I have been dying to write about the following book since I read it in early August. The memoir, called It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace, was the most inspiring book I read all summer. I heard about it from a graduating senior on one of the final days of last school year. I had mentioned that our department was contemplating a "One Book One School" program, which was exactly what her university was doing. This was the book she was to read over the summer before her freshman year at college.
The most intriguing aspect of this book, by Rye Barcott (@ryebarcott), is the dichotomy between the author's passion for the U.S. military and his commitment to peacefully reconciling ethnic violence, particularly in areas of Africa. His desire to maintain peace in the world--shaped in large part by his anthropology professor mother and his Vietnam vet father--drives him to simultaneously enroll in the ROTC program and pursue an independent research project, which involves semi-annual trips to Kiberia, the largest slum in Kenya.
Throughout the approximately ten-year span of the book, Barcott details his experiences in the U.S., Kenya, Somalia, and Iraq. He describes the extreme patriotism he feels for his country, as well as the compassion he feels for the residents of Kiberia. He emphasizes the importance of helping the poor, downtrodden members of society by empowering them to begin their own community outreach programs, clinics, and small businesses so as to increase a sense of responsibility and ownership within the residents of these communities. Barcott also believes in the necessity of a strong military in order to maintain peace and order throughout the world.
The path to peace is not easy for Barcott, and his relationships and investments do not always go as planned. On several occasions he literally and figuratively falls on his face in his efforts to achieve high military honors and large-scale humanitarian efforts simultaneously. One of his most significant obstacles is fundraising and selecting the best local projects in which to invest. He is at times misunderstood by his fellow Marines and does not always attain top honors in his military trainings as he aspires to do. In Kiberia, an area ruled in large part by gang violence as the Kenyan police find it too dangerous to enter, Barcott--the only white person in Kieberia on most occasions--must learn the appropriate greetings and ways of life as to not be targeted by the gang leaders.
What Barcott achieves by the age of 30 is remarkable and inspiring to anyone who reads it. Incoming college students are a prime audience, since the memoir largely describes the author's accomplishments throughout his late teens and twenties. Nevertheless, this book could certainly be a One Book One School selection for a high school population, too. Students reading at a middle school reading level might have some difficulty with the book's somewhat sophisticated writing style, which I would estimate to be written at about a 10th or 11th grade reading level. Reluctant readers might be turned off by the book's length (352 pages). However, if these students have any interest in poverty, the military, or human rights, the intriguing subject matter might be all they need to persevere through the challenging spots. Low readers could also read excerpts or perhaps an easier text with similar themes.
Finally, It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace would be an excellent text to read in conjunction with a service project or a volunteer assignment. When you close the final pages of the book, you will certainly feel an overwhelming desire to make a difference in the world.
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