John Hou Hou থেকে Dobrojewo, Poland
I couldn't put this book down. Weisskopf, a journalist for Time Magazine, has fast-paced sound-bite style that kept my attention for the entire book. While covering a story in Iraq, Weisskopf lost his hand in a grenade explosion. His narrative covers his and his acquaintances' recoveries in Walter Reed's Ward 57. As the first civilian to be treated at Walter Reed, Weisskopf walks a thin line between friend and reporter while probing into the details of the events that led to his peers' amputations. This book is a great read no matter what your political leaning or your stance on the war. From my perspective as a young, educated, anti-war liberal it can sometimes feel impossible to identify with or understand the motivations and feelings of someone that enlists in the military. I think this book does a very good job of revealing the personalities of a few U.S. soldiers and making it easier to sympathize with them. It showed me that heroism is real, and it can be found in the actions of a soldier who fought in a war that I think wasn't worth waging.