One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer

It's very difficult to rate this book, as I approached it after I've watched the “Generation Kill” series and read dozens of fanfiction that relied heavily on Fick's account of his tour in Iraq. Because of that, I found the first part of it much more interesting - it was new information for me and as I tend to loose motivation to read when I know the way the story ends, so it happened this time. Getting through this book took me, I think, about a year; precisely because I knew the Iraq part of the story so well. But enough about me being a lousy reader.

The book itself is a very detailed and emotionally equipped account, a personal and private story. Fick's perspective as an LT - being somewhere in the middle of it all with a certain amount of authority and imput in decission-making process, but not enough to avoid frustration and negativity - is what I found the most fascinating and worth focusing on.

Another point worth making is that Fick is not afraid to spell out his views on war - that it's not glorious nor romantic and it should never be treated that way.