“A book about young men transformed by war; written by a veteran whose dazzling literary gifts gripped my attention from the first page to the last.†—The Wall Street Journal “Friedman’s sober and striking new memoir . . . [is] on a par with Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried -- its Israeli analog.†—The New York Times Book Review It was just one small hilltop in a small; unnamed war in the late 1990s; but it would send out ripples that are still felt worldwide today. The hill; in Lebanon; was called the Pumpkin; flowers was the military code word for “casualties.†Award-winning writer Matti Friedman re-creates the harrowing experience of a band of young Israeli soldiers charged with holding this remote outpost; a task that would change them forever; wound the country in ways large and small; and foreshadow the unwinnable conflicts the United States would soon confront in Afghanistan; Iraq; and elsewhere.Pumpkinflowers is a reckoning by one of those young soldiers now grown into a remarkable writer. Part memoir; part reportage; part history; Friedman’s powerful narrative captures the birth of today’s chaotic Middle East and the rise of a twenty-first-century type of war in which there is never a clear victor and media images can be as important as the battle itself. Raw and beautifully rendered; Pumpkinflowers will take its place among classic war narratives by George Orwell; Philip Caputo; and Tim O’Brien. It is an unflinching look at the way we conduct war today.
#1673372 in Books 2015-11-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.10 x 1.80 x 6.30l; 1.90 #File Name: 1612548598496 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Best told story of Korean WarBy kphillipsThis book touches the heart. It was written by a Marine in the George 3-7th Marine and fellow Marines. The excerpts are the actual details of battles won and lost in the Korean War. My Father in Law has several excerpts written of the many battles he was a major part of. It has given me an insight to who he is; a hero; though he would never accept that role. He always says that the real heroes gave their lives there. It is an emotional story; one chapter will be tear gripping and the next chapter you can be laughing hysterically. Their sense of humor was a part of what kept them going and continues to keep them going. They had and still have that strong sense of brotherhood; strong morals; rigid ethics; live a good life and do what you have to do and do it right! This was written to tell the true story of the Korean War and let fellow Marines tell their experiences and versions.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. George-3-7th MarinesBy charlesegrahamJim Nicholson was a medical school classmate of mine and I had no idea of his contribution to the saving of South Korea from communism. I was in Korea during the occupation (1948-1951) and later in the Inchon Landing as well as in North Korea near the Yalu River. My unit was the 7th Infantry Division. I got a close-up of how stupid our government was in taking the 7th Infantry Division out of Korea in 1949 and moving us to Japan. Had we stayed in Korea the war would have never happened. The book that Jim and others compiled is a great contribution to the "Forgotten war". Charles E. Graham MD0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great first person narrative of the Koren 'conflict'By Kindle CustomerI've known Jim Nicholson for many years and only through this book have I understood his true brilliance; bravery and dedication to the American way of Life. This is a moving; even gripping; account of a tough young man and his 'tough as coyotes' comrades as they face an onslaught of North Koreans and Chinese. Small wonder he was awarded the Silver Cross many years later as his exploits were finlly brought to light by his brothers in arms.
