This detailed military memoir’s reasoned viewpoint makes for an engrossing read.
A Danish reconnaissance commander, in his debut, presents a thorough, you-are-there accounting of a five-week engagement with the Taliban, underlining the fact that the war on terror is a truly international effort.
In a straightforward, linear fashion, Johannesen relates his experiences as he and his men engaged in a series of skirmishes in the Afghanistan town of Musa Qala in the summer of 2006. At the time, he commanded the 1 Light Reconnaissance Squadron, which was trained as a mobile response group. However, upon arriving in Musa Qala to relieve a British contingent, they found themselves effectively hemmed in by the Taliban. Until they were relieved themselves by a British infantry unit, they were attacked on a daily basis, often multiple times per day. Throughout this account, Johannesen offers clear insight into his squadron’s role, his view of how they fit into the overall effort to defeat the Taliban, and how soldiers saw themselves during a mission that wasn’t always rigidly defined. Although the author expresses his feeling that the squadron didn’t achieve its primary objective of defeating the Taliban, he also expresses without hesitation his pride in his men and their performance, and he uses his knowledge of military operations to make clear that their work was not in vain. Readers accustomed to U.S. accounts of military operations may find the author’s evenhandedness and calm demeanor unusual at first. He shares his observations about working in Musa Qala with Afghan National Police officers and soldiers from different nations, and his ability to understand and explain contrasting viewpoints lends authority to his words.
This detailed military memoir’s reasoned viewpoint makes for an engrossing read.Pub Date: June 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-8793011243
Page Count: 284
Publisher: gopubli.sh
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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