Saturday, March 03, 2012

Outlaw Platoon:Book Review

Received a copy of Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell with John Bruning to review, and I must say this is one of the best books I've recently read. I highly recommend it!

The book pulls you immediately into the story of these  young men and their leader,Parnell, and I found myself turning pages late into the night for several nights, caught up in their stories as they faced so much day after day.

The vignettes Parnell and Bruning use of the interactions between the men to illustrate their differing personalities makes you quickly come to care about each of them, and also the platoon as a whole, just as Parnell did as he led them.

Parnell says in the beginning that "Stephen Ambrose had perpetuated a myth....that Band of Brothers thing?..was based on the fading and seductive memories of the Greatest Generation...there was 'truth wrapped up within' the myth...but the 'reality was far more nuanced and complex" and then his book goes on the present that reality in all it's complexity and nuances.

 I've seen a lot of reviews by military folks for this book, but as a civilian, what resonated more with me , was how this book so perfectly told the story of that reality.








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