pickJust so good, and one of the infinite reasons why journalism, the media, and war reporters are needed and necessary. #LitsyAtoZ #LetterF
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The Forever War | 
pickJust so good, and one of the infinite reasons why journalism, the media, and war reporters are needed and necessary. #LitsyAtoZ #LetterF
bailedThis book suffers from the most grievous flaw, in my opinion, that a book can suffer. The eight deadly words, "I don't care what happens to these people."
And in my personal goals for this election season...that's six conflict books completed, three more to go. They may be dark, gritty, and more realism than I can stand at times, but they are conversations that shouldn't be hidden underground.
pickGreat book, from the view on the ground, starting in Afghanistan before & after 9/11 and then moving on to Iraq through the invasion & insurgencies. Wonderful writing & info., even if at times his stark and gritty stories were more real in their reality than I really wanted to read, still worth it.
The lies we tell ourselves are always the worst
The odd quote that makes you realize that something else you've read stuck with you in an odd way. The Major's occupation pre-Iraq wouldn't have caught my eye before, BUT after reading The Big Short earlier this year it jumped out at me. The author says good things, I immediately thought 'trouble'.
...and women like Wijdan al-Khuzai. The insurgents were brilliant at that. They could spot a fine mind or a tender soul wherever it might be, chase it down and kill it dead. The heart of a nation. The precision was astounding."
Describing the mentality of the Iraqi people when the country was opened up after the invasion, like dealing with a whole country of traumatized PTSD survivors.
Two bullets. And I paid for them. One hundred fifty dinars. And this man gave me a receipt. ‘Here is the receipt for the bullets used for the execution of your brother.‘” Iraq was filled with people like...They weren‘t survivors as much as they were leftovers.The ruined by-products of terrible times
And as long as I'm disclosing all of my goofy challenges that I've accepted or given myself this year. I'll also admit that being an election year here in the US, I also challenged myself to read a bunch of political books & books regarding current conflicts prior to November. Just an FYI. ;)
It may have taken me years to get back to this book, but as I'm reading about the rise of the Taliban and the battles after 9/11, guess what's in the news today...The Taliban.
And since this was written we've added another 10+ years....
So visually stark and gruesome all rolled into one. The author definitely has a way with words, unfortunately the underlying story and his reporting assignments, leave his comparisons, even about inanimate objects, tinged with dark analogies.
Life under the Taliban at an Afghan hotel, that used to have tourists from around the world, before the war(s). And this is the light stuff, the stories are overall so DARK. I'm having a hard time placing Malala and her book in this dark world...and yet knowing how her story turned out, I shouldn't.
I tried this one years ago as a book and drifted off to something else and never came back. It's been just sitting there unfinished for years, but now I borrowed it on audiobook, let's see if I can finish it now. Maybe...
