Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780306819674)

When Lieutenant Matt Gallagher began his blog with the aim of keeping his family and friends apprised of his experiences, he didn't anticipate that it would resonate far beyond his intended audience. His subjects ranged from mission details to immortality, grim stories about Bon Jovi cassettes mistaken for IEDs, and the daily experiences of the Gravediggers-the code name for members of Gallagher's platoon. When the blog was shut down in June 2008 by the U.S. Army, there were more than twentyfive congressional inquiries regarding the matter as well as reports through the military grapevine that many high-ranking officials and officers at the Pentagon were disappointed that the blog had been ordered closed.Based on Gallagher's extraordinarily popular blog, Kaboom is "at turns hilarious, maddening, and terrifying," providing "raw and insightful snapshots of a conflict many Americans have lost interest in" (Washington Post). Like Anthony Swofford's Jarhead, Gallagher's Kaboom resonates with stoic detachment and timeless insight into a war that we are still trying to understand.

Author: Matt Gallagher
ISBN-10: 0306819678
ISBN-13: 9780306819674
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Language: English
Published: 04/12/2011
Pages: 336
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.87lbs
Size: 8.99h x 6.07w x 0.88d

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 01/01/2016 pg. 47