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cseibs's review against another edition
4.0
Whoa was this tough. Finkel did the impossible and took an incomprehensible subject and presented it in an easy to grasp format. It is so difficult to convey what it is like to have PTSD or a TBI or what causes those conditions, and, while nothing will be truly accurate, this book has been the closest approximation that I have read. I have so much great appreciation for the trauma that soldiers and their families endure.
gofrisch's review against another edition
5.0
I originally rated this a 3. Not fair of me. Just hit close to home. Good narrative of what people go through.
larryerick's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book because I had been so very impressed by the "powerful narrative" of the author's previous book, The Good Soldiers, which covered American combat troops in the Middle East conflicts. This book follows combat troops home to the United States, now broken men, and the families in America dealing with them and with those who did not make it home. Frankly, this book should have been part of the first. The two narratives are inexplicably linked. Perhaps, readers could not have handled that much raw emotion in such a large dose. Neither book is something a reader can take in large gulps. Combined, they are devastating. Ironically, I finished this book on the day of the second important Fort Hood shooting. No matter what you may read or hear in the media about that recent event, you will not truly understand the dynamics until you have read this book -- or lived it for yourself.
aoosterwyk's review against another edition
4.0
War is a tragedy and a waste. All these soldiers and their families have been so damaged by their horrific experiences.
justinsim's review against another edition
4.0
“thank you for your service” David Finkel
Davids second book on the time he spent as a journalist in iraq, the first one earned him the pullitzer prize. A non-fiction narative that reads like fiction.on the “after war” the soldiers struggle with PTSD and readapting to real life. This was a hard book for me to read after experiencing one of my friends losing his battle with PTSD, and others struggle with physical and mental wounds from tours. If you dont understand the symptoms and gravity of the PTSD epidemic affecting service members and first responders around the world pick this up, it will break your heart, make you angry at the people around them , feel sorry for them, and realize just how bad we are at accepting and understanding people around us with mental illness. This book is a little more tame than the good soldiers and didnt hit me quite as hard but still excellent. Pick up one of his books ASAP you wont regret it.
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Davids second book on the time he spent as a journalist in iraq, the first one earned him the pullitzer prize. A non-fiction narative that reads like fiction.on the “after war” the soldiers struggle with PTSD and readapting to real life. This was a hard book for me to read after experiencing one of my friends losing his battle with PTSD, and others struggle with physical and mental wounds from tours. If you dont understand the symptoms and gravity of the PTSD epidemic affecting service members and first responders around the world pick this up, it will break your heart, make you angry at the people around them , feel sorry for them, and realize just how bad we are at accepting and understanding people around us with mental illness. This book is a little more tame than the good soldiers and didnt hit me quite as hard but still excellent. Pick up one of his books ASAP you wont regret it.
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calville's review against another edition
4.0
This book was, as you might expect, really depressing, but it was not unrelentingly bleak. I particularly appreciated the focus on the wives and girlfriends of the returning soldiers, who, unlike those soldiers, never signed up to be in constant fear for their safety and don't get any special combat pay for the violence they suffer. This is a really sad but really well-written and well-reported book.