My War: Killing Time In Iraq
Okay. So I'm a bit behind on my book blogging: I've been doing so much reading!
My War: Killing Time In Iraq by Colby Buzzell is a hilarious, quirky inside look at reasons to join the Army, basic training and the War on Terror in Iraq. It plays out in stark contrast to what we see on TV and also demonstrates that even the armed forces are struggling over the phenomenon of the Internet and blogging just like civilian institutions.
Buzzell joined the Army just to do something, and his book revolves around his blog while chronicling his beginnings, middles and end, interspersed with lists of war movies to get the troops fired up, best mission play list and others. His sarcasm and wit is refreshing for what is essentially a war memoir. He prints up press releases, media rules, messages, emails, military instructions and antedotes that make you laugh and wonder why we're consider the greatest military in the world while at the same time applauding the men and women who put themselves in the line of fire day in and day out.
Parts of it are very serious and quite riveting, like when he talks about going out on missions, getting caught in a fire fight on the way through only to have to turn around and go through that same danger zone again. It brought up images of Black Hawk Down.
Thoughout the novel is the theme of blogging, technology and how it poses a problem even for the military. His blog is an excellent example of viral marketing, as people found it on accident, then sent the link to friends and co-workers who logged on and read it. There is an instance in the novel where Buzzell is at an Internet cafe, checking his email, and a glance at the soldier next to him reveals that the soldier is reading Buzzell's blog and doesn't know it's Buzzell's blog!
So if you're looking for an entertaining read on the most recent war, pick up My War: Killing Time In Iraq and you'll not only get an entertaining read, but also an unbiased insider's view about the War on Terror, Iraq and what life over there is really like.
Rating: G$_G$_G$_G
My War: Killing Time In Iraq by Colby Buzzell is a hilarious, quirky inside look at reasons to join the Army, basic training and the War on Terror in Iraq. It plays out in stark contrast to what we see on TV and also demonstrates that even the armed forces are struggling over the phenomenon of the Internet and blogging just like civilian institutions.
Buzzell joined the Army just to do something, and his book revolves around his blog while chronicling his beginnings, middles and end, interspersed with lists of war movies to get the troops fired up, best mission play list and others. His sarcasm and wit is refreshing for what is essentially a war memoir. He prints up press releases, media rules, messages, emails, military instructions and antedotes that make you laugh and wonder why we're consider the greatest military in the world while at the same time applauding the men and women who put themselves in the line of fire day in and day out.
Parts of it are very serious and quite riveting, like when he talks about going out on missions, getting caught in a fire fight on the way through only to have to turn around and go through that same danger zone again. It brought up images of Black Hawk Down.
Thoughout the novel is the theme of blogging, technology and how it poses a problem even for the military. His blog is an excellent example of viral marketing, as people found it on accident, then sent the link to friends and co-workers who logged on and read it. There is an instance in the novel where Buzzell is at an Internet cafe, checking his email, and a glance at the soldier next to him reveals that the soldier is reading Buzzell's blog and doesn't know it's Buzzell's blog!
So if you're looking for an entertaining read on the most recent war, pick up My War: Killing Time In Iraq and you'll not only get an entertaining read, but also an unbiased insider's view about the War on Terror, Iraq and what life over there is really like.
Rating: G$_G$_G$_G
posted by Gwynne at
5:59 PM
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