Until I saw a press release regarding Leatherneck Publishing, I hadn't realized that books written by combat veterans had become such an established genre in the book world. I knew, of course, of the mainstream books of that type that get national distribution and publicity but the idea of this being a publishing house specialty is new to me.
On Saturday, January 27th the City of San Diego Public Library honored two of Leatherneck Publishing's books published in 2006 and written by San Diego County local authors. They are "Street Fight In Iraq" by GySgt Patrick Tracy, USMC (now 1st Sgt) and "An Angel Rode My Wing" by Lt. Col. H. Neil Levin, USMC, ret....
"Street Fight in Iraq" is one of the most compelling chronicles of the Iraqi conflict and is a best seller in Marine Corps Association bookstores. The language is harsh, the writing brutally honest and the message clear. It's down and dirty and Marines love this book. "An Angel Rode My Wing" has all the elements of any great action novel -- from being shot down over North Vietnam and miraculously surviving, similar to a James Bond adventure, to mysterious and mystical occurrences in life.
Now I have to see what's on offer so that I can read some of these books.
I bought "Street Fight in Iraq" from the publisher's website in December. I have read the book twice since. First for entertainment and second as an eye opening learning experience. Once you get by the over colorful language and Marine jargon there is factual controversy and simple logic that makes it painfully clear what the hell is happening over there. I'm sure that those of us who think what's going on is wrong will take another look. I not only found this insightful and informative, but as they say "brutally honest" and worth every penny I spent buying it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation. I plan to get a copy of that particular book sometime soon. Honestly, I don't expect great literature from this type of book. I'm looking for a dose of reality that you don't get from movies or even from news clips.
ReplyDelete