Book cover of The Root: The Marines in Beirut

Book description

THE ROOT The Marines in Beirut August 1982-–February 1984 Eric Hammel. Facing northward out of a second-deck window, the lance corporal was hurled through the window and out into mid-air. He fell thirty feet to the ground and landed on his feet. He was not harmed until falling debris struck…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Root as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I started to love this book as soon as I realized I didn’t hate it. Initially, I thought Hammel had no point. He showed Marines doing this and that in Beirut. Sometimes they were hanging out, sometimes they were fighting. Then I realized Hammel had captured everything perfectly.

I didn’t understand what the Marines were doing in Beirut because they didn’t understand what they were doing there, and they didn’t understand what they were doing there because Washington didn’t know why it sent them there.

In that context, I grasped the tragedy of the deadly Beirut barracks bombing of Oct.…

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