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

Just finished the book, and it definitely falls into the category of books that I wish I hadn't spent the time reading. It's kind of a muddled mess, and has no coherent narrative. Not one of the better books coming out of the current wars.

The author is a former American soldier who served three terms of duty in the Middle East. That seems enough to leave him crazy but his role in the elite team that disarmed explosive devices impacted him forever in a number of ways. His job was one that required nerves of steel and a willingness to expose himself to constant danger and tension. He saw the results of the specific kinds of horrors of this war up close and personal, trapped in his uncomfortable body armor and participating in death and destruction. He and the elite members of his bomb squad wore uncomfortable protective gear but sometimes they had to just walk up to a bomb and disarm it and sometimes they were blown to pieces. Not only was the tension constant, but other aspects of their experience, such as traveling in uncomfortable small planes for hours and being exposed to heat and cold and nausea were part of the deal.

The author is brutally honest in his descriptions of the job itself, his fellow soldiers, the expensive high-tech weapons and the horror of watching victims of explosions having their remains blown over the landscape. Much of this is hard to read.

And then, later, after his discharge, the nightmares and craziness started, impacting is life with his wife and four children and making his civilian world a horrible nightmare. It took years of trauma and therapy for him to be able to write this book and it was these long-lasting effects that horrified me even more than the lurid descriptions of the actual bomb blasts.

I learned more in this book than I ever wanted to know about the war in the Middle East told from this author's personal point of view. I identified with his willingness to serve his country as well as his later problems in adjusting to the civilian world. I also applaud his courage for writing his book and sharing it with the world.

Castner's writing conveys, through style and content, how all-consuming his job in Iraq was -- the hyper vigilance, the constant assessment of danger, the need to kill -- and how he finds it impossible to disengage from that life and reenter his family life. Reentry is difficult, under any circumstances, and it is hard to determine if the trauma is physical, psychological or both. The solution to this issue is complicated by the constantly evolving methods of war that introduce new physical and emotional trauma. Castner relates his experiences in Iraq and his struggles at home in the context of trying to find a diagnosis and treatment for his own personal Crazy.

His description of life both inside and beyond the wire is vivid and disturbing. The "Long Walk" is the walk that an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) specialist takes to a live round or bomb to defuse it. The long walk is also Castner's current life. For him, the loss of EOD Brothers continues, and the terror of the war doesn't end when you step onto U.S. soil. Probably the most frightening images for me in this book are the thoughts that run through the author's mind as he drives his son to day care and watches over him at night.

During the writing of the book, Castner's wife asked him how he could remember all the details. He says he cannot forget them. The narrative keeps returning to Iraq or to his battle with the Crazy, sometimes suddenly in the middle of another story. While disconcerting at first, you soon realize this is what Castner's life must be like - an inability to focus on the here and now when your mind keeps going back to Iraq.

Castner is a talented writer, and this was an emotional read that I won't soon forget.

The Long Walk is a train of consciousness memoir written from memory by Brian Castner following his multiple deployments in Iraq and final training of new Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) volunteers prior to their deployment. It expresses extremely well the mental trauma that follows our combat veterans home; but no one who hasn't experienced it can truly understand the intensity of that trauma.
He expresses to his wife Jesse how he writes this with no souvenirs, no research documents, and no notes: "I don't try to remember. I don't need to. I am surrounded by reminders; the images simply emerge in the front of my thoughts." There is a very poignant segment where he describes carefully dressing his son before a hockey game. It reminds him of dressing an EOD brother for the Long Walk - to personally attempt to disarm an explosive device. As his son heads for the ice, Brian's memories hit him hard - "I have just sent my seven year old son on the Long Walk."
Brian Castner's technique really pulls the reader into his story. Brian's memories jump back and forth between today's activities safely at home and his experiences in Iraq; so does his book. Just as these memories impact his life without warning, this story impacts the reader's perception of the frustration - even horror - of living with these memories superimposed over the mundane tasks of civilian living.
the store asks reviewers to indicate how much they like the book being reviewed. I cannot say "I love it!" about this book - how can I like or love what happened to Brian Castner or any other combat veteran? But I must give it five stars! It will stay with me a long time. This memoir will help me to understand that none of our husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, mothers, or fathers return from the obscene violence of war the same.

Some soldiers come home from the war with injuries you can see. Far too many have lost hands, feet, limbs, or their very lives to the IEDs of the current, prolonged wars in the Middle East. Others, like Brian Castner, come home with injuries no less life changing than those that require prosthetic limbs or wheelchairs, yet that remain invisible. In The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows, Castner writes of his experiences on the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team in Iraq. His tours in Iraq forever changed his mind, with the images seared onto it of the bloody mess in an explosion's aftermath, of a foot in a box ("Because why not? Where else would you put it?"), of his Brothers lost or injured in duty. His mind was also forever changed by blast-induced traumatic brain disorder; each explosion he was near, and he was blowing things up on a daily basis sometimes, jarred his brain and disrupted its connections.

Jumping between various time frames (sometimes with little warning!), Castner tells his story. He describes his job and his love for it, while detailing the ways his life is still affected by BITBD. His detailed and deeply personal account is the best description I've read of what the heck U.S. soldiers are doing in Iraq. However, it raises the question for me: What the heck are U.S. soldiers still doing in Iraq? When Castner and his crews headed out to investigate a car bomb or IED, it was likely either targeted at U.S. troops, or it was the result of some internal conflict between Iraqi ethnic groups. In the latter case, I see no justification for putting American lives at risk. Why the U.S. even maintains a presence there is beyond me.

I do thank God for men like Castner who are willing to risk their lives to serve their country in the armed forces. But I would have to question the policies that put our men and women into potentially deadly situations in dozens of countries around the world. Is what we're accomplishing there worth the price paid by Castner and others like him?

Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the complimentary electronic copy for review.

Wow, what a great book. Brian Castner totally captured the emotion of PTSD through his description of what he went through during his tours in Iraq and showing how the trauma carried over into his day to day life in the states. This book has also been made into an opera which i saw last week in Plattsburgh. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone that has been in a combat zone or suffers from the crazies of interacting with one. Thank you Brian Castner for writing this book.

One of the most dangerous jobs is that of Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) or as it is also known as the bomb squad. How many of us would willingly walk up to a bomb to disarm it knowing it could blow up killing or maiming us at any time or slight misstep while disarming it . Would your hands be shaking and could you make that walk? Those personnel in EOD that do that job in the military and law enforcement deserve our utmost respect and thanks.

Brian Castner was an officer in the Air Force who volunteered for EOD. He lived and breathed the world of EOD taking us through EOD school with its arduous training and becoming part of the Brotherhood. While he served three tours of duty in the Middle East, the focus is on his two tours as an EOD officer in Iraq. He recounts the tours of Iraq with accounts that leave you feeling the bumping of the humvee and tasting the dust of Iraq. You are there with the adrenalin flowing while he takes us through the long walk and the uncertainty of dealing with IED's (improvised explosive devices). There are heroric parts to the story and other parts that are not as pretty just as there are some parts of Brian Castner are to be admired and some less so, but he deals with it honestly from his standpoint.

Brian Castner suffers from combat trauma and who knows what effects from excessive explosive shock waves. He describes this as his Crazy. He gives you an unvarnished view into how this affects him and relationships. The book bounces back and forth between his Crazy and his recounting of the various events. This bouncing back and forth can be distracting. However, this is a gritty book telling an important story and I recommend reading it.

Just a few words that come to mind thinking about Brian Castner's bold and brilliant memoir, "The Long Walk". Castner, trained as an EOD, a soldier responsible for defusing and detonating explosive devices, recounts his harrowing tour of duty in Iraq and assimilation back into life upon return. I'll preface my review by stating I'm not particularly fond of memoirs and hadn't read one in quite a few years. Recently, I read "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and when I saw this as a top pick of the July, thought it would be a great non-fiction complement to that incredible novel.

I'm sure there will be critics of Castner's writing as this isn't beautifully written and has a rough edge to the writing style. As I read "The Long Walk", it read for me more like a quasi- long form poem or rap song rather than prose. I appreciated the rough veneer and staccato nature of his prose. In some ways it mirrored the mental disorientation Iraq caused him, the "Crazy" as he describes it. While Castner isn't diagnosed with PTSD (it sure sounds like it), this doesn't create any relief among the reader (or for him). One can only imagine the coming years, the brain trauma further eroding the quality of his life, impacts those closest to him. I certainly hope that isn't the case, but the "The Long Walk" is not about hope, it is about the reality of life for those returning from war.

"The Long Walk" is a must-read memoir and will leave an even deeper and more profound admiration for the men and women who've served in Iraq and Afghanistan and sadness not just for those that have died, but for those who've returned home irreparably damaged physically and mentally.

As a retired master sergeant who served one tour in Iraq, I must say this memoir strikes home with its honesty. Brian Castner writes about his enthusiasm to be an explosive ordnance detonator (EOD), who, when deployed to Iraq, loses one close classmate, then loses command over his impatience with army bureaucracy that leaves many dumbfounded. Yet he never loses his love for his job and for the men who served under him.

The narrative is told in almost sequential fashion, with a few flashbacks to more important isues. Castner was in a war zone three times once he was commissioned yet his tone is never angry nor disparaging. For someone who is honest about his long-term brain injuries, he writes clearly and comprehensively. Death is a part of war. It is accepted and never celebrated.

"The Long Walk" is that heart-stopping approach an EODer must perform while coming to an explosive device all dressed out in protective attire. It is slow and painful, and some parts to this memoir are so honest that I can see the tenseness, whether while Castner id describing a deadly parol his team experiences, to seeing Iraqis pull weapons on the men. Few words are wasted describing trivial things. This narrative is raw, bold and at times gorish, but it is 100% honest.

The style may be simplistic at times, but of the war memoirs I have read about Iraq, no one hits home as well as this one. Once you start this memoir, it's hard to put down and can be read in one day, but it will leave the heart crying and the mind asking "Why?"

Brian Castner served three tours in Iraq as a bomb demolition export, defusing and destroying car bombs and IEDs. When he got back home to Buffalo, he began to suffer from mental trauma, an illness or group of illnesses that is never exactly diagnosed here.

This book weaves together Castner's story in Iraq, his mental struggles back home, and the stories of a half-dozen other Brothers of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal fraternity. It's written in fragments, with half-stories that appear and reappear, mixed with other fragments. Castner also alternates between the first and second person, between "I went to check out the bomb" and "You are drained after 36 hours of duty, you just want sleep."

The mixed voices and the story fragments are intentionally jarring, but compelling. Castner has a strong voice as a writer, and it all works - a fast-paced, tense, honest book. It gives the reader a close-up view of the U.S. military in Iraq, and an intimate look at the human costs back home.

When I first began `The Long Walk' I thought that this was going to be tough to read, over my head in comprehension of warfare and the mission of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Initially, I carefully and slowly navigated Brian Castner's recounting of those missions as an Officer, his training, his personal return to the United States and `the Crazy' that continues to haunt his every day.

As I became more familiar with the military acronyms associated with Brian's recounting, I was able to thoughtfully, empathetically, shockingly, appreciatively, sorrowfully...begin...to understand `The Long Walk'.

Haunting and soul searching...Brian's story is one of many like his own.

The ability, courage, strength and description of his `long walk' are so effectively written.

I can only hope that Brian and his `brothers' somehow find the peace that they fought for and so deserve in their personal lives. Bravo to this three tour of duty officer for helping `us' to somehow `get the picture'.

The honesty, the rawness, the brutality of this memoir gives us possibly the most real picture of war and of what it does to the participants that it's been my pleasure and experience to read. By the way, reading this memoir is an experience. Brian Castner isn't whining and he isn't begging for sympathy or understanding. This reads as a catharsis, a purging on the author's part and it's bound to have an effect on the reader. It certainly had its effect on me and caused me to express thanks that I never had to go through the experience of war.

If you're ready for an exposure to what today's soldier has to go through, then this is the book for you. I also recommend this for older teenagers who might be considering the possibility of a military career because this doesn't romanticize war nor does it condemn it. It just tells us like it is.

Brian Castner has blast-induced memory losses. He is crazy, he runs. He has spent nearly eight years in Iraq.

In one of the scenes in the book, the humvee in which he is riding is surrounded by a mob. It is necessary to exit and shoot, he thinks. Then, thankfully, the convoy moves forward slowly. Brian Castner calls his anxiety the Crazy. It didn't start right away at the end of his deployment.

The sights, the smells of being sent to a war zone are described. The author, through poor eye sight, ended up being directed by the Air Force into the field of Disaster Preparedness. He sought to attend the Explosive Ordinance Disposal school, (the bomb squad). Passing and surviving the training for nine months results in a different person being created by graduation day.

Afterwards, out of the military, the author becomes a civilian EOD instructor. He had been relieved of his first command for disobeying a direct order of a general during wartime. After spending four months doing paperwork, he was again put in command of a group and became swept up in the deployment current.

In the war zone Castner hated going out at night. The squad used robots. The narrator (author) explains that he has become two people. The scientific application of high explosives makes terrorism and modern war possible.

During world War II the British UXB cleared bombs and fire brigades stopped the fires. The bomb technicians shifted the direction of the war. In Iraq the U.S. failed. Instead of destroying ammunition depots, the columns of soldiers kept moving.

The book brings war closer than anything I've read. I hope policymakers read this.

Brian Castner is a gifted writer and clearly a very intelligent guy. IN a minimum of words he can get across a whole scene, the personalities of the major players and the emotional tone of the situation, usually with a mildly bitter, sardonic twist that makes his writing very engaging and sympathetic. I found myself liking Brian Castner in the book even though I'm pretty sure I wouldn't much like the real Brian Castner.

Castner recounts, in fast-paced snippets, his time in the service, starting with his time at "EOD School" [Explosive Ordnance Disposal] and continuing through his third and final deployment in Kirkuk, Iraq. The story is told in more-or-less chronological order, alternating with snippets from his life as a civilian, particularly his life since he became "Crazy". There is a controlled chaotic feel to the book (which I'm sure reflects the way Castner's mind works). Sections often start an event or bit of information out of the blue that makes little sense. It takes a bit of diving in and wading through the story(ies) that follow to connect the opening and make sense of the larger point. Many details feel a bit off - exaggerated, mashed together with other details, just don't ring quite true - and we sense that we're not reading objective "truth" but rather the "truth" of Brian Castner's experience of the madness which is Iraq.

The book appears to be largely Castner's cathartic and therapeutic attempt to understand, cope with, and, ideally, get over his "Crazy". This "Crazy" came upon him a while after his return to civilian life - months after the more usual symptoms of PTSD had gone away. It came upon him suddenly - he stepped off the curb normal and landed Crazy. He compares it to the feeling of a young boy being stuck inside on the last day of school taking a test when he's itching and burning to go outside and run and play. Except that for Castner the burning doesn't go away with the release of the end of the test and going outside. No matter how much he runs, he can't burn it off. He can only drown it out with the pain of a hard run, his running buddy Ricky always urging him on, "Don't be scared of the soft sand." (How it is that Ricky can run with him every day when they don't live near each other and Castner is always traveling is itself a bit of a puzzler at first.) Is it a different form of PTSD? A manifestation of traumatic brain injury? Or perhaps Castner's own diagnosis, "Soldier's Heart".

To explain (or attempt to explain) the Crazy, Castner relates may of the most salient incidents from his deployments - from the life-threatening to the ludicrous to the heart-warming. He relates how so many of his Brothers (fellow EOD officers) met their end in sudden and gruesome ways, often right next to him. He relates stories of the fear and rage and confusion involved in dealing with Iraqi civilians whom he can't understand (either linguistically or culturally). He details the process and results of disarming IEDs and car bombs, or investigating the aftermath of those that weren't discovered in time. Such accounts are horrific and gruesome, but Castner makes them palatable with deft gallows humor which will leave you questioning your own sanity and morality as you laugh along with him. "The foot was in the box." Get it? Well, read the book and you will. Often in war laughing and crying are your only two choices.

I think one of the things that made the book engaging for me (in spite of myself) is that Castner doesn't portray himself as a victim. Quite the opposite, in fact; he was a willing, even eager, participant. He relates how, when he learned of EOD School, it was all he wanted to do and how, during school it was what he ate, breathed and thought all day. It was what he lived for, what he was born to do. It's the sense of living on the edge, staring danger in the face and coming back again for another helping. Life is simple - destroy your enemies, protect your friends; black-white. In fact, Castner seems to recognize that at least part of his Crazy comes from being away from this highly-charged, exciting, binary life - his Crazy signals approval when he considers the possibility of deploying again.

As a civilian, Castner does not exactly portray himself as the most decent kind of guy. His idea or "real living" seems to be strip clubs and lots of booze. He admits he's often not a very attentive husband or father to his four sons - in fact, his wife at one point begs him to cheat so she can divorce him honorably. Castner is almost an archetype of the Soldier - the perfect type of man to send to Iraq. A fierce, hard-driving man who lives for the challenges, danger and adrenalin, a man who is adverse to the more mundane, but muddier details of commitment and family life.

This book made me rethink my position on war just a bit. In general, I am very anti-war. But looking at the world from Castner's point of view, I can almost see war as a necessity - a way for brilliant, fit, driven and aggressive guys like Castner to exploit their gifts to the fullest in daily head-to-head confrontations which require extreme stamina and quick thinking. If it weren't for the horrific impact on civilians of war - the friends and loved ones left behind, as well as those in the war zone - I guess I'd say, have at and may the best man win. In this light, I'm not sure that Castner is suffering from PTSD. If home is where the heart is, then Castner's heart is in the war, and he is suffering from homesickness.

The author of "The Long Walk" is an EOD specialist (Explosive Ordinance), and the book is the story of his time in Iraq and the time after, when he returned home and became "crazy". The book is well-written, although his chapters jump from being in Iraq to being at home, and sometimes can be a little confusing at first. I did get used to it easily, though.

While in Iraq, because of what he does, he is too close to too many loud explosions, which most likely causes him some kind of traumatic brain injury. What troubles me about his story is that I live close to the author, and he tells stories of wanting to take his rifle out and shoot people when home at least twice, yet the VA hospital says he doesn't have PTSD. What also troubles me is that he refers to himself as crazy, yet doesn't want to take any medication. The mind can be sick just like the body, and I believe he may have been able to help himself by taking some type of medication.

I thank Brian for serving his country but wouldn't want to be on the receiving end if he ever did actually snap, and think he should be on medication for what seems to me to be anxiety attacks. He tries to get rid of the "crazy" by running long distances, but that doesn't seem to be working too well for him.

That being said, I did enjoy reading the book, even though it left me troubled about the care he received at our VA hospital - a hospital that I love as they saved my dad's life there around 3 years ago. I think Brian needs to get a new psychiatrist there and be open to the fact that medication might help him, and maybe he doesn't have to live with the "crazy".

This book was a quick and informative read, reminiscent of "The Hurt Locker." There was insights to 2 sides of a soldier- the killer instinct, and the sensitive father who cries as he gears up his son for hockey because it reminds him of bomb protection gear, and he has to come up with gimmicks to hide his emotions from his young son. He tries so hard to maintain these 2 distinct personas, and to fight his emotional scarring from war, which he has labelled "Crazy." The Crazy follows him everywhere and anywhere.

I liked the book. It was not dry, and bluntly descriptive- it had flavor and texture. It was bluntly honest, which I am a huge fan of- who else would admit to wanting to shoot people to stop them from screaming, or to empty the crowd at an airport (well a host of reasons, but still)? I like how it was told in flashes, which I thought was a clever tool, considering the narrator's brain worked in that manner- meaning we were doing the Long Walk with him, as readers. It may be a bit bit wordy in places, but it makes up for it in descriptions and excitement. War books are generally boring and too "news report" for me- I get that from the newspaper! I appreciated the psychological info as well, but I've volunteered in vet orgs, and I don't find any of it demeaning, like some of the comments- if we recognize a problem, we can fix it- it's been around forever! I like that he was so candid.

For a non fiction non-aficionado (normally), I was pretty pleased with this one.

Re-read the book. My first review was scathing and I didn't know why. It's because I had expected it to be a war book. A war book it is, but with the heart and mind of an airman and his demons.

Brilliant and very moving.

The casualties of war are circulating amongst us everyday. They are your neighbors, colleagues, and classmates. Some veterans are easy to recognize with their motorized wheelchairs or you think they have a strange walk, until you notice the prosthetic coming from the bottom of their shorts. Not every casualty returning is so easy to recognize. It is the invisible wounds in Brian Castner's story "The Long Walk" that many other veterans are struggling with daily as well. Brian recounts his struggle for the readers, he has taken the most difficult step, admitting that something just isn't right in his life and he needs help.

Captain Brian Castner is a former United States Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Officer, with two combat tours in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He is not only responsible for the safety of his men and women; he is charged with rendering safe the Improvised Explosive Devices (IED's) in his operating area. The clearing of the IED's allows the Battle Space Owner in which he is operating, to maintain their freedom of movement through out their Area of Operations (AO). The responsibility for the lives under his charge and the risk of losing his own a daily basis has taken an enormous toll on him and his family.

Brian introduces himself to the reader by declaring, "The first thing you should know about me is that I'm Crazy." He then tells us, "I don't know how to fix it. Or control it. Or endure from one moment to the next. The Crazy is winning." He attempts to deal with his Crazy by running, sometimes twice as day. Running is his self-prescribed therapy to escape, to get away from the memories that continue to haunt his daily life since the combat experience, but he can't. During the runs he recalls, in vivid detail, the circumstances that have brought him to where he currently is. He describes the new family acquired while attending EOD School and pinning on the Crab . The memories of the losing his Brothers on the battlefield flood his thoughts with each mile; he can't run far enough to escape the thoughts.

Brian utilizes flashback memories to capture the reader during his daily routine. Through the course of the day, a situation arrives that transports his mind back to a situation in Iraq. His chest begins to tighten, eye twitching, arm going numb; the Crazy is winning. The routine in combat, the muscle memory in preparation for each IED incident response, puts him at ease. It is what he knows, has come accustomed to during his combat tours. It is his normal.

Brian publicly announced that he is suffering the effects of combat, the invisible wounds. Brian's story has opened the door to recovery for many young men and women serving in the Armed Forces. It has made public a growing problem and helped reduce the stigma of seeking professional medical assistance. You don't have to run from your problems, turn and face them; it's the quickest way to recovery.

In this book Brian also shares with the reader is inner battles after the war is over.

When he returned home to his wife and family, he battles with a serious case of severe Post-Traumatic Illness that he refers to as "the Crazy". The author brings to the reader a very realistic picture of what this illness feels like. As he struggles being a father and a husband, memories are haunting and change his world. We have heard of PTSD, but this account will bring you closer to understanding and compassion to a soldier's walk.

This book is well written. One example is where the author, as an EOD officer in-country in Iran, conveys a very tangible sense of being in a combat situation (in a HumVee in a crowded square in Kirkuk) using the detailed thought process of how he has planned his squad's extraction from a perilous situation. This is the real returning veteran's journey, not something handed to the reader from the "pop-media". He writes a poignant story, in well organized way, that will help any non-veteran reader to understand where a returning veteran's head is upon returning to the US, and the troubles that that veteran; disorientation, delusions, apathy, strained marital relationship, defensiveness and paranoia, etc.; must straighten out prior to reclaiming his civilian lifestyle. I will recommend this book to my friends.

I would like to thank Brian for writing this book. It gives an accurate account of what role EOD teams have played in the war in Iraq and what the individual EOD operator may be going through both in theater and at home as they deal with their experiences. Each foray outside the wire is a life or death trip and each individual develops their own way of dealing with the fact that you may die today. That stress alone can have long lasting affects on the psyche. Affidavits like "The Long Walk" also help others understand what the Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines may be struggling with as they return home and attempt to adjust to what we perceive as normal life. As a retired Navy EOD Technician I lead a team in Iraq not far from where Brian and his team operated and many of the accounts of the missions in the book were carbon copies of missions we ran. Thanks for the memories Captain.

This should be required reading for all who are considering enlisting, and for all parents with children who are considering becoming part of this killing machine. This is the kind of information military recruiters leave out as they desperately work to fill their enlistment quotas. I have spoken to many veterans who had a serious disconnect between what they expected when they went into a war zone, and what they ended up experiencing and witnessing. It's impossible to visualize the reality of the horrors of war. Young people view war through movies and video games. They don't realize there is no "reset" button on reality.

A beautifully written,yet brutally honest memoir, this book describes life in Iraq as a bomb defuser and its terrible physical and psychological toll. Like the long walk he travelled to defuse the bombs in Iraq, the author encounters another long walk as he tries to reenter society upon his return home and struggles severely with PTSD. A timely and important book inspiring both admiration for the human spirit and despair for the high cost of war.

This was riveting, informative and compelling. It helped me to see the war in Iraq in a way I never had before. It moved back and forth from current events to flashbacks, and it explained some of the technical parts of the causes an effects of the mental stress of war.

A gripping and emotional account of a soldier's struggle to regain his life as a husband and father. This book is powerful and personal and provides the reader insight into the residual atrocities that many of our soldiers carry home with them from a military conflict. Beautlifully written....emotionally charged. I can't wait to see how this book was adapted to the stage in an opera.

This is a story of dedication to duty, to comrades, and to humanity by a writer who portrays the horrors of war without flinching and without sentimentality. Castner's clarity of vision and honesty in narration establish a moral perimeter around which swirls the amorality of combat. Though his work saved hundreds, even thousands of lives, on both sides, he was so busy watching out for others, he never gives himself the credit the earns. And he's no more "crazy" than Yossarian is crazy.

One man's soul-deep account of his harrowing experience in and out of war, but most likely, he speaks for thousands of veterans and active-duty military personnel. Incredibly moving and meaningful. This should be required reading as early as high school in this country.

I loved this book; burned through it in two days. The only complaint I'd make is that I wish there was more to read! The story found a way to literally hit all of the ups, downs, and emotions that described his experience in EOD. It allows the reader to feel it, but not in a cliche or cheesy way. Great book.

This memoir is very well written. I found some of the anecdotes interesting and informative, but self-indulgent. I've read many memoirs of soldiers and sailors; this one is not among the best personal histories. I found it a personal, if somewhat tedious, story of soldier's journey down through terrible experiences of war, to a final inevitable cynicism. It's difficult to say whether he was cynical before he entered the military or because of his experiences. From what I can discern from his writing, it is not clear.

Intertwined in moments of well described turmoil of war are various insights into the inner workings of one troubled veteran. M thoughts and prayers are omnipresent in regards to our brave men and women in the armed forces. But, this book was just whack!