I just read, in one afternoon, From Baghdad, With Love. I mentioned it when I first heard about it a couple of months ago as the story of a Marine Lt Col who managed to befriend a stray puppy in Fallujah and with a lot of help got him out of Iraq and back to California.
You will not believe this book.
I am going to write a lot more about it (I'm going to be screaming about it to everyone) but it is just flat out fantastic. It's a great dog story, so anyone who loves those type will love this. But it's also outstanding war writing - some of the best I have read when it comes to being honest and sarcastic and tender and frustrated and angry all at once. You can read this book and it will connect with you, whether you are a democrat or republican. Whether or not you agree with the war, you will enjoy this book. Whether or not you think we should stay or go, you will love this book.
Honestly, it is the one we should all be reading.
I read a few books a year that change my life - change the whole way I look at the world. Jay Koppelman was asked why in the middle of a war he took the time (and energy) to focus on one dog. And he didn't give the press the answer he wanted, but he says it all in this book. And in the end, more than anything, he says he did it because at least he could save something - at least he could save this dog.
War is hell, but at least he saved his dog Lava.
It might not seem like much perhaps but if you were a soldier on the line over there, if you were getting shot at everyday, if you were seeing it all and hearing it all and somehow having to process it all and still go home sane then saving something might make all the difference.
Hell - if we all saved something in our lives, something somewhere, then maybe we could collectively save the world.
This book made me hopeful today and I just saved a puppy from the pound. Give me a break - I'm feeling like maybe we have a chance for once.
