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From Basic To Baghdad *NOP
When homeschool graduate JB Hogan joined the Army the summer of 2001, his mother urged him to write home. The avalanche of letters that followed reassured her that JB was surviving the Army, even if the Army didn't quite know what to make of JB! Both scathingly funny and deeply poignant, this coming-of-age story is a book for America and her families . . . (Hardback)
250 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 12, 2013
I found this book on my "to-read" shelf and realized it had sat, forgotten, for almost two years. I'm so glad I picked it up and gave it the attention it deserved. I really enjoyed the journey.
I'd bought this at a homeschool conference in PA, mostly because I was searching for non-fiction books (I tend to gravitate toward fiction 80% of the time). A friend pointed to this one and said, "I think this one is written by someone local, or a homeschooler, or something. Besides, the cover is cool." Probably not the most compelling reason to buy a book, but there you go. Until I picked it up, though, I hadn't realized the author was the son of one of the conference speakers I'd enjoyed.
No one can rest on his parents' laurels, and I'm happy to say J.B. Hogan didn't need any of his mother's clout to succeed with this book. His letters to home were fascinating as I watched the progress from "I think I made a mistake; I'm going to get out of here at the first opportunity" to "I am certain I'm meant to be here and will do the best job I can do."
Taking J.B.'s letters to "home" or "everyone," mom/editor distributes them to friends and family as a means of encouraging her son and those stationed with him by getting letters written and care packages sent. It made my heart happy to hear the times J.B. would comment on strangers sending him (and others) items both necessary and just plain fun.
There were times when the "editor's notes," inserted to either clarify or comment on J.B.'s letters, were irritating. Sometimes the commentary interrupted the flow of the narrative and I wanted to say, "Would you just be quiet, please, and let me read it for what it is?" But if it were my son, I'd probably be throwing notes in all over the place, too, and in the end, they weren't annoying enough to pull the book's rating down.
The only other negative for me came later in the book, as the military-speak became more frequent. (The letters were infrequent during that time, so J.B. kept a journal and used that for the book's contents.) Sifting through the acronyms and other terms sometimes broke the flow, but there was a glossary in the back, so again, I can't take anything off the rating for it. Someone who is more familiar with military terms wouldn't even think twice about it, I'm sure. Photos were included here and there, but there were no captions to them, so I wasn't really sure who/what I was looking at, but if they had special meaning to the author or his buddies with whom he served, they accomplished their purpose.
There was a short story in the appendix section that I enjoyed, also. J.B. has a gift for fiction as well.
I would definitely recommend this book to others as a very readable, well-edited, nicely arranged account of a young man's military experience.
[Note: I rated this with five stars on Amazon, according the difference in their rating scale with the one here on GR.]
I'd bought this at a homeschool conference in PA, mostly because I was searching for non-fiction books (I tend to gravitate toward fiction 80% of the time). A friend pointed to this one and said, "I think this one is written by someone local, or a homeschooler, or something. Besides, the cover is cool." Probably not the most compelling reason to buy a book, but there you go. Until I picked it up, though, I hadn't realized the author was the son of one of the conference speakers I'd enjoyed.
No one can rest on his parents' laurels, and I'm happy to say J.B. Hogan didn't need any of his mother's clout to succeed with this book. His letters to home were fascinating as I watched the progress from "I think I made a mistake; I'm going to get out of here at the first opportunity" to "I am certain I'm meant to be here and will do the best job I can do."
Taking J.B.'s letters to "home" or "everyone," mom/editor distributes them to friends and family as a means of encouraging her son and those stationed with him by getting letters written and care packages sent. It made my heart happy to hear the times J.B. would comment on strangers sending him (and others) items both necessary and just plain fun.
There were times when the "editor's notes," inserted to either clarify or comment on J.B.'s letters, were irritating. Sometimes the commentary interrupted the flow of the narrative and I wanted to say, "Would you just be quiet, please, and let me read it for what it is?" But if it were my son, I'd probably be throwing notes in all over the place, too, and in the end, they weren't annoying enough to pull the book's rating down.
The only other negative for me came later in the book, as the military-speak became more frequent. (The letters were infrequent during that time, so J.B. kept a journal and used that for the book's contents.) Sifting through the acronyms and other terms sometimes broke the flow, but there was a glossary in the back, so again, I can't take anything off the rating for it. Someone who is more familiar with military terms wouldn't even think twice about it, I'm sure. Photos were included here and there, but there were no captions to them, so I wasn't really sure who/what I was looking at, but if they had special meaning to the author or his buddies with whom he served, they accomplished their purpose.
There was a short story in the appendix section that I enjoyed, also. J.B. has a gift for fiction as well.
I would definitely recommend this book to others as a very readable, well-edited, nicely arranged account of a young man's military experience.
[Note: I rated this with five stars on Amazon, according the difference in their rating scale with the one here on GR.]
April 13, 2015
The book From Basic to Baghdad is a collection of letters from a soldier in the army during the years 2001-2003. The book follows James Baynard Hogan or JB Hogan who is homeschool graduate you joined the army the summer of 2001. When JB left for basic training his mother urged him to write home often. That’s exactly what he did, he sent hundreds of letters and emails to his family. Eventually, his mom started sending these letters and emails out as a newsletter for everyone to read.
First impressions of this book were good, I found it intriguing and it was interesting to hear about how life in the army is like. JB was very humorous and I found myself smiling while I reading. The only complaint I had about the book was the Author’s Notes and the Editor’s Notes. They were little comments or statements that were inserted into the text and I quickly found them annoying and they distracted from the content of the book.
By the middle of the book, I still found it intriguing but I found myself becoming disinterested. During the chapter “Deployed:Deja Vu” was when it became tedious to continue. It felt exactly like the title of the chapter and it started to feel repetitive and it was getting harder and harder to read the book. I found myself having a hard time reading even as little as five pages.
The feelings this book brought to me in the middle were feelings of irritation and frustration. Reading became more of a chore and less of a form of entertainment. There were too many military terms and abbreviations. As I understand they were necessary to the story, it was rather annoying to have keep flipping from my current page to the glossary over and over again. It could’ve been helpful to put the meanings of the acronyms in parentheses.
Now onto more positive things, I do feel like this book has challenged me, even if it was only in the most minuscule ways. I now know more about life in the army, than I did a month ago. JB’s intensive vocabulary has improved mine. His vocabulary challenged mine and helped expand mine.
My favorite chapters of the book were the last two chapters, “To Baghdad: And to War” and “Liberation: Dictatorships Are So 1940”. I enjoyed JB’s journal entries more than his letters home. His journal entries seemed more personal, like they were meant for me to read. They had a different flow and writing style and I enjoyed it more.
Overall I would have to give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Because I found the book enjoyable for the most part, with exception of the “Deployed:Deja Vu” chapter. I am happy that I have read this book. It has inspired to persevere even when something isn’t what I want to do.
First impressions of this book were good, I found it intriguing and it was interesting to hear about how life in the army is like. JB was very humorous and I found myself smiling while I reading. The only complaint I had about the book was the Author’s Notes and the Editor’s Notes. They were little comments or statements that were inserted into the text and I quickly found them annoying and they distracted from the content of the book.
By the middle of the book, I still found it intriguing but I found myself becoming disinterested. During the chapter “Deployed:Deja Vu” was when it became tedious to continue. It felt exactly like the title of the chapter and it started to feel repetitive and it was getting harder and harder to read the book. I found myself having a hard time reading even as little as five pages.
The feelings this book brought to me in the middle were feelings of irritation and frustration. Reading became more of a chore and less of a form of entertainment. There were too many military terms and abbreviations. As I understand they were necessary to the story, it was rather annoying to have keep flipping from my current page to the glossary over and over again. It could’ve been helpful to put the meanings of the acronyms in parentheses.
Now onto more positive things, I do feel like this book has challenged me, even if it was only in the most minuscule ways. I now know more about life in the army, than I did a month ago. JB’s intensive vocabulary has improved mine. His vocabulary challenged mine and helped expand mine.
My favorite chapters of the book were the last two chapters, “To Baghdad: And to War” and “Liberation: Dictatorships Are So 1940”. I enjoyed JB’s journal entries more than his letters home. His journal entries seemed more personal, like they were meant for me to read. They had a different flow and writing style and I enjoyed it more.
Overall I would have to give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Because I found the book enjoyable for the most part, with exception of the “Deployed:Deja Vu” chapter. I am happy that I have read this book. It has inspired to persevere even when something isn’t what I want to do.
April 17, 2016
The military and war is not all action. Sometimes it's frustration and boredom. Sometimes it's seeing God's hand.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews