The Forever War : A Ish's Cyber Wolf Den Rewiew

This weeks book review is on Joe Haldeman The Forever War

Here's the excerpt from the back of the book:
The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand - despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away.
A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite military unit, Private Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict;
to preform his duties without rancor and even rise up through the military ranks. Pvt. Mandella is willing to do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle becasuse, thanks to time dilation caused by space travel,
Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries.

This was a great book. It also falls inline with my current topic of Veteran-Americans or current and former mlitary and their families as a cultural minorities.
May have said this book was about unending war and never being able to go home again, but it is more than that. This book, through science fiction helps to illistrate the bonds military members form.
Also while exaggerated by time dilation, this book does a great job of describing what it like and the affects of being assigned to a remote or deployed away from your family and friends and why it can be hard to deal with for you and them during and when you return.
The ordeals cab be especially when the deployment or assignment ends and its time to come home. what are you coming home to? What life changing events may have happened to you or thm during this time?
People don't live in a vacuum, they change, you change, the experiences you and they have are completely different and sometimes unless you have been through similar experiences it is very difficult to express them.
You would be surprised how much people can change in as little as 3 to 6 months. For example I have a good friend missed a lot of his first child's memorable moments because he was deployed. I'm not saying that his deployed mission wasn't important or that it was a waste of time and he should have been home. Far from it.
The work assigned to the men and women in the military by our government is important. what I'm talking about here is the bonds of family and the sacrifices military families go through that few other groups of people do.

So this thanksgiving take a moment of your time, hug your loved ones and give thanks for the men and women at home and abroad searing in the military who take up the personal responsibility and make the sacrifices to ensure your can have a holiday season in this great country. And take just one more moment to think about the families of the men and women who are apart from their loved ones.

So while your out shopping the Black Friday sales pick up a copy of The Forever War for the sci-fi or military member of the family (then borrow it for your self it is a great read.) Also while your out at the Black Friday Sales pick up something small and donate it to toys for tots. (Yes I know what your thinking: But your Air force and its mainly sponsored by the Marines. SO WHAT its a great program, give them a hand/donation anyway, unlike the current S-CHIP debacles, this actually for children!)

Take care and in case I don't post again: have a great thanksgiving.

Ish