Love My Rifle More Than You by Kayla Williams

Love My Rifle More Than You by Kayla Williams

'I want to write the book that explains it - the horror, the terror, the shame, the mind-numbing boredom; and the joy and the honour. Down to the goriest and most degrading detail, down to the suicide attempts, the suicides, the anorexic desperation, the promiscuity, the comradeship, the tedium, the bravery, the violence'. From basic training to intensive language school, to learning how to fire an automatic weapon, to being deployed in Iraq and holding up the American convoy because it's complicated for a woman to pee in a chemical weapon's suit, Love My Rifle is a gripping memoir of life in the US army written by a woman with an unforgettable voice. It touches on today's news stories, of Abu Ghraib prison and the soldiers still fighting in Iraq, but also on more universal issues: of being the one woman in a troop of 200 men, of patriotism and honour, of courage and military incompetence.

'This sassy, downright memoir.. is an inside view of a formidable institution, told with a tough wit and a complete lack of self-justification or pity.' SUNDAY TIMES 'brisk, feisty... lively war diary.' SCOTSMAN 'The best insider account of military life since Anthony Swofford gave us Jarhead... you can't help but like Williams. She's sharp, witty direct, confiding and appealingly honest about her failings.' EVENING STANDARD 'an unafraid critic of the inefficiencies of her commanding officers and the military in general.. WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY 'wonderfully frank and insightful' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Williams's recollections are interesting for what they reveal of the embarrassments of being a woman in a man's world, where that manliness is asserted by constant, barely legal, misogyny... Williams's book poses the question: can an army, if it is to fight, ever be truly civilised?' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Williams... is reflective enough to demonstrate the failings of the American military in Iraq, and the brutalizing injustice that female soldiers experience from their own army.' TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT 'illuminating... whether you are a man or a woman, a hawk or a dove, Love My Rifle More than You' is a fascinating book.' THE SKINNY

Kayla Williams was formerly a sergeant in a military intelligence company of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). She lives near Washington, DC.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780297848745
ISBN 10	0297848747
Title	Love My Rifle More Than You
Author	Kayla Williams
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Orion Publishing Co
Year published	2006-01-11
Number of pages	256
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.