Phil Klay

The essays in the first half of the book kept my interest and attention and opened my eyes to new perspectives about the ongoing war in the Middle East. Many were a mix of hard-to-take grittiness and honesty and seen-it-before soldier life. I especially liked Prayer in the Furnace, which showed the meaningful and meaningless sides of being a chaplain under such brutal conditions.

The latter half of the book was populated with stories that were more about the issues facing returned vets. I know there are real issues here that need to be addressed, but maybe my patience for the stories had just worn out. I skimmed through these with little interest in them.

All-in-all a three star book. Four stars for the good stories in the first half. Two stars for the rest.… (more)

Reading this book the first year after I retired from the military put -- not only my service into a broad context but in a much broader sense how past generations made the same post-military live adjustments. Like the author Phil Klay, I spent a better part of career in military Public Affairs so relating to his writing style and substance was seamless. The last easy dated on August 25, 2021 was the day I prepared to go work with Afghan refugees arriving in the U.S. as the Talban took control of Afghanistan. Seeing the people arrive after days of travel and escaping their the only country they ever knew is still a challenging memory. It's the kids that suffer the most in any war, but I am also still coming to terms with the final section of the book that revolves around faith. This is something that most veterans, especially those deployed to combat spend a lifetime with.… (more)