Trial by Fire: A Woman Correspondent's Journey to the Frontline

In 1984, Barnes, facing a midlife crisis at 35, says good-bye to a stagnant marriage and a comfortable reporting job in upstate New York and steers for the world's danger zones. Armed with a small grubstake and a few connections, she marches off in search of the ``roots of violence'' and a new career as a freelance foreign correspondent. This intriguing, often gory first book, set primarily in the Philippines, offers a clear view of the barbaric conditions and events before and after the fall of Marcos. Marred by diversions into her love-life and flattery of peers, this chronological account charts Barnes's rise at ABC and, more important, depicts the slow reversal of her views on violence. (Nov.)