Extreme Ways (or, I'm so glad they kept the song)

[ariadnes_string]

Monday afternoon, when we were still exhausted from travel, the boys and I saw The Bourne Legacy, which we enjoyed very much, though I may have to go back and see it without small squirmy persons who I have to take to the bathroom during crucial character bits.

Comments

[ariadnes_string]

Ha! I have typed Recon Maries many times myself! And I completely agree about the fronting being an essential survival skill--they can't go around worrying about whether they're awesome or not in the midst of what they have to do.

You know, I couldn't help comparing Generation Kill to Karl Marlantes' What it Is Like to Go to War, which I read pretty recently, and which is at least as good a book about soldiers (better, imo, anyway), much rawer, in fact, than GK, and yet also very introspective. It's written with tremendous respect for what it means to be soldier/warrior, but Marlantes is harder on himself than Wright or any of the men in GK are

[ariadnes_string]

ugh, just walked out for coffee and saw this: monthly Army suicides reach all-time high in July. So sad. The USA today version of the story says that soldiers are being urged to pay attention to each others' feelings.

[destina]

Speaking of corrupt mayors, you're watching Boss, right? I am SO EXCITED for its return tonight!!! :D

[ariadnes_string]

I have not watched Boss! Sounds like I maybe should! *searches for the first season*

Have you seen any of Prisoners of War, the Israeli series that's streaming on Hulu? It's the thing that Homeland was adapted from, and pretty compelling (and quite different so far from Homeland).

[chemm80]

In 2012, I badly wanted something a bit more thoughtful and introspective about this war/war in general.If I recall, there's much more of this in Fick's book, particularly in the early sections, detailing his time in OCS. Fick also talks about why he felt he had to leave the Corps, even though he still admired what the Marines and Recon stood for, and the men who made them their lives/careers

[ariadnes_string]

Hmm. I started Fick's book, but got bogged down soon after the OCS parts. I know you and others really respect it, though, so maybe I should try again.

His perspective would certainly make a difference. Wright's embedded reporter perspective is wonderful for the immediacy and intimacy he has with the men's reaction to what they're doing. But you have to think he was constrained with what he could say to and about them, given that they were in the midst of putting their lives on the line.

I think you're right about Espera. I enjoyed his perspective, throughout, though, and really liked the lstory he tells Wright in the afterward, about thinking he'd seen one of the people he'd killed on the street in LA. I mean, I didn't like that that happened to him, but I'm really interested in what the aftermath was like for these guys.

[chemm80]

I started Fick's book, but got bogged down soon after the OCS parts.

That was the least interesting part of the book for me, although I understood why he wanted to tell that story. I was looking forward to the part detailing his Iraq tour, of course, but I actually found his account of his first cruise, what 9-11 was like for him and his subsequent experiences in Afghanistan much more compelling.

Wright's embedded reporter perspective is wonderful for the immediacy and intimacy he has with the men's reaction to what they're doing.

Agreed.

But you have to think he was constrained with what he could say to and about them, given that they were in the midst of putting their lives on the line. I think "perspective" is the key word here. Wright wasn't a combatant; he was an observer. One thing that impressed me about Fick's book (and all that background about his training, that I, like you, had to wade through) was how really well prepared he was for his command. Of course part of that is due to the fact that he's really just a