Twenty diverse pieces of fiction and nonfiction- essays, stories, interviews, a blog—by authors including Mark Twain, a Nagasaki survivor, a soldier in Iraq—that wrestle with the complexities of war. Bibliography.

Outstanding anthology! ( )

The realities of war are something that are difficult for those who are at home to understand. Using a variety of different points of view, the reasons for and thoughts about what war is and why it happens are addressed. The moral questions along with the practical and philosophical are addressed, but like many things are are few clear answers. Selected passages from this book could be really useful in a variety of high school level socials studies classes. ( )

Marc Aronson and Patty Campbell have selected firsthand accounts and letters and interviews that bring to life the stark realities of war. The end result neither glamorizes nor belittles the work of the men and women (often teenagers) who serve our country and couldn’t be more timely.

A few of the selections in this book really stood out to me. Having never considered the armed forces as a possible future for myself, I found that the “Letter to a Young Enlistee” by Christian Bauman really brought this decision making process into perspective. “In the Front Lines” by Ernie Pyle is a collection of a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist’s articles from the heart of the action in World War II and served as a powerful reminder of the many sacrifices made by my grandfather’s generation. C. W. Bowman Jr.’s “Memories of Vietnam” were written decades after he returned from fighting. Offering the wisdom that comes with hindsight, his tales of being under siege and running tunnels brought the conflict in Vietnam more to life for me in a few pages than many of the movies I’ve seen on the war.

For a look at the more recent conflict in Iraq, I highly recommend “Women at War: What It Is Like to Be a Female Soldier in Iraq,” a series of profiles of women soldiers who are a growing part of the military; “Wordsmiths at War,” a trio of insightful blog entries by a soldier; and “Killing Flies” a one-act play by Rita Williams-Garcia about the challenges of returning home after war.

http://tatalonline.blogspot.com/2011/04/arlington-reads-2011-war-is.html ( )

4Q, 4P
"...if we ask people to fight for us - as we always have an always will - we owe them the respect of listening to them. We have to honor their experience by paying attention to it, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us." p 9 (Marc Aronson, What I Believe About War) ( )