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declaun's review against another edition
5.0
He wants to know why I chose to come back [to Fallujah]. “To see what it was like now, I guess.” He looks at me, perplexed. “It is just as you left it.”
Places and Names has been the best book I have ever read on people at war. The writing is elegant. It is smooth as silk but heavy as lead. It is a meditation on America’s experiences, perhaps sin, in Iraq. Ackerman is our guide as we venture together into the violence of the past that remains a constant present for Americans, Arabs, and Kurds who fought in Iraq. He takes us places with which most Americans are unconcerned and learn the names of people they will never meet. The reality is that every American has had an unwitting and profound impact on these places and the lives attached to each name in this book. For eight years, we brought only death and destruction to Iraq while setting into motion things that we did not foresee and things to come that we still cannot see. Places and Names is a carousel in a sense. It takes us on a journey in place as the world outside changes. It shows us things that have been, but like the cyclical path of a rider on a carousel, the things to come are predictable.
Places and Names has been the best book I have ever read on people at war. The writing is elegant. It is smooth as silk but heavy as lead. It is a meditation on America’s experiences, perhaps sin, in Iraq. Ackerman is our guide as we venture together into the violence of the past that remains a constant present for Americans, Arabs, and Kurds who fought in Iraq. He takes us places with which most Americans are unconcerned and learn the names of people they will never meet. The reality is that every American has had an unwitting and profound impact on these places and the lives attached to each name in this book. For eight years, we brought only death and destruction to Iraq while setting into motion things that we did not foresee and things to come that we still cannot see. Places and Names is a carousel in a sense. It takes us on a journey in place as the world outside changes. It shows us things that have been, but like the cyclical path of a rider on a carousel, the things to come are predictable.
vandorin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
This was a great book with a unique lens. Being both a journalist in the Middle East/Levant Region currently as well as serving as a Marine in that same region almost 2 decades prior provided views that are not typically captured in books on the war and region. The book follows him as he returns as a journalist and interacts with informants/ sources while providing flashbacks of his time during the Battle for Fallujah.
brainofj72's review against another edition
1.0
Dull and unremarkable combat memoir that apes Chris Hedges (mostly via haughty references to classic art/literature) while lacking his fiery, incisive moral clarity. Nothing to see here.
sandeda10's review against another edition
5.0
Incredible account of and return to battle areas in the gulf. The last chapter is one of the most intense set of passages that I have ever read.
Ackerman writes of courage and remeberance with first hand detail. When I finished it I gave thanks for what he and his friends and colleagues did for the rest of us.
Ackerman writes of courage and remeberance with first hand detail. When I finished it I gave thanks for what he and his friends and colleagues did for the rest of us.
8little_paws's review against another edition
5.0
Ackerman's writing is *the* writing to read to understand military life post 9/11. Outstanding and effective.
happiestwhenreading's review
I read and loved Waiting for Eden earlier this year, so I was excited to see what Ackerman had in store for his latest release. I got to about 45% and decided I'd read enough. It was good and so very different than his novel, but it just really isn't my type of book. It gives background information into the Syrian war, as well as the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He tells various soldiers' stories (both American and enemy soldiers). Honestly, it's a great book and I think it could make a great gift for a dad, husband, or brother who is interested in military and war-type books.
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