Week Twenty-Five Book Twenty-One--Ghosts of War

Let me start by saying I'm not a big fan of nonfiction. I'm also not a big fan of war books. That being said, I picked up Ghosts of War by Ryan Smithson this week, which is a nonfiction book about war.

Smithson was in high school on Sep 11, 2001. Amidst the widespread patriotism of the country that followed soon after, Smithson felt a responsibility to do something more, to make more of a difference. So he joined the reserves and waited his turn to serve overseas. That time came, and he served a year-long term in Iraq.


Smithson found literature and writing to be therapeutic, so he wrote this book after his time of service. I loved that he covered all aspects of the service--he wrote about his life before and after his time overseas, the action he faced in Iraq, the difficulties of basic training camp, and the irreplaceable brotherhood. I didn't find that I connected much with his army brothers--in fact, I had a hard time keeping them straight. And even though he provided a glossary for all the acronyms and abbreviations that the military uses, I still found them a little overwhelming to remember.


All in all, though, a great book if you like reading about soldiers and war.