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Adam Olinger

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Fidel Castro's Cuba (Dictatorships)

by Rita J. Markel

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(page 107 of 160)
"I found out Cuba tried to make 10 tons of sugar in a year but weren't able too" — Mar 25, 2025 06:24AM

Jan 22, 2025 06:38AM

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The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows

by Brian Castner (Goodreads Author)

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Adam Olinger said: " In the book "The Long Walk" the author Brian Castner tells the stories of his life as the head of an explosive ordinance disposal unit in Iraq. In this memoir Castner goes into detail on the toughest missions he's had to complete as well as all the t In the book "The Long Walk" the author Brian Castner tells the stories of his life as the head of an explosive ordinance disposal unit in Iraq. In this memoir Castner goes into detail on the toughest missions he's had to complete as well as all the times he didn't think he'd get home but just barely survived. While going through all the exciting war stories he has experienced Castner likes to take a step back and talk about how these situations effected him not just physically but also mentally. because of this it helps to show a side of the military that you are unable to understand most of the time and brings a unique twist to this book.
Castner has endless stories of disarming IEDs, while surviving gun shots all around him all while its one hundred plus degrees over half the year and still putting his life to risk in a war that is thousands of miles away from his home. Castner does go into great detail about this all for example "the day of six VBIDEs" where according to Castner he had the toughest day as an EOD of his life where he had six IEDs he had to disarm while in three of those he had near death experiences. It's not hard to see why this is so mentally tolling to people. As well in the book Castner explains the joy you get when your finally done with your enrollment but even after all that when he was finally home he Brian was never the same. Once home he discovered pretty fast he isn't the same person he was when he first went to Iraq, he was unable to sleep, was convinced him and his family were always about to get attacked, and was seeing imaginary guns to keep him protected. It didn't take Castner long to come to the conclusion that he was crazy.
During the entire story it seemed as Castner was trying to get a point across to his audience, It seemed as he realized he had made a mistake going into the war three separate times and it messed him up for life, he seems to be trying to warn his readers what can happen if you try to something like him. One of the most unique parts of Castners writing style is his great memory. It's quite ironic because of one of the side effects that Brian had to deal with was memory loss he was unable to remember things like birthdays and just simple stuff everyone knows but he wont ever forgot a process he would need for the war. for example when his friend passed away Brian couldn't believe he didn't take off his equipment because he sunk and drowned because of it and then he says this "I put on my body armor first, a vest with attachments and additions, including side plates and ill-fitting shoulder coverings with extra straps. then the rifle, with a three point sling. the harness wraps around the left side of your neck your right shoulder and under the right armpit before reattaching to the rifle"
Castner didn't seem to have too much of a target audience for this, Obviously anyone that served or would like to would most likely enjoy this book. But I think the biggest group he wants to sell is just the normal person. Castner writes this book in such a way it takes all these hardships and unexplainable emotions and writes them down and makes it so everyone can try to understand what it's like dealing with all this.
In conclusion Brian Castner's book The Long Walk is a very interesting story showing the multiple different sides of a bomb technician including the physical mentally problems you have to face. The book was very detailed and while it can be slightly confusing going between the war and back home it ends up making for a very good story giving it a 4 out of 5 stars. ...more "

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(page 112 of 240)
"Brian talked about his friend Kermit dying in a helciopter accident in Iraq. How he copped with that and explained what it was like having to tell his wife what happened" — Dec 17, 2024 06:32AM

Jan 02, 2025 07:16AM · see review