Reviews

Fine missione by Phil Klay

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ilman002's review against another edition

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4.0

What this book does to the war in Iraq is what Tim O'Brien's The Things We Carried did for the war in Vietnam.

emmabeckman's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm glad I read this book for two reasons. First, for my friend who is a current US Marine, I hope I will be able to understand him a little better in the future because of these stories. Second, for any veteran whose experience I can now appreciate a little more. This book is like an open door to some of the mindset of the military and especially the Marines. Some of their tactics and methods are thing I cannot agree with, and a lot of that is based in the politics and bureaucratic elements of the military. But personal stories never fail to move a reader more than facts, so it is important to receive both sides of the story, which this book did for me. It is definitely deserving of the National Book Award.

shailydc's review against another edition

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1.0

Overall, I didn't enjoy reading Redeployment and none of the stories stood out to me. There was no change in tone or attitude among the different narrators; perhaps that was intentional but it made for a uninteresting read. Also, I understand that using a ton of acronyms gives a real view into the mind of a Marine, but couldn't the editors add in a glossary for those without a military background?

nooneyouknow's review against another edition

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5.0

Astonishingly good and illuminating. Felt like the book gave me the opportunity to pick up a horribly tangled knot and to pull on various strings to get a sense of what we're dealing with. Some stories stood out more than others, but each had something to contribute to the whole and not one of them was a throwaway. While this one is unlikely to go down as one of my favorite books of all time (despite the 5 stars), I'd nevertheless recommend it to anyone with a heart or a brain (which should cover just about everyone). Fairly certain I'll be thinking about this one for quite some time.