soldiers

We Rule the Night

By Claire Eliza Bartlett
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Anne G
May 31, 2023

We Rule the Night caught me completely off guard with its immersive fantasy historical fiction world and narrative of fierce women. People who like the concepts of living aircraft, military, wartime, and magic will enjoy this. There is also the idea of traitors thrown into the mix. This fighter-pilot fantasy is a bit more of a slow burn.  I wasn't sure how I would react to this wartime fantasy setting, but I love how Bartlett used it and the intensifying pace to point out the flaws both in her world and our real world. It still has action elements to it, but it also has women pilots training

Dunkirk (2017) DVD

By Christopher Nolan
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by Emily D.
Apr 27, 2018

The film Dunkirk tells a very important story. During the Second World War the British, French and other allied forces get surrounded at Dunkirk, a beach town in France. The limited Navy and Red-cross ships can't seem to make it back across the channel without being hit by German forces, and British fighter planes don't have the fuel capacity to be of much help. Overall, the situation is very grim. The British Navy commissions the use of any serviceable ship or boat to rescue the 300,000 some odd soldiers trapped at Dunkirk.

Now you are prepared to watch a movie that has virtually no

Pumpkinflowers

By Matti Friedman
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by Diane H.
Apr 1, 2017

There has never been a conflict-free time in Israel. The times between wars carry their own tensions, disputes, incidents and attacks. While there are numerous books about the larger wars and about the relationship between Israel and the Arabs who surround her, little has been written about Israel's presence in Southern Lebanon in the 1980's and '90's. Until now.

Matti Friedman draws from his own and other soldiers’ experiences when writing about Israel’s outposts in Southern Lebanon, in particular, the outpost known as the Pumpkin. These outposts were deemed necessary at the time to protect

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

By Kevin Powers
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Helen H.
Jul 29, 2013

I had to read this book twice to grasp its power. In its richness, it honestly deserves a third reading. The book jacket describes The Yellow Birds as "…the unforgettable story of two soldiers trying to stay alive." And it is that, but it’s also, and I would argue even more so, a cautionary tale.

Bartle, Murph, and even Seargent Sterling are still very young men when they are sent to Al Tafar, Iraq with the U.S. Army. Of the three, Sterling is the oldest at twenty four and has been to Al Tafar twice before. As a seasoned, higher-ranking soldier, Sterling pairs Bartle with Murph telling them,