Bookshelf: My War

Last night I finished Colby Buzzell's My War: Killing Time In Iraq. In case you didn't know, Buzzell was the US infrantry soldier stationed in Iraq who got in the limelight via his popular blog, CBFTW ("Colby Buzzell, Fuck The War"). The book details Buzzell's experience in the army, in Iraq and how it all went down with his blog.

Buzzell is a pretty good writer. A lesser author's recount of the whole army experience would likely be really very boring. If you've watched the same war movies as I have, you already know most of the cliched experiences he goes through. The guy himself is a walking cliche. However, this is precisely what makes the book interesting. It's not how exotic and memorable his story is, it's the other way around. The war isn't some epic story he has to tell: it's just day to day stuff, starring very casual people. It appears that the war doesn't even change him to any noticeable degree.

Recommended light reading.