Kaboom
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Published By Grand Central Publishing
Format Paperback
Category
Number Of Pages 336
Publication Date 04/12/2011
ISBN 9780306819674
Dimensions 6 inches x 9 inches
New York Journal of Books, 8/20/10
Washington Post, 8/28/10
“[A] half comic, half heart-breaking hour-by-hour account.”
“Readable, often humorous…Convey[s] a sense of what the tip of the spear Soldier and his company grade leaders experienced on an Iraq deployment…For anyone wishing to get a genuine feel for recent deployment experiences of today’s Army company grade officer, this book will go a long way in delivering a realistic and candid view…Get a copy and put it on your reading list.”
“[A] gritty memoir about modern warfare in the Mideast.”
Entertainment Weekly, 4/30/10
“as funny as it is harrowing.”
InternetReviewofBooks.com, April 2010
“[Gallagher] proves himself a gifted writer in this boots-on-the-ground report, with some of his prose echoing the scattershot riffs of Dylan without the guitar…[His] analysis of his situation, his troopers, the rear echelon, the high command, the profiteers, and the Iraqis (friend and foe) is insightful and candid...Gallagher simply gives a platoon leader’s perspective of an ugly war that has cost our nation so much in so many ways. Perhaps it is best to think of the young lieutenant’s memoir as one more paving stone for the road toward a fair historical assessment that our grandchildren may appreciate.”
Galveston Daily News, 4/18/10
“While the opening of the book borrows heavily from the blog, it doesn’t simply regurgitate his blog postings. Gallagher adds material that puts his experiences in context and rewrote much of the rest. Unchanged is what made the blog so delightful—the irreverence of his words and the immediacy of what he experienced...Kaboom offers an intimate and poignant look at the rough men willing to do violence so good people can sleep peacefully in their beds—during a period that tested those men to their limits. It is well worth reading.”
Library Journal, 4/1/10
“[Gallagher’s] exceptional narrative technique makes the soldier in-group cant both believable and coherent; his relentless pursuit of sanity in the midst of a chaotic storm of IEDs, policy changes, sheiks, civilians, and baffling missions makes this blog-based memoir an exciting read reminiscent of Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead.”
Zink magazine, April 2010
“Kaboom is nothing short of purely honest, unabashedly descriptive and unexpectedly humorous.”
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/4/10
“An oddly fascinating account of the high points (and low points) of Gallagher’s 15-month deployment…Kaboom will generate strong responses from readers.”
“Gallagher is a phenomenal writer…He is so real in his writing. He does not hold back, which is why his story is so appealing. We want the truth, and Gallagher gives us nothing but…This war story is as real as you can get. Welcome to the history books Lieutenant.”
The New Republic, 6/11/10
“A vivid and introspective chronicle of Gallagher’s fifteen months in Iraq…Its aim is simple: to explain what it is like to wage an unconventional war…Unlike a journalist, whose Heisenberg-like presence inevitably distorts, Gallagher is able to candidly depict the lighter moments of war…And Gallagher gives the book’s characters…much more than the name-rank-hometown exposition that too often flattens soldiers in print…Evocative prose, convincing dialogue, and, especially, telling vignettes of life as an American soldier in Iraq.”
Tucson Citizen, 6/14/10
"[Gallagher] freely shares what it was like to face the ever-presence threat of snipers and roadside bombs. He debates the effectiveness of the overall military strategy of the latest surge and struggles to understand the big picture in a memoir that is honest, candid, and insightful.”
JulesCrittenden.com, 6/14/10
“Beautifully written, literary in its approach, and looks to be a good companion to [Rage Company’s] more Spartan, unadorned take on the business end of surge operations and counterinsurgency.”
“A soldier's account of the realities of war…No military library should be without this.”
Military Times, 5/24/10
“Kaboom is funny and profound, urbane and vulgar, witty and worthwhile…Photos with informative captions, and an index [are] the only pages in Kaboom without a sense of humor…As jaw-dropping, laugh-inducing and eye-opening as any life-threatening rollercoaster ride in a war zone.”
Sacramento Book Review, 5/26/10
“A candid look at counterinsurgency warfare…Gallagher’s descriptions of daily interactions between his soldiers, civilians, sheiks, Iraqi army, and Iraqi police will keep most readers turning the pages. He conveys the terrible stress soldiers face in dangerous situations, while also communicating the marathon tedium of their daily lives…An excellent book for anyone interested in the observations, expectations, humor, and work ethic of the next generation of American leaders.”
St. Petersburg Times, 5/30/10
“A memoir by turns harrowing, hilarious and absurd.”
"Combines the stark reality of war with humor as Gallagher describes his daily activities."—Syracuse Post-Standard, 11/1/16