No comments about Dead or Alive.

5 comments about Washington Rules: America's Path to Permanent War (American Empire Project).

1. Bacevich gives a well researched and thoughtful analysis of the juncture between military and political policy for the last 60+ years. As a mature adult I lived through this era and while I remember most of what he recalls vividly he puts the pieces of this history together in ways that make America's military industrial complex even scarier than I thought. Throw in the CIA's current misadventures and a war in Iraq where "contractors" are now replacing soldiers in uniform and you will see both the past and present in a very different light.



2. Bacevich's latest is a superb analysis of how Beltway interests, within the government and without, have captured and corrupted our republic. I couldn't put the book down (or, more accurately, turn it off, because I listened to it in the car). Bacevich is persuasive in his marshaling of evidence and argument, and also surprisingly affecting in his recounting of his development from a young man in a hurry to an older man on the path of what I would call wisdom. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a better understanding of the real nature of politics and power in America. Hint: it's not about Democrats vs Republicans.



3. A book that should be required reading for all high school civics classes, except that your state superintendent of schools would not allow it into the public school curriculum.
   The basic gist of Bacevich's book is that those who rule over us will continue to do so. "Although nonconformists always exists, they rarely matter..." (pp. 109-110.) Small details of the world affairs included such endeavors as the U.S. sanctions against Iraq that were said to have caused the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children. (p. 143.) Contrast this to the deaths of about 60,000 U.S. servicemen who perished in the Vietnamese conflict. And, consider how this affair could win the hearts and minds of that population.
   But, getting back to Washington rules- to quote State Department Secretary Albright: "The parties and personalities change, but the principles that guide our republic do not." (p. 144.)
   The complications of the Iraq invasion are explicated on page 204 and the real benefactors of Washington rules are cited on pages 228-230. For those to blame turn to page 241 and then look into the mirror. The preventive war, an even scarier concept actually employs force prior to the existence of the threat. (p. 239)
   To summarize: "This sorry spectacle of indiscipline has generated much finger-pointing by both Democrats and Republicans. In fact, the nation's headlong lunge toward insolvency has been a thoroughly bipartisan project..." (p. 246.)
   The main fault with the book is that it offers no real method of ethical reform.
   For more details into the machinations of our government, read "Armed Madhouse," by Greg Palast.



4. Read the AN OUTSTANDING ASSESSMENT review and then...consider that his informative message and arguments lead to the heart of the democratic process, one that is so frustrating but still the best the human race has so far conjured. "We the People" just don't get it; and he nails the "American mentality" in his last chapter, a stand-alone essay in itself that provides one the insight into how Rome imploded. Unless we THE PEOPLE learn to get it - and the odds are long - we're next. Books like this inform and inspire - yet the burden of making the necessary change happen appropriately falls on us. It has been every generation's burden - Bacevich, among other things. is convincing when he implies the next generation of Americans may not have the chance...



5. I highly recommend this book. It is concise, to the point and, pulls no punches in its critique of U.S. foreign policy, the CIA and the doctrine of military intervention since the end of World War II. A nice companion book to the author's previous THE LIMITS OF POWER.

5 comments about Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War.

1. I read this book, unabridged, on tape. The narrator was excellent.
   
   The book brought back memories to me of a troubled time. I was drafted at age 22 as a college graduate in November 1969 and served until November 1971. I lucked out and was assigned to Germany. Most of the kids that I went through basic with all ended up in Viet Nam. I think of them every once and awhile, wonder who made it back. We were all so young and so dumb and so unready to fight in the jungles of Viet Nam. Eight weeks training in basic and eight more in advanced infantry simply could not prepare you for what you were going to face.
   
   The book brought a lot of that back and I recognized some of the immature guys I knew in basic in the pages of this book. No one I knew looked or acted like John Wayne. The generals always use kids and they used a lot of them in Viet Nam. The book did a great job of depicting the atmosphere of the Army/Marines at that time.
   
   One minor point: The book never told the story that not all Marines were volunteers. By September 1969 the Marines were running short of men. I personally saw five guys get "volunteered" forcibly at my induction station. It was just a crappy time to be young and male in 1969.



2. This is one of the best books ever written by someone of my generation. While I was home reading about the escalation of the War in Vietnam, raising my children, there were boys who were a world away, fighting a war in a jungle that none of us knew about before, or understood the reasons why. The author has a wonderful way of expressing himself through the gift of his mind, his talent with the written word, and his experiences, not only in Vietnam, but in his life. His integrity and sensitivity comes through in the people he writes about. It is a must read for anyone who wants to know what was really going on during this time, in this place, and in our country. The Vietnam war had a profound impact on all of us who are of the author's generation, and he tells the truth in this acclaimed novel.



3. At the beginning of "Matterhorn", Marine Second Lieutenant (of Infantry) Waino Mellas, United States Marine Corps Reserve, arrives in Vietnam, straight out of The Basic School. He finds himself in Northern I Corps, Quang Tri Province, in triple canopy jungle and elephant grass, just south of the DMZ, a few klicks east of Laos.
   
   A boot brown bar with Bravo company, 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, Fifth Marine Division, Mellas assumes his role as the Platoon Commander of first Platoon. The first few days are awkward, and the tasks at hand are exhausting. "Matterhorn" is about what takes place during 2LT Mellas' first 90 days in country. Although no dates are mentioned, the bulk of "Matterhorn" seems to take place sometime around the late spring of 1969.
   
   The focus of the narrative is more on the young officers in Bravo and the battalion, with the enlisted men taking on more of a minor role. And while I found myself as a reader thinking that some physical feats of the Marines of Bravo Company as described by author Karl Marlantis seemed superhuman and farfetched, most are still fairly credible. And if I had to attribute that credibility to anything, it would be the youth of all the characters involved.
   
   The old man - Battalion Commander LTCOL Simpson - is thirty-nine years old. Fitch, Bravo's Commander, is twenty-three. The other 2LT's are also old men at twenty-two. The enlisted men, most Lance Corporals and PFC's are teenagers. E5's and E6's are a few years older. As young Marines, their physical stamina, at least by the Marlantis' standards, is awesome.
   
   However, Marlantis does take poetic license in places, Vancouver's M-60 as one example. Marlantis describes the Machine gun's barrel as a sawed off affair with a handle welded into the barrel, I guess so that the Marine can wield the weapon like some sort of fire hose. Which, incidentally, is something I'd like to see. How safe would it be to fire a weapon with a welded barrel, anyway?
   
   The inclusion of maps and a table of organization at the beginning of the book were very helpful, but even though Marlantis' descriptions were adequate, it was difficult for me to envision the height of Matterhorn and Helicopter hill. Linear distance was easier to pick up.
   
   My only real criticism of "Matterhorn" is that I would have hoped that Marlantis had at least made mention of the other S shops, namely, the S-2 and S-4, because they were also as operational as the S-3, the somewhat evil and highly political Major Blakely. The S-1 would be back in Quang Tri, so there would be almost no point in mentioning that. Also, wasn't there a recon element within the battalion - like a scout/sniper platoon?
   
   The bottom line is that Karl Marlantis does a wonderful job constructing narrative and dialogue. According to the press release included with my copy of this book, the original manuscript of "Matterhorn" was about 1600 pages, which if unedited, would have made the published version probably a couple hundred pages longer than the six hundred in the amazon vine advance copy that I received.
   
   In particular, I thought the dialogue, both communicated and self-directed, was great. I thought the author's ideas about combat versus politics and the operational effect of rapid radio communications was especially insightful.
   
   For an epic novel, "Matterhorn" is an excellent read for anyone interested in the Vietnam War, but I would be prepared to spend some time with it. Thumbs down on speed-reading or skimming, especially given the scope of the author's story and his attention to detail.
   
   Anyway, it's a great read.



4. Don't buy the hype. I'm in Chapter 9 and I'm ready to lay down my M-16 and surrender. The dialog is contrived, the narrative chokes on its own jargon, and it seems the writer took a how-to course on novel writing and can't lay off the active voice and punchy little adverbs.
   
   And all this would be bearable if only there was a story. Instead, we have a 600-page military travel log that plods from scene to scene loaded with extraneous, hackneyed Nam-speak. (Seriously, how much is the reader supposed to endure of, "Roger that, Bravo Six. Tell Big John Three we'll frag the 150 mm Howitzer cover so the medevac can sky out to battalion HQ with the 1st Infantry's regimental commander before the gook ambush didi's..." ?) Authentic? Yes. Engaging? Not even close.
   
   Add to that the interminable descriptions of the horrors of jungle combat, including the crotch rot, the animal attacks, the crotch rot, the profanity, the crotch rot, the racism, the crotch rot, the leeches, the crotch rot, the exhaustion, the crotch rot, the parts separated from their bodies, and, yes, more crotch rot.
   
   This book is every bit as tedious and protracted as the war it describes, but far more forgettable. If you're a fan of stories from military history magazines and comic books, you'll probably like this. But it is not a great novel.



5. God bless all the men who put a huge part of their lives into this war. The ones who lived and died! You all deserve a purple heart!! This novel was extremely hard to read at times due to the situations these young boys were put through. This story was a huge eye opener for me. I'm so grateful to have taken the time to read and learn right from the people who lived and fought in this painful war. Unbelievable! I don't want to say too much because I don't want to give any part of the story away except, everyone should read this book. It's a piece of history that none of us should ever forget and after reading this novel you never will! God Bless Karl Marlantes and all the men who fought in this war! As well as those who have fought in any war.

5 comments about Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.

1. A pretty good read. I finished it off quickly. This is the fourth Jon Krakauer book I've read and he maintains his reputation as an excellent storyteller and journalist. His descriptions of how Pat Tillman lived and died are thorough and eminently comprehensible; Krakauer excels at eliding complex matters into digestible and literary segments. Unlike his previous books, however, the story he tells here is far from original. I learned very little about the political drama of the military cover-up of Tillman's death that wasn't readily available through other sources. The tie-in to Jessica Lynch was fascinating, however, and I credit Krakauer a for contextualizing the phenomena of friendly-fire-response in an expansive manner.



2. I finished this latest by Krakauer with a great deal of perplexity. Having read all of his previous works I have the highest regard for his demonstrated literary competence. Upon perusing the other reviews ,it was apparent that I certainly was not alone.A highly unsatisfying read,plodding between a strangely unemotional almost comic book cariacture of Tillman,flat and lifeless portrayal of the combat actions and highly partisan polemic against the Bush administration,Rumsfeld,the military,conservatives and Republicans. Vacillating between a 3 and a 1,I opted for a 1 in perhaps futile protest of authors whose previous success brings entitlement to force their political spleen upon us. DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK,unless ,of course you are of the far left,antimilitary,democrat,an Obamanaut or anti conservative or Republican,in which case you will love your tired views reinforced.



3. I'll always enjoy the storytelling of Jon Krakauer-- but in this case there was too much of his liberal political agenda. To me, many of the facts were dubious or cherry picked to support his position. This is ironic given that a significant part of this book rants about using propaganda to obscure the facts and make a bogus case.
   
   Nonetheless, it is an interesting read about a fascinating person. 50% of the population (the left leaning) will love this book. The other 50% need to be prepared to wade through a cess pool of nonsense to pull out the gems in the story.



4. "Where Men Win Glory" is an ambitious, nuanced book about Pat Tillman, geopolitics and the disconnect between the propaganda and leadership of the military and the events on the ground. Krakauer should be applauded for his fearless field work and his research.
   
   There is one minor and one major problem with the book.
   
   The minor problem with the book is that it's most interesting passages are in the first half of the book and claim dominion over Pat Tillman's mother's account "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman". Although the first half of the book is a page turner, it is mostly about who and how Pat Tillman was raised and what motivated him in his youth and sports career. It is just creepy to this reader, that Krakauer, would try to explain Pat Tillman, better than his own mother.
   
   The major problem in the book comes after Pat Tillman leaves for his fateful Afghanistan mission. Krakauer does a great job of describing the idiotic ways the military uses artificial timelines by politically motivated commanders who are not in the field. He also describes the military as a frustrating system of length-in-the-corps meritocracy vs. the intelligence and skill based system in business and sports. Finally he succeeds in showing the reader the huge problems of execution using many different military corps.
   
   But once he sets all of this up, and with the reader inherently knowing the ending will be bad, but expending so much energy on why it will be bad, he leaves the reader to plow though the second half of the book on just military details.
   
   The books tries to be half biography/geopolitics/military high level analysis AND a detailed written account of warfare. Krakauer leaves his ability to be a great story teller in the first half of the book to be a great reporter in the second half of the book.
   
   If Krakauer would have blended both story telling and reporting throughout the book he would have better succeeded. Imagine "Band of Brothers" by Steven Ambrose describing the entire story of E Company and then a bland account of the great battles they participated in, without the same personalization, and you would have a book that does not totally succeed like "Where Men Win Glory".
   
   Despite that this book should be read. Besides its overarching macro context, it is a powerful and moving account of a special man who is atypical in this non-America's special generation. Pat Tillman, through his daily diaries and other peoples accounts, was a driven, emotional, home body who also was at peace with taking risks. He was also an avid reader of the classics, always was reading a book, and a driven student in college, who graduated with a G.P.A of 3.8. His writing skills in his daily diaries are more poetry than bland journaling. Especially poignant is his journaling on how he has to put up with kids five years younger with no education telling him what to do. Despite his frustration, he did not take the chance of early discharge to sign a big contract with Seattle (a place he and his wife Marie always wanted to live) after an uneventful tour in Iraq.
   
   The title of this review is five stars for Pat Tillman. But number of stars is not enough. Pat Tillman was a real American hero and his stubborn idealism was a "tragic virtue" wasted by a government and military with "tragic flaws".



5. There really is nothing exceptional about Pat Tillman. Like many other devoted and patriotic men and women who were outraged not just by the attack of 9/11, but also by the rise of a syndicate of criminals who would use any means necessary to kill innocents, to trade in the netherworld of drugs and arms smuggling, to launder money and extort bribes and infuse it all with religion and politics, taking advantage of those who either should have known better or were simply to dim and obedient to question authority. Of course, tick it just slightly and instead of the ragheads in the dessert, you're talking about Richard Cheney.
   
   In Tillman's case, he was an honourable man, a loving son and husband and someone with a bright future ahead of him, who did what he did because he felt in his heart that it was the right thing to do. Out of his sense of duty, he fought in a war he thought the workings of an Imperial Fool, and died in the war he set out to prosecute. He was the victim of gunshots from his own troops fired in a moment of extreme panic and under intense duress while carrying out an assignment that was simply stupid, given the circumstances they were in, and had to do more with enforcing obedience than in pursuing the very bad guys they were after.
   
   None of that makes Tillman exceptional. Thousands upon thousands of other men and women in these two conflicts, and hundreds of thousands in prior ones, have all suffered such an end leaving their loved ones devastated. A nation should try to be of some small comfort to these dear people left behind with a massive hole in their hearts, bleeding a slow death the rest of their lives.
   
   And that's where Pat's story becomes something else. This book is as much, if not more, about Pat's mother and wife and how they came to pursue the real villains in this story. Both women had an unnerving sense that they were being lied to from the beginning, and the beginning was Rumsfeld and Cheney deciding to make a poster boy of Pat. GI Joe. Sargeant York. You know, like those propaganda films you see at the multi-plex: Be all that you can be: dead as a doornail, exploited by your government, shattered and broken, if you're lucky to survive the idea that you've just killed people, or been blown half to bits.
   
   Marie Tillman wouldn't let it end there and in her dogged pursuit of the truth underscored the fact that the President of the United States is sworn to protect the country from enemies foreign and domestic. Problem here is, W is one of the enemies. There really is nothing exceptional about generating a myth about an individual soldier in order to inspire, and dupe, others. Speer and Goebbels did it all the time for the Third Reich. Lots of those men died in battle as well. There is also no "fog of war." There is certainly fear, absolute panic, complete loss of discipline in circumstances that are categorically frightening. But there is no fog. You shoot or get shot and sometimes both. Anything that moves. And that's what happened to Pat. Sent into a ravine to tow a humvee, of all the stupid things to save, aware that the Taliban had been tipped off, panic set in. Pat was hit at close range by someone who could clearly see that Pat was not Taliban, but the man paniced. More than likely, if he wasn't subsequently killed, he has received no counselling at all from the VA and wakes most nights in a cold sweat reliving what he did.
   
   Again, there's nothing exceptional about that. What is exceptional is the lengths that Cheney, Rumsfeld and W were willing to go to cover the tragedy up. What is also alarming is the man chosen to carry this out: Stanley MacChrystal. By the Army's own standards and criminal codes, what Cheney, Rumsfeld, W and Stan the Man did was criminal. Stan should have been court-martialed and sent to prison. He was awarded 2 more stars. When the Army's own CID investigated and determined beyond any reasonable doubt that what was done was ordered from the White House through the DOD Secretary directly to MacRollingStone, Cheney and Rumsfeld buried it. Nothing was done. Nothing.
   
   If you're Richard Nixon, you're rolling in your grave. Actively engaging in obstruction of justice is cause for impeachment. And prison. Marie Tillman got the goods on them and they told her clearly that there was nothing she could do. They owned the game.
   
   The "fog of war".... America has been in a fog for a while now. I figure since Reagan. A fog about who pulls the strings, a fog about who stands on their necks, a fog about the deadly mixture of religion and politics, a fog about who the government is beholden to. Along comes two women who simply loved their husband and son, and they blow the fog away. Hog tied by two wars it can ill afford, crippled by deals that gave the financial integrity of the country and the manufacturing heart to criminal oligarchies like China and Russia, duped into bailing out the very perpetrators of their financial collapse, America is a country that ought to be able to see, especially because it is now on its knees, what needs to be done, but like Einstein's definition of insanity, it keeps trying the same thing over and over, convinced a new dawn is just on the horizon. It isn't. And won't be until stories like this are no longer written. And it rids itself first of enemies domestic, before it tackles those on foreign shores.

5 comments about 61 Hours (Jack Reacher, No. 14).

1. I'll start by saying I've been a big fan of the series. But this is the worst of the bunch. Obvious plot twists & a lack of action make this novel fairly boring. If you're a fan of the series I'd skip this one unless you're desperate for an average to below average read.
   
   SEMI-SPOILER:
   And on a different note Reacher saves no one in this book. In fact his actions probably cause more to die. That might be fine for other types of stories but that's not appropriate or enjoyable in this type of series.



2. what's going on, l.c.? are you crazy or what? this kind of writing will only make you a worse and worse writer and didn't you find out by yourself yet that your writing has become more and more pretentious, less and less readable? why you put so many deadbeat and meaningless numbers, figures, directions, positions, locations, calculations in a book? don't you ever get tired or you just become so addict to these crap?
   
   from the first sentence, on and on and on, those terrible time frames just started clicking and could never stop. the sentences and paragraphs were just way too hollow and too pretentious to read on. when you can stop stacking up your words and sentences? because your poor and bad writing habit just remind me of a book that i've read long time ago by another foreign writer:
   
   "the crescent moon is curved in shape;
   the sword is also curved in shape;
   why the sword is curved in shape?
   because it's a sabre! so it is curved in shape!"
   
   your writing is exactly in this kind of format, always turning around in circle, either stacking up or twisted around with so many turns, but those words are just so hollow and so meaningless. you put everybody in your book thinking like you so abnormally. people on a train, in the train station, on the road, and jack reacher, the poor guy who you created, is just the same. his reasoning, his logic, his every movement....are just some calculated figures. there's no end in sight in every direction.
   
   give it a rest, will you? just give us some straightforward writing, storyline, no gimmicky stacking up sentences again.
   
   61 hours before, then 5 minutes less, then
   the lawyer...
   the prisoner...
   the lawyer....
   the prisoner....
   
   the door in the glass
   the door in the wall
   the prison guard....another prison guard...
   
   the lawyer...
   the prisoner.....
   
   10 minutes away from ....
   15 miles south of.....
   9 blocks to the......
   
   STOP IT!!! JUST STOP IT!!!!



3. I love Lee Child and have read all of his books, but this storu is slow and bland. Not his best work.



4. As I was reading one of my favorite authors, Lee Child's recent books, "61 Hours," something was nagging me. Then I remembered his debut novel, "Killing Floor," and was surprised by the many plot similarities between the two books.
   
   In both books, Reacher is helping the overwhelmed police department of a small town. In "Killing Floor the action is in Margrove, Georgia. In "61 Hours," the setting is Bolton, South Dakota.
   
   Both stories have only two members of the police department helping Reacher. In "Killing Floor," it is Capt. Finley, (the second in command) and Officer Roscoe. In "61 Hours," it is Chief Holland and Andrew Peterson, second in command.
   
   Both stories have Reacher calling the Washington D.C. area for background assistance. In the first novel, it is Reacher's brother's division in the Treasury Department. In the current novel, he calls the Commanding Officer of an elite military group in Rock Creek, Va., a group that Reacher once commanded.
   
   There are deadlines that play an important part in both novels. In "Killing Floor," the case must be solved by the next Sunday, when the Coast Guard is scheduled to relax its surveillance . In "61 Hours," there is an event that is scheduled to happen in that time and the reader understands that someone will have to do something to stop an event from happening before then.
   
   In both novels, the town benefited from an outside source and that led to the relaxed atmosphere that enabled the situation to develop. In "Killing Floor," a wealthy corporateowner has purchased town property and contrubuted vast amounts to the local businesses. In "61 Hours" a correctional facility is built on town land and the town gets jobs and taxes but has had to make consessions to get the facility built there.
   
   In "Killing Floor," Reacher is saving the family of Paul Hubble. In "61 Hours," there is a witness, Janet Slater, a retired librarian, who witnessed a drug deal involving a higher up in the drug gang. She must be protected so nothing can happen to her and she gets to testify.
   
   I enjoyed both novels but feel that "Killing Floor" was far superior due to its originality. It is always fun to read of Reacher's exploits, his courage, strength and compassion. However, the similarities in plots bothered me.
   
   Lee Child is still one of the best story tellers and thriller writers in fiction.



5. This contains some spoilers, so don't read the review if you are going to read the book, and if you do, don't blame me.
   
   The bad guy in this book is supposed to be hidden. And Reacher is supposed to be smart. He is protecting a witness against the bad guy -- a flunky of the ultimate bad guy named Plato from Mexico -- but has no idea who the bad guy is. This is rather pathetic, because there are a lot of clues, very obvious ones, and I figured out who this was about 250 pages before Reacher did. OK, I do smirk at myself in the mirror when I find I am smarter than this so-called genius at crime solving who can tell what motel room in what city a Ft. Hood terrorist is staying at without ever having met the guy. I couldn't figure out the motel room. So how come Reacher can't come up with the name of the bad guy? Or why does he do stupid things the bad guy suggests so as to leave the witness he is protecting unprotected? Geez.
   
   Also there is a "cliff hanger" ending. Really. You don't know whether Reacher is dead or alive (told you -- spoiler -- don't blame me, you read this far). My guess is alive because there is another book coming out and it would be difficult to have a Reacher novel without him. Kind of like the Clouseau movies that came out after Peter Sellers died.
   
   It's readable, if not believable. It's hard to believe that the feds would require an entire city police force to abandon its job of protecting a city in order to surround a federal prison. I mean someone has to stay home and mind the store, and most towns wouldn't just rely on some guy drifting through town to provide security when the cops are away. If a bank robber hears that prison siren and sees all the cops leave it's an early Christmas for him.

5 comments about WAR.

1. I broke my own rules and bought the overpriced Kindle version on this one. It got great reviews, and the documentary trailer from footage shot the same time hooked me.
   
   I read this while deployed to Iraq on a very cushy base, and every time I got into the book and then had to drag myself out of it to work, it felt like I was stepping into different worlds. My experiences in the combat zone were so far from these guys' that it was astounding. Junger really draws you into the world, and while sometimes his writing style (the punctuation and lack of transitional words) would get on my nerves, for the most part he does a fantastic job of conveying the mood of the situation.
   
   What I really love about this book is how it makes you feel like you're there. I think it really ought to be read by all the legislators voting on our adventures in the Middle East, by peace activists, and they type of peace activist who thinks soldiers are bad people. You get the feeling that these are extraordinary soldiers, but that's the interesting part: they're not. They're probably average soldiers put in an extraordinary position. Quite frankly, it does explain why so many combat troops have a hard time when they come home and why men bond so much with people they fought next to.
   
   My one wish is that Junger had been able to follow up longer as the soldiers transitioned from their Afghanistan tour to more peaceful jobs, or civilian life. You get a taste of that, but not much, and I think it is a subject that needs the same kind of illumination as the rest of the book gave to the wartime experiences.



2. A perfect cluster&#*%, the effect war has on soldiers. But it's also one of the most meaningful times of existence for the men involved. For one, "it's insanely exciting" (p. 144), as Junger reports while avoiding even a hint of any gratuitous treatment. In one firefight, where a platoon was ambushed, men caught fire from every direction, ripping up the soil and rocks around them, making it impossible to find cover. Yet in the months after they return to the US, the men can't wait to get back to where their life mattered most, "the most clear and purposeful time" of their lives (p. 234).
   
   Then there's the hilarity, like when a new commanding officer asks for questions, and one soldier says, "Ever seen the movie Blood in Blood Out, sir?" (p. 158). The men then jumped the officer and pummeled him with a traditional beating, delivered when men came in, left, and on birthdays. One soldier earns a rep for wildly random and oddly sexual attacks, so that "the guys moved around in pairs" to be ready for the next jump (p. 225).
   
   Throughout there's a single overarching value that everyone espouses, that of team regard over being out for yourself (p. 120). In a fight, if a guy thinks only of his own good, and drops and hides, say--it could mean the death of his comrades, even under only a minor threat. But if the platoon works as a team, it can mean everyone lives, even under the direst of challenges.
   
   Also awe-inspiring is the combination of physical endurance and mental stress these men endure. Many carry at least 75 pounds of ammo and gear, scampering up steep rocky mountainsides in intense heat. Eventually their camo smells of ammonia, because they've burned their body fat and begun to burn muscle.
   
   All the stories and feelings, from the way the let down after ending an engagement wreaks havoc on the souls involved, to the intense brotherhood and love the men experience for each other, remained memorable for me weeks after reading them. I cried at end, as I can only imagine happens to those touched by these harrowing experiences.



3. This book is raw and bare in it's writing, subjects and "story".
   
   Sporting a generic title and cover art, I had skipped past "War" repeatedly in recommended lists. However, this book is anything but generic. It is a personal, dark and written in language so Spartan and exhausted, it really puts you in the headspace of what American infantry are going through in parts of Afghanistan.
   
   I cannot recommend it enough to readers who are sick of editorial pieces that pass for non-fiction these days.



4. This book deserves all the high praise it receives.
   
   But first, what this book is not.
   
   It is not a history of Afghanistan, a discussion of high level policy, or even a history of the US war in Afghanistan. The author, Sebastian Junger, followed a company of US soldiers around during several embeds over a year deployment. Junger spent a significant amount of time with the soldiers, going out on missions and living with them at their remote outpost on the Afghan-Pakistan border. He describes the travails the soldiers experience, including firefights, and describes how the soldiers experience the death of their comrades.
   
   The high points of the book are the descriptions of how the soldiers deal with casualties and how they survive life on the outpost. On the former, repressed feelings in combination with strength in numbers and no time to contemplate the death of a friend and fellow soldier allow the soldiers to persevere, at least while deployed. The latter requires the soldiers to adapt to the constant threat of attack from a well armed enemy.
   
   This is a fantastic book that should be required reading for anyone who dies not know what combat soldiers exposed to constant threat are going through. I highly recommend this book.



5. "And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life." -- 1 Kings 15:6 (NKJV)
   
   Sebastian Junger's War is the most chilling nonfiction book I've read about 21st Century war. Whether you favor or oppose American military involvement in Afghanistan, you need to read this book to understand the nature of what violence is being waged there.
   
   The combat units that Mr. Junger describes are in essence sitting ducks, located deep in "enemy" territory where a single sniper located higher up in the hills can wreak havoc on the military outposts. Once an engagement starts, the Americans can bring in overwhelming fire power, but there's a delay before it arrives. In the meantime, the pinned down troops can blast away . . . probably not doing much damage but at least forcing others to keep their heads down. The effect is similar whether it's a local boy hired to fire a couple of shots for $5 and then take off or whether it's the beginning of a serious assault. Fear goes through the roof. Men die. Deep bonding occurs among the survivors. Combat teamwork improves. Gradually, it becomes a preferred way of life. That's probably the most surprising message of this book. Terrifying combat becomes something to be sought out for its highs.
   
   Mr. Junger balances a riveting tale with many valuable perspectives on how frightening it is, crossing the accustomed barrier into being someone who kills, and the deep love that develops among comrades.
   
   It's a lot to ask of anyone to serve in such perilous conditions. It's more than doing your duty and risking your life. It's taking on a life that you may not be able to put down, even if you survive.
   
   Thank God for the brave warriors who have taken up these seemingly overwhelming duties so we can be safer. The next time you see someone in an armed forces uniform, be sure to thank them for their service and ask about what they have been doing in a caring way.

5 comments about The Book Thief.

1. I usually start my book reviews by writing a story overview to give you a glimpse of what the book is about. And I could do that for this book too ...
   
   "This is the story novel of a 9-year-old girl named Liesel Meminger who lives with her adoptive parents in World War II Germany in the working-class town of Molching. Given up by her mother to protect her safety, Liesel loses her younger brother on the train ride to Molching. (At his burial, she steals her first book, The Grave Diggers Handbook.) As she grows up on Himmel Street, we get to know Liesel and her accordion-playing adoptive father Hans Hubermann; her stern (but secretly loving) adoptive mother Rosa; her best friend Rudy; the depressed but kind Mayor's Wife (who passively encourages and abets Liesel's continuing book theft); and the sad but strong Jewish refugee Max (who is hidden in the Hubermann's basement). Set against the backdrop of World War II, we experience the war from Liesel's point of view--from forced participation in the Hitler Youth, to the stress of sheltering a Jew in your basement, to the importance of seeming to support the Nazis and Hitler when you're doing everything you can to subvert their atrocities while not being noticed."
   
   ...but I don't really want to do that. Why? Because giving a summary of this book doesn't convey to you what makes this book so incredibly powerful, amazing, gripping and poetic. It makes the book seem somewhat ordinary when it is anything but. For this is an extraordinary book.
   
   What makes it so extraordinary? The narrator. Our narrator, you see, is Death. (Yes ... Death. Like the Grim Reaper.) And, as you might expect, Death doesn't come at a story in the same way as you or I.
   
   EXCERPT: I could introduce myself properly, but it's not really necessary. You will know me well enough and soon enough, depending on a diverse range of variables. It suffices to say that at some point in time, I will be standing over you, as genially as possible. Your soul will be in my arms. A color will be perched on my shoulder. I will carry you gently away.
   
   Death is tired. Death needs a distraction. A vacation. Which is why he notices colors. To Death, Rudy isn't just a boy. He is the lemon-haired boy. Hans Hubermann isn't just a man. He is the silver-eyed man (whose eyes begin to rust at his death). But Death notices Liesel ... and something about her catches his notice. As Death says:
   
   EXCERPT: It's the story of one of those perpetual survivors--an expert at being left behind. It's just a small story really, about, among other things:
   
   * A girl
   * Some words
   * An accordionist
   * Some fanatical Germans
   * A Jewish fist fighter
   * And quite a lot of thievery
   
   I saw the book thief three times.
   
   From the very first page until the very last, I was completely enchanted by this book. I loved Death's narration ... his bolded, centered asides, his sly sense of humor, his use of imagery and colors, his way of listing the events in the upcoming chapters, his advice for meeting him, the gentle way he holds a soul in his arms. For me, Zusak's choice of narrator and the way he tells the story elevates this book from "another World War II novel" to a shimmering, dazzling prism of light that reflects our humanness back to us.
   
   If you can't tell already, I loved this book. Loved it. When you read a lot of books, you're always hoping for one that will surprise you, tell you a story in a unique way, or open your eyes to what a writer can do with words. For me, The Book Thief was one of those books. Upon starting it, I immediately regretted that I hadn't read it sooner. What if Death had come for me before I got to read it? Then it became a book that I didn't want to end. Although it is 576 pages, I found something to love and linger over on each page. And although I'm not a person who likes to reread books, I know I will revisit this one again.
   
   So, if you haven't read it yet, don't delay. It is a wondrous book--brimming with love and dazzling in its inventiveness and words. Perfection.
   
   A Brief Aside: For some reason, this book is always classified as a Young Adult novel, which I feel might turn off some readers. Do not let this label fool you into thinking there is anything simplistic about this book. If this is YA book, then it is the pinnacle of the genre. In my mind, I don't see it needing to be labeled as such, and I fear that such a label might keep some readers away from it. Don't make that mistake!



2. There have been so many good reviews of this book. Just wanted to add mine as I loved this book. Can't really understand the young reader tag tho?? A great story but the writing style is the thing that grabs you. Should be used in any writing class as an example of perfection.



3. I've been reading a lot of the reviews for this book and I've noticed a recurring theme with most of them. Some have been saying that this is not a book that teens would enjoy, but I'm here to let you know that that is nowhere near the truth. Now I will admit that I am an old teenager (19 years old) and that I mostly read mangas (Japanese comics) but although I still love Japanese comics, I'm looking for more novels to read, because I've miss them so much from my days as an avid reader. The Book Thief is a beautiful work of art amidst the vampire phase spurred by Meyer's Twilight series *gags* that I can't seem to escape in bookstores (seriously there's vampire crap EVERYWHERE, and quite frankly I'm sick of looking at it), Marcus Zusak has fired up my desire to read regular books. I'm now constantly on the look-out for more and more great novels like this one and I will be reading more of Zusak's work. I highly suggest any adults out there with teens to let them have a go at this book.



4. I went to Indigo three years ago looking for the new edition of Lolita. My mother who was with stumbled into the YA section and picked this book up for me and said it sounded interesting. I bought it, but I didn't think much of it for the past three years. But last summer when I literally had nothing to read, I read this book after two previous attempts.
   
   I devoured this book in one day.
   
   *SPOILERS INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW*
   
   There is not enough praise in the world I could give this book. Yes, I had read books about the Holocaust previously, but this book will stand out to me forever. Mr. Zusak's writing style is so captivating and distinct that no one but him could ever write like that. Sure, he breaks the cardinal rule of "show don't tell" but he does it in such a quirky way you really don't care and can't help but enjoy it.
   
   There isn't too much action in this book (if you want action go turn on Transformers) but ever scene was written beautifully and masterfully crafted. Although much of the book is about Liesel learning to read and her relationship with Hans, and Rosa, and Max, and Rudy, the Holocaust was elegantly woven throughout the entire book. Even if Liesel is playing soccer or reading or having fun, you still sense the gloom and the mood of the war.
   
   Even though Mr. Zusak's writing is superb, the real gems of this novel (tarnished however, in the best way possible of course) are the characters--each one his or her own individual and equally unique and realistic. Liesel was such a relatable character to me, because she acted like a normal 9 year-old girl at the start and 10, 11, and 12 year-old as the book progressed. She struggled to fit in, and she was, not to mention, illiterate. How she overcomes those struggles is what makes her such a wonderful character. Max was fantastic and you couldn't help but dread his fate, Rudy was lovable and you couldn't help but bawl when he died, Hans was the dad you wished you had, Rosa was an animated character that you couldn't help but secretly love.
   
   But the most interesting character, perhaps, was the narrator: Death itself. No, we did not get a back story to Death (how could we ever?), but Death was so quirky and witty he was a character, too!
   
   The book provided an interesting point of view from a German girl's perspective. This is a book that can be life altering--it really and truly opened my eyes. The ending was probably one of the saddest, most bittersweet ones I have read in quite some times. I cried for nearly ten minutes and then re-read the ending again. You will laugh at Rudy's witty remarks as well as Liesel's snarky comebacks. Your heart will melt when you read about Hans and Max. You will feel Rosa's pain. Most of all, you will experience all of this through Death's perspective.
   
   One of the best books I have read in a while. Perhaps I am overrating his book like crazy, but in my eyes, it deserves it all.
   
   Overall Grade: A++++++(Haha, no I'm just kidding....) A+
   5 out of 5 stars (If only there was a 6 option.
   
   Similar books include: The boy in the striped pajamas, Milkweed, and Hunger Journeys.



5. Although this book already has 917 reviews as I write, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to add my name to the list of lovers of this powerful book. I had a little trouble getting into it at first. After about 85 pages I called the friend who recommended it to ask why she loved it so much. She told me to persevere and I will be greatly rewarded. So rarely do I have tears in my eyes while reading. There are many well written powerful books on the market with heart wrenching tales to tell but this book does it so well without being maudlin and manipulative. It is a very special piece of literature.

5 comments about The Things They Carried.

1. As a Vietnam veteran, this book provided the most realistic and poignant remembrance of the war -- not the combat, but the unique and intense relationships created while in-country and the internal thoughts, fears, and comic reliefs unique to this experience. So very well written.



2. if you believe that truth is a mixture of hard facts and individual perceptions. In one of O'Brien's stories, "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong," fictional Tim O'Brien says that he could never trust the tales of his friend Rat Kiley because he blurred the lines of fiction and reality. But in war, the atrocities can feel unreal. In The Things They Carried, O'Brien masterfully weaves the more technical aspects of war with heartbreaking anecdotes about his comrades. A wonderful, quick read, O'Brien created the pinnacle of wartime memoirs.



3. I am impressed by the writing style of the author.
   This book is not just a veteran diary as many others you may read, this is a real literary masterpiece. The ability of the author to analyze the human soul is incredible and moving. Many times you will stop reading and spend time and thoughts considering how true the considerations he made are. The tales are not told following a chronological pattern, but are more similar to a series of snapshots casually laid on a table, only at the end of the book you have a clear overall image, even though still not complete.
   Please read it because this book is magnificent.



4. Superbly written, raw and disgustingly graphic. If you have a strong stomach for graphic violence, particularly for torturing animals then go for it. If not, pass. I wish I had.



5. As the son of a Vietnam veteran, I have always had a profound interest in the war--starting as a child who religiously watched "China Beach" before progressing into a young adult who sought to learn more via documentaries and nonfiction books such as Halberstam's "The Best and the Brightest."
   
   Not an "historical fiction" buff like many lovers of the genre, I limit my selections to books that have weathered time and emerged as standard-bearers of the period/event of which they encompass. Examples: "The Killer Angels"; "Catch-22"; "All Quiet on the Western Front"; "The Pillars of the Earth"; to name a few.
   
   "The Things They Carried" is constructed in a very different manner--a collection of short narratives--and is intended to educate the reader more about the atmosphere of the War among the soldiers rather than the War itself.
   
   If you understand this going in, then you will be satisfied with your decision to take on the novel.

No comments about The Cobra.

5 comments about The Malacca Conspiracy.

1. The novel itself isn't bad. But I object to the fact that this book contains strong good-against-evil evangelical christian overtones that portray muslims as all being evil people who want to bring down America and all christians along with it. In fairness, the book was offered at no cost on Amazon. So why complain? Because I would not have downloaded it if the description portrayed it for what it is. I perceive the free offering as a way of furthering a message.
   If a book is geared toward christians, the description should state such. The book starts out okay. Then the praying and bible quotes start. It's christian-american military versus muslims. Hey, I have no quarrel with religious people - as long as they do not push it on me, harm others in the name of their god, or perpetuate lies.
   I am not a kumbaya liberal. I am not a pascifist. But I recognize this book for what it is: one that wants to further the idea that non-christians, specifically muslims, are all bad.
   Amazon - you should clearly categorize this book for what it is.



2. This book seems to be an attempt at a christianized Tom Clancy book, but it the flat characters, ham-handed religious elements, and military details that are simply wrong result in a weak result.
   
   The religious elements of the book are obnoxious. Every single good guy is a christian, and prays at some point or another. Almost every single bad guy is a muslim, but the author makes an exception for the ACLU and a token Massachusetts democrat.
   
   Being a military thriller, the plot is the most important part of the story, and the main plot is decent. It starts out strongly with an interesting conspiracy, which plays out at a decent pace, on the other hand, there are virtually no plot twists at all. There's also a financial sub-plot in the book, which at first seems important, but halfway through the book it is dropped entirely, unresolved, with what seemed to be a main character (the first character introduced in Chapter 1) simply never getting another mention.
   
   The military details of the book are poorly researched. A seal hostage rescue team takes the main character (a JAG officer) along on a mission; they're described as shooting "machine guns"; a helicopter pilot chooses to climb way up and perform a risky autorotation landing rather than just setting an injured helicopter down; a predator drone takes out a vehicle with "surface to ground" missiles; a pilot uses HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation) missiles to take out a building.
   
   Every character in the book, from the heroes to the villains is a flat 2-d caricature. The bad guys are invariably described as ugly, the good guys as chiseled, and the characters remain these same flat stereotypes from the first page to the last one.
   
   The intended audience of this book might be american christian conservatives, but even they are unlikely to find the book satisfying. The unresolved secondary plot, boring stereotyped characters, and glaring military mistakes are just too much.



3. I read Don Brown's military thriller, Defiance, and that was superb, but Malacca Conspiracy tops even it! The action in this thriller is nonstop and brethtaking, and the author's sense of right-and-wrong, and black-and-white is refreshing. Better than Clancy even for these reasons, and much faster moving!



4. This purveror of Christian tripe has snuck another one out by offering a freebie.
   
   Its hard to add to the other negative reviews coming before me, all of which I agree wholeheartedly.
   
   The only positive thing can say is the story moves along quickly. That is until some nausea inducing scripture or invocation of Jesus and/or God brings things to a sreeching halt.
   
   Suspend all logic and belief when starting since there are so many inaccuracies and plotline holes to contend with that you will be left shaking your head.
   
   And that ending! Yuk! I have never read anything so trite and predictable.



5. Malacca Conspiracy is hands down the best military thriller I've read. I've read some of Don Brown's other books and they are great, but with the non stop action here, and the clear cut differences between black and white, Malacca Conspiracy is greater than great! Highly recommended!