The Unforgiving Minute by Craig Mullaney

“Get off my bus!”  screamed the cadet in charge.  “You’re not moving fast enough. Move it. Move it. Move it!”  We stampeded from the bus like a startled herd of wildebeest, clutching our small gym bags with white-knuckled grips.  As we poured into the hot July sunlight, chiseled senior cadet cadre aligned our crooked ranks.  

"Left, face."  

Forty eighteen-year-olds turned at different speeds toward white-starched cadet cadre.  We must have looked ridiculous--a ragtag collection of shorts, untucked T-shirts, and long hair.  

"Drop your bags."  

They landed on the pavement with a thud.  

"You will now begin the administrative portion of your processing.  Follow all instructions both quickly and quietly.  During this process you will pass water fountains.  You are authorized and encouraged to use them.  Do you understand?"  

I nodded my head with the others.  

"Pick up your bags." 

So begins Craig Mullaney's memoir about his four years at West Point and subsequent deployment to Afghanistan. Along the way, Mullaney studied Romantic poetry as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and trained as an Army Ranger.  This is not your typical soldier's story.   Mullaney is a talented writer who pays homage to the military while raising important questions about the course of military endeavors in the time he served in the Army.  

I loved this book and recommend it highly to all readers 14 and up.  I give it a solid A.  

If you like this book, you might also enjoy: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (the classic story of combat in World War I); The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.  

You may also enjoy looking at the author's excellent website: http://craigmmullaney.com/content/index.asp