered in the Korengal Valley of Afghanistan for the book and to create a documentary feature Restrepo
Restrepo (film)
Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British/American photojournalist Tim Hetherington....
which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary - Feature and won the Grand Jury Prize for a domestic documentary at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
in 2010. On April 27, 2011 Junger was presented with the "Leadership in Entertainment Award" by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America , is an advocacy group dedicated to United States veterans of the War in Iraq and War in Afghanistan. The group claims to be the nation's first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars and has more than 200,000 Member Veterans...
(IAVA) for his work on Restrepo
Restrepo
-People:*José Manuel Restrepo, a Colombian political figure, botanist and historian*Carlos Eugenio Restrepo, a Colombian politician and lawyer*Laura Restrepo, a Colombian writer*Ximena Restrepo, Colombian athlete...
.
He lives with his wife Daniela in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he co-owns a bar called The Half-King.
The Perfect Storm
He found fame after writing the international bestseller The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea. Published in 1997, it recounts the tale of the October 1991 "perfect stormPerfect storm
A "perfect storm" is an expression that describes an event where a rare combination of circumstances will aggravate a situation drastically. The term is also used to describe an actual phemonenon that happens to occur in such a confluence, resulting in an event of unusual magnitude.-Origin:First ...
" (in fact, the general use of the term originates from this book), focusing on the loss of the Gloucester
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
fishing boat Andrea Gail
Andrea Gail
The F/V Andrea Gail was a commercial fishing vessel that was lost at sea with all hands during the "Perfect Storm" of 1991. The vessel and her six-man crew had been fishing the North Atlantic Ocean out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Her last reported position was northeast of Sable Island on...
off the coast of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and its six crew members, Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford, Alfred Pierre, David Sullivan, Bugsy Moran, and Dale Murphy. It was subsequently made into a film
The Perfect Storm (film)
The Perfect Storm is a 2000 dramatic disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen. It is an adaptation of the 1997 non-fiction book of the same title by Sebastian Junger about the crew of the Andrea Gail that got caught in the Perfect Storm of 1991. The film stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg,...
by Warner Brothers.
At the time of the storm, Junger was recovering from a wound to the left leg that he suffered when working as a tree trimmer in the Boston area. His chainsaw had torn into his leg.
He established The Perfect Storm Foundation to provide cultural and educational grants to children, nationally, whose parents make their living in the commercial fishing industry.
A Death in Belmont
A Death in Belmont centers on the rape-murder of Bessie Goldberg, committed during the 1962–1964 period of the Boston StranglerBoston Strangler
The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo, investigators of the case have since suggested the murders were not committed by one person.-First Stage...
crimes. Junger received the PEN/Winship
L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award
The L.L. Winship/ PEN New England Award is awarded annually by PEN New England to honor a New England author or book with a New England setting or subject. The award was established in 1975 by The Boston Globe in conjunction with PEN to honor the veteran Boston Globe editor Laurence L. Winship. It...
award for the book. Although a different man was convicted, Junger raises the possibility that the real killer was Albert DeSalvo
Albert DeSalvo
Albert Henry DeSalvo was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders, however, but for a series of rapes...
, who eventually confessed to committing several Strangler murders, but not Goldberg's. Goldberg's house was a mile and a quarter from the Junger family home, where Albert DeSalvo was doing construction work on the day Goldberg was killed. In fact, Junger stated in an interview that he grew up with a studio portrait of DeSalvo on his family's wall.
One day in 1962, before Junger was a year old, a photograph was taken. It shows Junger sitting on his mother's lap, and, standing behind them, two laborers who had just completed work on an extension to Junger's parents' house. Only two of the four subjects are looking directly at the camera: the baby and a stocky, smooth-haired man behind him, Albert DeSalvo.
Critics of the book have argued: i) Junger's story withholds the strong evidence against the convicted murderer, Roy Smith, presented by many witnesses who testified at the trial; and ii) Junger never reveals that Smith's conviction was upheld upon appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
Critics further maintain: a) the description of Smith's day in Belmont omits the complete testimony by the official of the state agency that sent Smith to clean the victim's home, and the certainty of the time that the children coming home from school saw Smith cross the street as he left the Goldberg home; b) Smith lied pertaining to his time of arrival and time of departure from the Goldberg home; and c) other evidence stated in the opinion proves that Smith lied about cleaning the house and other important matters.
Junger's book raises the possibility that Smith's conviction was founded on circumstantial evidence, and in part on racism, because the prosecution's narrative of Smith's day in Belmont was built on witnesses who remembered seeing Smith chiefly because he was a black man walking in a white neighborhood. Smith had cleaned the victim's house on the day in question and left a receipt (for his work) with his name on the victim's kitchen counter. There was no physical evidence, such as bruises or blood, linking Smith to the crime. In 1976, he was granted commutation of his life sentence; however, before his release, Smith died of lung cancer.
In his final analysis in A Death in Belmont, Junger can draw no conclusions about the guilt or innocence of Smith or DeSalvo. The victim's daughter has vigorously disputed Junger's suggestion that Smith might have been innocent.
Fire
Fire is a collection of articles dealing with dangerous regions of the world or dangerous occupations. It is most notable for its chapter "Lion in Winter" in which Junger interviews Afghan Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, the Lion of the Panjshir, a famed resistance fighter against first the Soviets and then the Taliban. Junger was one of the last Western journalists to interview Massoud in depth. The bulk of this interview was first published in March 2001 for National Geographic's Adventure Magazine, along with photographs by the renowned Iranian photographer Reza DeghatiReza Deghati
Reza Deghati, born 1952 in Tabriz, Iran is an Iranian-French photojournalist, who works under the name Reza .-Biography:Reza has covered much of the globe for National Geographic Magazine. Several films about Reza's work have been produced by National Geographic Television, most notably Frontline...
. Massoud was assassinated on September 9, 2001. Junger's portrait of Massoud gives one insight into how differently Afghanistan might have fared in the post-9/11 invasion had Massoud lived to help reclaim the country from the Taliban. Fire also details the conflict diamond trade in Sierra Leone, genocide in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and the hazards of fire-fighting in the Idaho wild.
Restrepo
In 2009 Junger made his first film, the documentary feature RestrepoRestrepo (film)
Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British/American photojournalist Tim Hetherington....
, as director with photographer Tim Hetherington
Tim Hetherington
Timothy Alistair Telemachus Hetherington was a British-American photojournalistwith work that "ranged from multi-screen installations, to fly-poster exhibitions, to handheld device downloads." He was best known for the documentary film Restrepo , which he co-directed with Sebastian Junger; the...
. The two worked together in Afghanistan on assignment for Vanity Fair. Junger and Hetherington spent a year with one platoon in the Korengal Valley, which is billed as the deadliest valley in Afghanistan. They recorded video to document their experience, and this footage went on to form the basis for Restrepo. The title refers to the outpost where Junger was embedded, which was named after a combat medic, Pfc. Juan Restrepo, killed in action. As Junger explained, "It’s a completely apolitical film. We wanted to give viewers the experience of being in combat with soldiers, and so our cameras never leave their side. There are no interviews with generals; there is no moral or political analysis. It is a purely experiential film." Restrepo, which premiered on the opening night of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
, won the grand jury prize for a domestic documentary. The actor David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce
David Hyde Pierce is an American actor and comedian best known for playing psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he received many accolades including four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.-Early life:Pierce, the youngest of four siblings,...
presented the award in Park City, Utah. Junger self-financed the film. Restrepo was nominated for the 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
War
The visits from June 2007 to June 2008 to eastern Afghanistan to the Korengal Valley with Tim Hetherington resulted not only in their reports and pictures published in Vanity Fair in 2008 and the film RestrepoRestrepo (film)
Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British/American photojournalist Tim Hetherington....
(2010), but also in Junger's best-selling book War (2010), which rewrites and expands upon his Vanity Fair dispatches. Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
named War a "Top Ten Non-fiction Book" of 2010.
External links
- SebastianJunger.com, author community site.
- Outside magazine, articles.
- Vanity Fair, articles.
- The Daily Show, Interview, May 11, 2010, on his book "War"
- http://ccragg123.libsyn.com/sebastian-junger-on-his-latest-work-war-and-restrepo-created-with-tim-hetherington Interview with Claudia Cragg KGNU on his book 'War'