The pen is mightier than the machine gun

The LA Times Magazine takes a look at the recent spate of memoirs written by soldiers returning from the action in Iraq. After hemming and hawing a little bit about the quality of an immediate response, without the years of gestation and rumination that apparently make for a good war memoir, Michael Slenske decides that these books are good for the American people, who need to have the real war brought into their homes. For confirmation, he turns to none other than John McCain, who opines:

Most historians would agree that definitive histories are written at a minimum of 20 to 30 years after a conflict is over. But that doesn't detract from a personal account of an individual's involvement. ... Firsthand experiences are always helpful in contributing to the knowledge of people who haven't been there.

Plus, speaking as a historian, I know that these memoirs will be a treasure trove for the historians of the future when they write about the Iraq war. (Of course, they will have to take into account people's biases and motivations, the pressures of publishing, etc. but good historians will do that. Good readers now should attempt to do so as well.)

My favorite description of any of the memoirs comes courtesy of Kirkus Reviews, which said of Colby Buzzell's My War: Killing Time in Iraq: "If military recruitment is down now, wait till the kids read this book." The Times article also includes a great excerpt.

I don't know that I'll be reading any of these any time soon, but I definitely agree that we should be listening to the soldiers as an important voice in the conversation on the war.