LitPick Review
For many people, war is an experience that is far away from their daily living, yet it plays an intrinsic role in the lives of all humans. The book War Is... seeks to bring the issues surrounding war to the reader. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is short piece that deal with people's opinions on war, including newspaper articles, song lyrics, and interviews. The second part deals with different soldiers' experiences, ranging from soldiers in World War I to the Iraq War. The third part examines soldiers' experiences when they return from a war. The different pieces are all short, are written in many different forms (blog, short story, play, interview) and are by many different authors.
Opinion:
Anyone who wants to know more about war or people's experiences in war should read this book. It is geared to young adults who, I think, would benefit the most from the book's selections, but the book is accessible to anyone. It is very difficult to find an unbiased view on the subject of war. However, this book did a wonderful job of balancing diverse opinions on matters, especially since the editors of the book held very different personal views on war.
Most of the pieces in the book were very well combined. Overall, they were very interesting, and spoke about many different issues. Mostly the book focused on the Iraq War, which made it very relevant to the current times. I did feel that the letters from the soldier in World War I was out of place. This selection was a collection of personal letters from the editor's father, and I did not feel it was an appropriate choice. However, I felt all of the other selections were wonderful.
I would definitely recommend this book to any young adults who wish to understand more about the world around them.
