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amarj33t_5ingh's review
5.0
My Share of the Task is an exceptionally candid and impressive autobiographical memoir rendered by General Stanley McChrystal as he reflects on his unique career in the United States Military. McChrystal's primary motive with this memoir is to underscore the impressive qualities of the men and women who life threw at him to mold him into an effective leader much like his soldier father before him.
McChrystal's humility is glaringly conspicuous from the first word. Rather than preen himself as some sole once-in-a-generation military leader (which he is), he bestows all credit upon his multiple mentors who guided him to success.
The true value of this book is two-pronged. For historians, McChrystal's lucid recollection of the more critical moments of Iraqi and Afghanistani theatres of battle post-9/11 backed up by substantive evidence makes this a memoir of considerable worth. An element augmented by the fact that McChrystal only adopts an opinionated stance on events in which he had a direct role but otherwise foregoes directly opinionated comments on the bigger picture.
The second valuable bedrock of this book is rooted on the fact that it provides valuable insight into the art of leadership from a true blue military perspective. We hear much of military leadership being valuable in the non-military world but McChrystal provides efficient advise as to how this can be done.
Overall, this book is easy to comprehend. Its beauty lies in the simplicity of its analysis. What's more, it is an established fact that the Obama administration made an immense gaffe by prematurely forcing McChrystal into resignation over a fallacious magazine article. Yet McChrystal betrays no reservations on this part and rather treats it like a natural event and offers no comment on the matter. This is not a sign of guilt but rather a symbol of true soldiery in which the soldier serves for the security of his nation and not for its politicians' whims.
McChrystal's humility is glaringly conspicuous from the first word. Rather than preen himself as some sole once-in-a-generation military leader (which he is), he bestows all credit upon his multiple mentors who guided him to success.
The true value of this book is two-pronged. For historians, McChrystal's lucid recollection of the more critical moments of Iraqi and Afghanistani theatres of battle post-9/11 backed up by substantive evidence makes this a memoir of considerable worth. An element augmented by the fact that McChrystal only adopts an opinionated stance on events in which he had a direct role but otherwise foregoes directly opinionated comments on the bigger picture.
The second valuable bedrock of this book is rooted on the fact that it provides valuable insight into the art of leadership from a true blue military perspective. We hear much of military leadership being valuable in the non-military world but McChrystal provides efficient advise as to how this can be done.
Overall, this book is easy to comprehend. Its beauty lies in the simplicity of its analysis. What's more, it is an established fact that the Obama administration made an immense gaffe by prematurely forcing McChrystal into resignation over a fallacious magazine article. Yet McChrystal betrays no reservations on this part and rather treats it like a natural event and offers no comment on the matter. This is not a sign of guilt but rather a symbol of true soldiery in which the soldier serves for the security of his nation and not for its politicians' whims.
petezilla's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book for the leadership observations and the insights into events that I remember. McChrystal treated everyone in the book extremely graciously - maybe a little too graciously. I would have enjoyed reading his 'real' observations on some of those he worked with - I thought he treated Karzai with especially sensitive kid gloves.
biblioholicbeth's review
5.0
An absolutely excellent read. Not a quick one by any means. But well worth the time invested.
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