An interrogator questions himself. Veteran soldiers and Marines write first novels, including two thrillers. A PAO explains why public affairs sometimes misses the target. A Green Beret explains an early success story in Iraq, and an airborne commander reports from Afghanistan. Here are reviews of these books and others — including three about Vietnam.
"Consequence: A Memoir" by Eric Fair, Henry Holt, 256 pages, $26
All is fair game in this memoir by a soldier who ends up being an interrogator in Iraq.
All, including himself.
He's a kid who spends a school year "being sent to the guidance counselor's office for crying during class." He's a lifelong Presbyterian who becomes disgusted as his church moves from "care and protect" mode to one that will "condemn and accuse" gay worshippers. And he is a father whose "son is two days old when I hear my first call to suicide."
He leaves the Army in 2000 but after 9/11 and having been "born for this war," signs up to work with contractor CACI. In 2004 he has "never punched, kicked or slapped a detainee" but after he witnesses a co-worker's torturing a prisoner he realizes "I am as responsible for it as anyone else," and that "I'll spend the rest of my life covering my face."
He uncovers his facts two years later in two newspaper essays, and his stark and compelling book (due in April) shows how simple, precise words pack punch.
His initial acquiescence in the fist (CQ)of adversity is an indictment of himself, of a system and of an Army "that establishes rules, encourages soldiers to ignore them in the name of completing a mission, waits for a reckoning, and then cuts the soldiers off in the name of accountability." Fair is accountable, and readers will be awestruck.
For the other side of interrogation see the "Through My Valley" review below.
A Hard and Heavy Thing by Matthew J. Hefti
Photo Credit: Tyrus Books
"A Hard and Heavy Thing" by Matthew J. Hefti, Tyrus Books, 368 pages, $25
Levi has "never lived a day in his life" compared to military veterans such as his grandpa (World War II) and dad (Vietnam), and he and his band brother Nick meander through myopia with drugs. Then 9/11 happens.
"This is like, our generation's defining moment," and the two "drive to a recruiter's office to become part of the problem."
In the Army, Levi's "guts bubble" in combat. He learns there is no "simple choice between good and bad" and that "if anything was evil, it was the war itself."
Levi receives a Silver Star and Nick receives scars, and back home in Wisconsin Nick tells Levi he "steals oxygen from fires." Or, as Levi's father puts it, "you're selfish, arrogant and prideful."
If you don't mind less-than-likeable protagonists, this former soldier's first novel is distinctive in concept and structure including asides, a character with the author's name, and clever chapter titles such as this one about an award citation:
"If You Thought I Could Write, You Should See the US (CQ) Army Spin a Yarn"
Youngblood by Matt Gallagher
Photo Credit: Atria
"Youngblood" by Matt Gallagher, Atria, 354 pages, $26
The author edits short stories ("Fire and Forget," 2013) and participates in the writers group, Words After War. His 2010 memoir, "Kaboom," based on the blog he wrote until the Army stopped him, proves he can write nonfiction.
His first novel proves he can write book-length fiction, too.
ROTC-educated Army Lt. Jack Porter is the brother of a West Point graduate and is serving his country and his quest to "know idealism is something more than a word."
However, truth is confusing, especially when village characters include "sulky teenagers with self-designated nicknames and confusion over gender identity." When he considers that "our grandfathers had pushed back the onslaught of fascism," he wonders "just what the f--- were we doing?"
One thing he's trying to do is "leave Iraq having done one good thing." He finds an opportunity in a place where "using money as a weapon" is as common as enemies — perceived and real. Jack's not knowing who to trust, and when, intensifies and intrigues.
There are moments of grace, also. He destroys a stateside gift, something that "what ???had once led home" but "now led nowhere." And he trashes his belief he might be a killer.
"There was shame in that, certainly for a man in combat, for a leader at war. But there was also relief."
Selling War: A Critical Look at the Military's PR Machine by Steven J. Alvarez
Photo Credit: Steven J. Alvarez
"Selling War: A Critical Look at the Military's PR Machine" by Steven J. Alvarez, Potomac Books, 360 pages, $35
A former Army chief public affairs officer (PAO) learns from David Petraeus that the Iraq War "was one of perception and ideology, not territory or real estate," and his book tries to show why the military must change "the way it conducts its communications business," why PAOs "need to be assertive on the battlefield," and why Defense Information School must rethink its "preparing corporate-style communicators."
His makes his case constructively and self-critically, and he comes across as a friend of journalists and of the public's right to know.
The memoir and after-action review is worth reading by anyone trying to communicate, especially the Army, whose PAO staff "will continue to get leftovers from other career fields" unless the service changes standards. "Rank does not equal knowledge," he believes, "or experience in public affairs."
Overwatch: A Logan West Thriller by Matthew Betley
Photo Credit: Atria
"Overwatch: A Logan West Thriller" by Matthew Betley, Atria, 400 pages, $27
A fellow Marine calls him "Wild West," and this thriller novel — the title is accurate — shows why the former officer came home from Fallujah with a Navy Cross and a drinking problem.
Our hero is "independently wealthy," which is one reason he can pick up and go with the FBI from suburban Washington, D.C., to San Antonio to a "Mexican standoff" and back to Iraq in search of a terrorist (an American!) (Exclamation point is CQ)who, among other egregious acts, is responsible for West’s dog’s death.
If the global warrior (CQ)on terror returns, as implied, perhaps the writer will bring more good lines such as this urban-landscape critique by a villain:
"If Davy Crockett knew what the Alamo looked like today, he might've let Santa Anna have it."
Blood Stripe: The Susanna Marcasi Chronicles by Gina Maria DiNicolo
Photo Credit: St. John's Press
"Blood Stripe: The Susanna Marcasi Chronicles" by Gina Maria DiNicolo, St. John's Press, 324 pages, $12
In another thriller from another former officer of Marines, the plural "Chronicles" hints there'll be more about the journalist and amateur detective from Annapolis, Quantico and Capitol Hill, and this first novel indicates the author, with knowledge of the first two places, also knows how to maintain interest.
Our heroine, the title character, fights crime and corruption in the Marine Corps, in Congress and the French Quarter, and her path includes "bed sheets soaked in passion," a defense secretary who believes "the power in this country resides with me," and, redundant references to her waist-length mane (including one to her "main"). If future Chronicles demonstrate more care, readers might care more, too.
Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne Division, by Jimmy Blackmon.
Photo Credit: St. Martin's Press
"Pale Horse: Hunting Terrorists and Commanding Heroes with the 101st Airborne Division" by Jimmy Blackmon, St. Martin's Press, 384 pages, $28
Raised in Georgia "in a tribe of storytellers," the task-force commander narrates his take of Afghanistan battles "from an Army aviator's perspective." He interviews other soldiers — male and female — because he knows "the only way to know how a soldier is feeling" is "to ask, to spend time talking with him."
Similar assessments are as direct: "In the Army we often confuse rank and experience with innate talent." And his knack for narrative is obvious. When a soldier tells an Afghan woman he is at her isolated mountain house "at the request of your president, Hamid Karzai," her response illustrates what a nation and a war are up against.
"We have a president?" she asks.
Hammerhead Six: How the Green Berets Waged an Unconventional War Against the Taliban to Win in AfghanistanÕs Deadly Pech Valley by Capt. Ronald Fry, U.S. Special Forces
Photo Credit: Hachette
"Hammerhead Six: How the Green Berets Waged an Unconventional War Against the Taliban to Win in Afghanistan's Deadly Pech Valley" by Capt. Ronald Fry, U.S. Special Forces, with Tad Tuleja, Hachette, 400 pages, $28
The 18-word subtitle eliminates the need for a reviewer's synopsis. So, how's the book? Straightforward.
Unlike some other special operators, "Green Berets don't generally chronicle their adventures" but Fry wants to share lessons "with the next generation of unconventional warriors."
The former Mormon missionary says "in some ways we really were like missionaries," and he recognizes that "our adversaries were not the dumb-as-dirt ragheads of video game fame."
Aircraft Carriers: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Important Warships by Michael E. Haskew
Photo Credit: Zenith Press
Now he wonders why "generals, Pentagon staffers and policymakers" did not replicate his unit's press-worthy 2003 success.
If they had, "the American chapter of the Pech Valley story might have turned out differently."
"Aircraft Carriers: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Important Warships" by Michael E. Haskew, Zenith Press, 240 pages, $40
One of the first images in the coffee-table book shows a naval aviator piloting his "flying boat" from the deck of the USS North Carolina in 1915, a reminder of the military's quick recognition of the value of aviation at sea.
Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam by William Reeder Jr
Photo Credit: Naval Institute Press
Ignoring the dull title, readers can appreciate the black-and-white and color photographs,
vintage advertisements, unit patches and the layout of this visual history.
"Through the Valley: My Captivity in Vietnam" by William Reeder Jr., Naval Institute Press, 264 pages, $30
He wants to be there, "preserving the South against communist aggression and wanting to be in a tactical unit that's still in the fight."
Instead he survives a crash, lands in prison as a "criminal," and contracts malaria.
A Dusty Boot Soldier Remembers by retired Army Col. Larry A. Redmond
Photo Credit: Hellgate Press
His treatment and his memoir (due in April) document why any nation ought to treat an enemy POW — in this case an American — with dignity.
Why? For one reason, see the "Consequence" review, above.
"A Dusty Boot Soldier Remembers: 24 Years of Improbable but True Tales of Service with Uncle Sam's Army" by retired Army Col. Larry A. Redmond, Colonel, U.S. Army (ret.), Hellgate Press, 572 pages, $28
The Pershing Rifle cadet from Columbus, Ohio, reports for active duty in Columbus, Georgia, in 1962.
Fifty-four years later in "this epistle for my children" he reminisces in detail about Vietnam, valor and vast changes in who may serve, some to his dismay.
Darker Than Dark: A Story of the Vietnam War by John Admire
Photo Credit: Yorkshire
"Darker Than Dark: A Story of the Vietnam War" by John Admire, Yorkshire, 412 pages, $20
The retired general and Vietnam veteran's novel uses familiar dialogue among four teenage Marines as platforms to explore leadership and teamwork in a tour that culminates at Khe Sanh.
"We're the epitome of diversity," says Cpl. Dark Pale Thunder, but "in the cauldron of combat, we're becoming more than friends."
"The Gentlemen of Gloucester: A New Look at the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry" by G. Andrew Meschter, Agamemnon, 316 pages, $17
The Gentlemen of Gloucester: A New Look at the First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry by G. Andrew Meschter
Photo Credit: Agamemnon
The city of brotherly love's socially proper First Troop began in 1774 as a citizen militia and is credentialed as A-Troop/1-104th Cavalry of the Army National Guard.
This fond and personal history includes riding (the Guard wants none of the Troop's horses) and tradition (the Troop wants no part of the Army's "hooah").
"The Funny Thing About War" by Al Campo, Hellgate Press, 426 pages, $22
The author was aboard the USS Lawrence during two years "in the waning stages" of the Vietnam war, and "rather than write the book as an autobiography" he opts for fiction that might jog the memories of some of his fellow shipmates.
The Funny Thing About War by Al Campo
Photo Credit: Hellgate Press
J. Ford Huffman is a Military Times book reviewer.
