date started: 5.6.2014
date completed: 5.17.201
thoughts:
this book was selected by the common book committee on my campus as our campus-wide common book for 2014-2015. that means that professors throughout the campus will adopt it in their classes, structure assignments around it, and that special events will be held all year long in relation to the book and its content.i was extremely skeptical about this book.
i'm not usually one for military-based narratives, so i wasn't initially thrilled with the selection, but i went ahead and adopted it and began reading.
while the writing isn't wonderful and can be a bit self-indulgent at times (the writer was in his 20s at the time, so, you know, kind of excusable i guess), the story is so compelling that it takes over.
about a man who, in the last year of his college career before heading into deployment as a marine, visited the kibera slum in kenya and founded a community development organization due to his experiences there, the book weaves the stories of kibera and the USMC together quite effectively.
the book delves into topics like ethnic conflict, war-time mentality, good v. evil, and personal growth and development.
this book contains a rich tapestry of life lessons, and i look forward to working it into my curriculum.
probable next read: the death cure by james dashner
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