Letters from the Front Lines: Iraq and Afghanistan

by Stuart Franklin Platt

Book Overview

Presents an account of the lives and experiences of Americans at War in Iraq and Afghanistan. This collection of letters, e-mails and blogs aims to preserve the day-to-day lives and observations of a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1894694481
• ISBN13: 9781894694483
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Granville Island
• Length: 305 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Highly recommended.

Rear Admiral Stuart Franklin Platt presents Letters From The Front Lines: Iraq and Afghanistan, a compendium of first-person testimonies of servicepeople that gives an up-close and personal perspective of what is really happening in Iraq and Afghanistan day to day. In a modern era where email and online blogging is fast supplanting the serviceman's handwritten letter, Letters From The Front Lines preserves a piece of history and tradition even as it reveals the harsh conditions under which men and women risk their lives for the sake of their country. Highly recommended.

Understanding those who serve.

Letters from the Front Lines is a compilation of war letters, e-mails, and blogs from soldiers, sailors, marines, and even one civilian mom. Although there are other letter-type books, this one is valuable because each chapter is comprised of one person's letters, e-mails, or blogs from one person's perspective of the war and the events that play out in a combat zone. The book is neither pro nor anti-war; it's simply what it is. In fairness, I should say that my e-mails make up Chapter 3. I won't review my own chapter and as far as I know, none of the contributors will receive any financial returns from the book. Yes, I do hold a bias; however, I wanted to share my thoughts on the impact of the other contributors and the book as a whole. Letters from the Front Lines is a valuable read for anybody trying to understand war from the perspective of those who fight it. Letters come from low-ranking enlisted and high-ranking brass alike. E-mails and blogs start early in the "war on terror" and span well past the first Iraq election. Some letters cover detailed political thoughts while others talk about the food and dust storms. Many letters carry a hint of missing life back home, but all understand the importance of service and duty. Not every author is for the war and not everybody is against it. These un-edited letters share the raw emotion found in war, even if they don't share the war itself. Many different perspectives are shared. Brian Baldrate writes about the same time I was there. He had little hesitation sharing things that may have scared his family back home. I, on the other hand, found it far easier to write about non-war items to let my family know I was safe but not frighten them at the same time. Officers write about the larger perspectives of war while the enlisted, those in the trenches, often talk about duty. I loved most of this book because as a veteran myself, I could relate to the emotion shared in Letters from the Front Lines. People still ask me about war. My recommendation is that they read this book. Contributors include SGT Chris McCarthy USMC (Chapter 1: The View From Here), CPT Brian Baldrate US Army (Chapter 2: Law and Order), SSG Bryan Catherman US Army (Chapter 3: The Other Side of the Sandbox), SGT Chris Missick US Army (Chapter 4: A Line in the Sand), CPT John Upperman Texas National Guard (Chapter 5: Who's Your Baghdaddy?), SGT David S. Bateman USMC (Chapter 6 Devil Dog), LTC Dan Hokanson National Security Fellow at Harvard University (Chapter 7: Citizen Soldiers), Karey Keel-Stidham Marine Mother (Chapter 8: Devil Dogma), MAJ Eric Rydbom US Army (Chapter 9: Letters to America), Vice Admiral J.D. McCarthy and CPT Kurt Kunkel USN (Chapter 10: The View From Here), Rear Admiral Robert Conway Jr. USN (Chapter 11: Transformation- Part One), Brigadier General Mike Regner USMC (Chapter 12: Transformation- Part Two), and Major General Kevin Kuklok USMC (Chapter 13: Eight Months in the Palace).