Read about the other books on the list.From Baghdad, with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava, by Jay Kopelman and Melinda Roth
In November 2004, Lt. Colonel Jay Kopelman was a Marine taking part in the assault on Fallujah. Lava was a five-week-old puppy abandoned in a bombed-out house. Defying regulations, Kopelman’s squad adopted the puppy, going to extraordinary lengths to keep him safe and fed (and hidden from superior officers) while in the middle of a war zone. I love this book’s mix of dark and light emotions. Kopelman writes with raw honesty about how war affects even the steeliest of soldiers, and his first meeting with Lava says a ton: “I liked that he forgave me for scaring him, I liked not caring about getting home or staying alive or feeling warped as a human being—just him wiggling around in my hands.” That kind of authenticity makes From Baghdad, with Love a truly powerful memoir.
--Marshal Zeringue