Book report -"The Last True Story I will Ever Tell"

[underpants]

By John F. Crawford (Penguin)
An accidental soldier's account of the war in Iraq.

an overview-I can not emphasize how much I am encouraging you to read this book. Simply fantastic.


Crawford's writing style is that of a good southern story teller but with almost no accent no colloquialisms. He sets the scenes perfectly adding jokes as need and fore shadowing here and there but only in the grand scheme never to ruin the punchline. His punchlines are delivered near the end but always leave room for a little more observation and a last look around.

This book is not linear, no timeline. For that reason many people have compared it to Catch22 I can definitely see that. If you have ever served in the military or had a job around or akin to a massive bloated system like that you will love the shared experience. If you haven't you get to enter the bland but weird world that it is while constantly surrounded by death as we all are. The first chapter "Empty Breath" is classic humor in uniform type stuff.

This book makes you laugh, cry, get angry and all at once. Though Crawford mentions that he is/was against the war it is mostly in passing as he has much more important things on his mind at the time.

Some may not like the way Iraqis are referred to and seen but Crawford's unit as a whole seems to be very controlled and by the book while still being 1/2 civilians drawn back into the military and thrown into a war that none of them ever thought was possible.

Anyway-before I give away too much it is a great read. Short at 200 pages (small book) and you can give it to anyone on your shopping list.

This has to be the most representative cover I have ever seen.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?endeca=1&cds2Pid=771&isbn=157322314X

ON EDIT- I have to guess that in reading this and seeing "Gunner's Palace" you will get as best a day to day look at life in Iraq as you will find anywhere else.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. I read it last week

In its own way, it's quite devastating, but any story of a soldier's role in an invasion/war/occupation is always devastating. Norman Mailer and James Jones did that for us in the century just past.

I didn't quite understand the last chapter, though, I have to admit. It seems like his literary self took over his narrative self, and, somehow it got all tangled up for me.

I just ended up feeling even sorrier for the soldiers who have been hijacked into servitude in Iraq, and I fear - that's the word, all right - for what will happen to the ones who return.

Good for you, underpants, for introducing this book here. It is a remarkable piece of work.

[underpants]

3. I took the last chapter as being a cleaning out of his pockets

the dream part about telling his friends and answering the "million dollar question" I took as being his letting that TRUE story go without making a whole chapter about it. Basically I think he did kill someone but the rest of the book doesn't dwell on it and he certainly doesn't seem outwardly changed by it.

I don't know maybe he was Mr. Giggles before he went over there.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. That's just it

As a writer, I'm constantly reminded by my agent and publisher that it's not nice to fool the reader. So, when I ran into those disjointed and possibly fantastic tales at the end, I was sort of put out.

But, if he did it that way as a device, to illustrate the confusion and detachment he now feels, now that he's home and, obviously, couldn't cope with whatever his life here was, then it succeeded, in a cacophonous kind of way.

I just assumed he killed lots of people there. Maybe he didn't see all their faces, but I think that's a fair assumption of anyone in his situation.

I know I feel very, very sorry for him. For all of them.

[jonnyblitz]

2. I like 'Love my rifle more than you" by kayla williams much better.

john crawford seemed kinda freeperish to me. all the racist "haji" crap was annoying though I understand the mindset as I was in Desert Storm I, and it is common to demonize the "enemy". :shrug: i thought the book by kaya williams was much more interesting.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

4. That "mindset" to which you refer

is what scares me about the soldiers who will return home someday. What will they be? Their humanity is being horribly corrupted by this whole demonization of people with whom we never had a beef.

Why did you like the Williams book better? I'm curious.

Thanks.