Review of Walk in My Combat Boots by James Patterson & Matt Eversmann

Author(s): James Patterson & Matt Eversmann

Release date: February 8, 2021

Publisher: Little Brown & Co.

Buy from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Walk-My-Combat-Boots-Americas/dp/0316429090/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=james+patterson&qid=1612887115&sr=8-4

The sacrifices of service are indescribable—except by those who have made them. Their personal stories of battlefield life reveal: the goal to be ready every day, every single day, and how that can quickly descend into chaos. The realization that every soldier must be okay with dying, consciously or subconsciously, to be good at this job. How we all need to serve something bigger than ourselves.

Men and women from every branch of the US military and every occupational specialty—armor technicians and tank commanders, combat medics and flight nurses, psychological operatives, and weapons truck drivers—tell exactly how it feels to jump out of airplanes, to be boots on the ground, to shoot and be shot at, and to recognize that they might never get back home. The dedication of these men and women to overcoming tremendous obstacles and achieving everyday victories, in combat and on the home front, is profound.

Walk in My Combat Boots: True Stories from America’s Bravest Warriors by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann takes an authentic look at what it's really like to be a member of the US military. Patterson is the bestselling author of countless works that span numerous genres and his books have sold millions of copies. Matt Eversmann is a former Army Ranger of Black Hawk Down fame. In 2004 he co-authored the gripping narrative The Battle of Mogadishu: First-Hand Accounts from the Men of Task Force Ranger.

In this broad and captivating assemblage of firsthand experiences, Walk in My Combat Boots includes before, during, and after wartime stories. It is told through the words of military veterans of varying backgrounds and expertise. Patterson and Eversmann have complied and created a suspense-filled, heart-pounding narrative that succeeds in painting a picture of what it is really like to serve on the frontlines of the US armed forces.

“Ten of our twenty patients are stretched out on litters . . . some of them are all shot up, and some have lost limbs . . . We have to treat patients while dealing with the stresses  . . . Someone screams to use the restroom . . . Someone screams for narcotics . . . another patient sits quietly, staring . . . I want to go back . . . I’m good, I want to go back, I’m ready. He’s not the only soldier who says this to me . . . All the guys on board want to go back. Every single one.”

Spanning nearly 50 years of US military actions from Vietnam to the present day, each of the over three dozen stories are divided into four parts. Written in clear and matter-of-fact style that keeps the reader engaged the narratives take an evenhanded look at individual military service experiences in an honest and frank manner. It avoids unnecessary analysis and description while succeeding in assembling an absorbing and truthful picture of what war was really like for those who have served. Although the true strength of the book lies in its contrasting experiences, which allow the reader to interpret each unique and individual story for themselves on its merits. This collaboration is sure to be a bestseller.

This review first appeared in the New York Journal of Books on February 9, 2021 - https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/walk-my-combat