This book detailed the case of war crimes against a national hero.
I loved it as a powerful reminder of the difference between physical and moral courage. It is one thing to risk your life. It is another to do the right thing when that means risking rejection and character assassination.
I grew up thinking the measure of the man was physical prowess and courage. I changed my life, in large part, by shifting that measure to moral courage and personal ownership. I also found this book a powerful reminder of the complexity of people, the importance of self-awareness, and the benefit of recognizing the risks of ego.
With a Victoria Cross and Medal for Gallantry, Ben Roberts-Smith was the most highly decorated Australian soldier, the best of the best. When he returned to civilian life, he became a poster boy for a nation hungry for warrior heroes. He embodied the myth of the classic Anzac, seven-foot-tall and bulletproof. But as his public reputation continued to grow, inside the army rumours were circulating.
Gold Walkley Award winning journalist Chris Masters was the first to investigate the rumours of summary executions, bloodings and bullying, and began to examine more closely the man we wanted to hero-worship. When the stories…
I loved this book because it told such a human story of war and loss. For me, it was a reminder of how important it is to be able to confront hard truths and realities and not bury one’s head in the alluring sands of optimism.
I live by the principle of positivity, of the belief that the capacity to make things better is always there and lies in your own hands. Yet this doesn’t mean you shy away from grim realities and issues that must be addressed. Or that you don’t accept the dice role of luck in outcomes of life and death.
In January 2007, the young and optimistic soldiers of the 2-16, the American infantry battalion known as the Rangers, were sent to Iraq as part of the surge. Their job would be to patrol one of the most dangerous areas of Baghdad.
For fifteen months, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Finkel was with them, following them almost every grueling step of the way. The resulting account of that time, The Good Soldiers, is a searing, shattering portrait of the face of modern war. In telling the story of these soldiers, both the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also written…
Like all of his work, this book is laugh-out-loud funny. The situations that David Sedaris gets himself into and his oh-so-human responses connect on such a profound level.
So often, it feels like we are the only ones having such petty and self-centered perceptions. It is liberating to know that this is just the human experience.
It is also liberating to reflect on how I feel toward David reading about his life. I don’t judge him negatively or think less of him for his honesty and openness. The opposite is true. This is something I find comforting myself as someone who talks about my past and being a convicted murderer and drug addict.
What could be a more tempting Christmas gift than a compendium of David Sedaris's best stories, selected by the author himself? From a spectacular career spanning almost three decades, these stories have become modern classics and are now for the first time collected in one volume.
For more than twenty-five years, David Sedaris has been carving out a unique literary space, virtually creating his own genre. A Sedaris story may seem confessional, but is also highly attuned to the world outside. It opens our eyes to what is at absurd and moving about our daily existence. And it is almost…
This book chronicles the steps in Paul's road to redemption from prisoner to Doctor of Psychology, from a life of misery to one helping others strive to fulfill their potential and overcome the beliefs and circumstances that are holding them back.
