A review by kklemaster
The Good Soldiers, by David Finkel

4.0

I think this is a must-read for every American, especially those who have family or friends serving in the military and who have been somehow touched by the war on terrorism since 9/11. This is such a heartbreaking and honest portrayal of the real price of war - like The Things They Carried, but more factual while still retaining that engaging storytelling aspect. I cried and laughed and kept reading because you realize sometimes that's all you can do, just keep going, like these soldiers do, these good soldiers who become great men despite all they've suffered and sacrificed. Obviously there is a lot of violence and explicit language, but there is also a sentimentality and an understanding that we are all in this together; there are parts where the men can find literally nothing pleasant about their post in the hot, empty, hateful desert, but there are also times when they act like brothers and say the most profound things and realize that sometimes there is such "goodness" (to steal a phrase from what might be considered the main character, Kauzlarich) in the Iraqis and indeed in the world. This has to be one of the best works of war literature ever written.