I don't like dramatizations. Why did I get this book even though it's a dramatization? Because it was free. But I still should have known better. 

DNF, but not rated. It's not the book's fault that I don't like dramatizations. 

Date Published: July 25, 2006

Format: Audiobook

Source: Library borrow

Date Read: April 10-12, 2019

Blurb:

This is the Story of The American Military Adventure in Iraq. The Heart of the story Fiasco has to tell, which has never been told before, is that of a Military occupation whose leaders failed to see a blooming insurgency for what it was and as a result lead their soldiers in such a way that the insurgency became inevitable.

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Review:

I was too tired to read and didn't want to listen to podcasts while playing Star Dew Valley, so I went searching my library's electronic audiobook selection. I had been meaning to get around to reading Fiasco, and an available copy was sitting there waiting for me. 

I can't recommend this book enough. It takes you through both the military planning and civil planning of the war (or as we have seen, the lack of planning), plus all the players using the media and political maneuvers to get popular opinion on their side. This is the beginning of the rise of ISIL/ISIS. Nobody comes out of this book a hero, but I never knew my depth of contempt and disgust for Power Point before I read this book. Even the successes (such as General Petraus' reaching out to the nomad elders and others in the community) were short lived. The book ends in December 2005, but there is a follow up called The Gamble (I am #3 in the que to borrow), which picks up in early 2006. 

I needed a short break from HB, so I picked up this audiobook. CDR Jadick did two turns as a military officer; first, he started as a Marine communications officer (which came in handy later on his is career), then he left for medical school, then returned to the Navy as a DO. He went on one less than exciting deployment to Liberia before getting the chance to go with the Marines into Fallujah, Iraq in 2004. Most of the book deals with his time in Iraq, however he does spend on chapter on the less than fateful deployment to Liberia. 

I liked his story and was really glad I saw the war from a medical officer's POV. There was less gung-ho toxic military culture and more brotherhood and duty. It did seem that Jadick was a true believer, at least at the beginning of the war, in the purpose and justification for the Iraq War. The memoirs were published in 2007, so the war was still going on, so I wonder if he is still true to the cause or if he moved his devotion to solely his fellow Marines and sailors. He came across as a very humble man, often crediting those around him for heroics or great ideas, especially his medical corpsmen.

A very good read.

You'd have to be living under a rock buried somewhere halfway down to the center of the earth in order not to be aware that in recent years our beautiful world has been shaken up by a number of crises the likes of which I, at least, have not experienced in my entire lifetime -- I can't remember any other time when I have so consistently felt the urge to put on blinders and wrap myself in a giant comfort blanket approximately 10 seconds after opening a newspaper (or its online edition), or 10 seconds into listening to the news.  Obviously playing ostrich has never done anybody any good, but God knows, it's getting hard not to succumb to the temptation. 

So what does a book lover do in order to keep her sanity, equip herself to separate fact from fiction (in news reporting, politics, and plenty of other places) and deal with rat catchers and fire mongers?  She turns to books, of course.

I've decided to build a "Freedom and Future" personal library, which will contain books which (1) have either deeply impacted my personal thinking or that I expect will come to do so in the future, or which (2) provide valuable food for thought in today's social and political debate, both nationally and internationally; be it based on a profound analysis of the issues at stake (as a matter of principle or long term), or because even though they may not be of lasting significance, they contain a thought-provoking contribution to the current debate (even if they were not written with that express purpose in mind -- e.g., books about historic persons or events or books by long-dead authors).  I'm not expecting to binge-read the books added to this library, but I'm looking to add them to the mix with a bit more focus than I've been doing of late.

In the past couple of days, I've trawled my own bookshelves for books to add to the library, but this is one area where, even more than anywhere else, I'm looking for suggestions -- I can already see that I'm at risk of falling back on my old standbys, and that's the last thing I want to do here.

So, tell me: What books have recently made you sit up -- or which are the books that you've come to turn to and trust for guidance and inspiration?

These can be fiction or nonfiction, and books from any or all types of genres (I only draw the line at splatter punk).  As the first part of my new library's title indicates, liberty and freedom rights are a focus, but I'm really looking for food for thought on all the issues that I think are going to determine the path human society will be taking (hence the "future" part); including, in no particular order:

* Liberty and freedom(s) (of opinion and press, movement, association, worship, the arts, etc.),

* Equal access to justice and judicial independence and impartiality,

* Equality and empowerment (gender / sexuality, race, etc.), and the plurality of society;

* Poverty / the increasing gap in the distribution of wealth,

* Education (general, political, etc.);

* Funding and freedom of research and science,

* Protection of the environment,

* Democratic institutions and processes and how to safeguard them,

* Xenophobia, war(mongering) and the preservation / restoration of peace,

* Persecution, migration, and internal displacement,

* Free trade and globalization,

* Technological advances,

* Ethics -- in all of the above areas.

I'm adding a few books to this post to give you a rough idea of what sort of things I've so far added to this library -- please take them as very approximate guidance only, though.  It can be something totally different ... really anything that's jogged your brain or made you reevaluate your perspective on any of the above issues.

Thanks in advance!

Halloween is coming and it times to get in the mood. I love a good scary or creepy story.  This book has 4 of them. They were more on the creepy side then scary but I as happy with the book. This is the 2nd book in a series. I am not real sure how many books are in the series.  I do have have books 2 through 5 so far. Each story in this book is written by a different person. The writers all have their own style of writing and you can that through this book.  I enjoyed all 4 stories. If I had to pick a favorite it would be the one by Lee Thomas. It is named The Facts in the Case of My Sister. My choice is not to say that their was anything wrong with the others I just liked it better. This is a short book and a quick read, but well worth it. 

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com to read and review.