Article, photographs and documentary video on Hasankeyf in the Financial Times Magazine, and on FT.com

Harbor seal harbors in Red Hook, Brooklyn

Iraq: must cultural heritage be a casualty of war?
Micah Garen
The UNESCO Courier, December 2006

Lebanon Photo Essay (coming soon)

The New York Times Video

In Southern Lebanon, Cluster Bombs Remain a Threat
In southern Lebanon, cluster bombs are the most serious threat facing the civilian population.
October 6, 2006
Reported and Produced by MICAH GAREN AND MARIE-HELENE CARLETON

The New York Times
New Concern Over Fate Of Iraqi Antiquities
September 9, 2006
By MICAH GAREN AND MARIE-HELENE CARLETON

AMERICAN HOSTAGE
A memoir of a journalist kidnapped in Iraq and the remarkable battle to win his release

Micah Garen and Marie-Helene Carleton
Simon and Schuster

Purchase AMERICAN HOSTAGE at a local bookstore near you or online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble

Reviews

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

--Evan Wright, author of Generation Kill

"An incredible tale told with intensity by two very lucky people."

--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Moving and suspenseful, this account of a journalist's ordeal as a captive in Iraq recounts the machinations behind a delicate hostage situation...Carleton details the effort's minute-by-minute reversals and its many risky decisions in crisp, straightforward prose that will soon have readers commiserating with her highs and lows. For his part, Garen recalls his fear, anger and confusion with clarity and immediacy, never demonizing his captors yet never condoning their acts. One of the book's great pleasures is the description of his friendship with his translator, Amir, an educated, secular Muslim. Even readers who followed the story in the newspapers will find much that is new since so many of the crucial negotiations happened off the front page. And with a romantic subplot humming through the tension, this story is made for the silver screen.."

--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Incredibly riveting"

-- Kathleen Dunn, Wisconsin Public Radio

"Garen's even-handed descriptions of his relationships with his Shiite captors and his interpreter, Amir, lend a richness to his story that makes it far more absorbing than standard media accounts"

--The Washington Post MediaMix

"What a great book"

--Chris Mathews, Hardball

"The authors' nuanced accounts of their psychological rollercoaster rides make their book consistently compelling."

--The Washington Post Book World

Calendar of lectures, readings and signings

Recent media appearances

NBC Nightly News April 1, 2006

NBC Today Show April 1, 2006

CBS News, The Early Show March 31,, 2006

CNN Larry King Live March 30, 2006

CNN March 30 2006

ABC News Nightline March 9, 2006

Tokyo Shimbun March 20 2006

The Abrams Report February 13, 2006

Johns Hopkins Magazine February, 2006

CBS Sunday Morning January 22, 2006

CNN Larry King Live January 20, 2006

Hardball with Chris Matthews January 20, 2006

Democracy Now January 20, 2006

Radio Interviews

Democracy Now, January 20, 2006

The Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC in New York City with Loenard Lopate, October 12, 2005

Here and Now, WBUR in Boston with Robin Young, October 24, 2005

Radio Times, WHYY in Philadelphia with Marty Moss-Coane, November 4, 2005

By Micah Garen
Published June 2, 2006

In late March, a team of Italian archaeologists working in Iraq led by Giovanni Pettinato and Silvia Chiodi announced the discovery of a foundation stone at Ur and 500 cuneiform tablets at Eridu. Pettinato's team reportedly removed the foundation stone and brought it to the Nasiriyah Museum with the help of the Italian forces, and authorization from a local judge. The finds, and subsequent removal, ignited a controversy in the archaeological community, since it is against international law to conduct excavations in an occupied country.
Link to article

By Micah Garen
Published December 21, 2005

As someone who was kidnapped in Iraq, subject to the trauma and humiliation of being paraded on television and threatened with execution in forty-eight hours if US forces did not withdraw from the embattled holy city of Najaf, I know first-hand the horrors of kidnapping and mental torture. I can say without reservation that the practice of kidnapping and torture should not be condoned under any circumstances by any country, or individuals, anywhere.
Link to essay

Archaeology Magazine
The War Within the War, In Southern Iraq specialized troops persue armed looters
July 2004
By Micah Garen

The New York Times
Saving Iraq's Archaeological Past from Thieves Remains and Uphill Battle
April 4, 2004
By Neela Banerjee and Micah Garen

Baghdad Bulletin
Too Little, Too Late
Looting continues at archaeological sites around Iraq
June 24, 2003
Article and photographs by Micah Garen

Images from hurricane Katrina and New Orleans.

Images from hurricane Rita and Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

Art imitates life imitates art. The political storm of Katrina takes on a new life on the Internet.

It started with Kanye West's improvised critique of George Bush at a televised benefit for victims of hurricane Katrina, during which he delivered, the simple message, "George Bush doesn't care about black people". That appearance inspired The Legendary K.O., a rap duo out of Houston, Texas, to create the song "George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" sampled from Kanye West's #1 hit single "Gold Digger". That song in turn inspired The Black Lantern to create a music video

that also included a sample from Wolf Blitzer's unfortunate on-air blunder, as he was describing the desperate situation in New Orleans, "they are so poor, and they are so black".

Kanye West's bold commentary has only increased his rising star, as attested by his frantic female fan base who waved their arms and yelled "Kanye" when he toured the Astrodome, housing four thousand evacuees from New Orleans. Trailing in his wake an hour later, no one seemed to notice, or even bother to greet the Hungarian Ambassador.

Kanye West's Torrent of Criticism, Live on NBC - The Washington Post

Lance Cpl. Troy Merrell, Echo Company, Second Battalion, 25th Marines, Shatrah, Iraq, June 22, 2003

New York Times Magazine, "What They Where Thinking"