The Mirror Test : America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Resource Information

The work The Mirror Test : America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Austin Public Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The Mirror Test : America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Title remainder

America at War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Statement of responsibility

J. Kael Weston

Creator

• trueWeston, J. Kael

Author

• trueWeston, J. Kael

Subject

• HISTORY -- Military | Afghan War (2001- )
• HISTORY -- Military | Iraq War (2003-2011)
• HISTORY -- United States -- 21st Century
• trueIraq War, 2003-2011
• trueIraq War, 2003-2011 -- Personal narratives, American
• Personal narratives
• Afghan War, 2001-
• United States, Department of State -- Officials and employees -- Biography
• Weston, J. Kael
• United States, Department of State
• Afghan War, 2001- -- Personal narratives, American

Genre

• truePersonal narratives, American
• truePersonal narratives
• trueBiography

Language

eng

Summary

• "In a powerfully written firsthand account of the human costs of conflict, the author challenges Americans to address hard questions about America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, "--NoveList
• A powerfully written firsthand account of the human costs of conflict. J. Kael Weston spent seven years on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan working for the U.S. State Department in some of the most dangerous frontline locations. Upon his return home, while traveling the country to pay respect to the dead and wounded, he asked himself: When will these wars end? How will they be remembered and memorialized? What lessons can we learn from them? These are questions with no quick answers, but perhaps ones that might lead to a shared reckoning worthy of the sacrifices of those--troops and civilians alike--whose lives have been changed by more than a decade and a half of war. Weston takes us from California to Iraq, Afghanistan, Maryland, Wyoming, and New York City. We meet generals, corporals and captains, senators and ambassadors, NATO allies, Iraqi truck drivers, city councils, imams and mullahs, Afghan schoolteachers, madrassa and college students, former Taliban fighters and ex-Guantánamo prison detainees, a torture victim, SEAL and Delta Force teams, and many Marines. The overall frame for the book centers on soldiers who have received a grievous wound to the face. There is a moment during their recovery when they must look upon their reconstructed appearance for the first time. This is known as "the mirror test." From an intricate tapestry of voices and stories--Iraqi, Afghan, and American--Weston delivers a mirror test for our nation in its global role. An unflinching and deep examination of the interplay between warfare and diplomacy, this is a crucial look at America now, how it is viewed in the world and how the nation views itself.--Adapted from dust jacket

Biography type

contains biographical information

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

• 956.7044/345092
• B

Illustrations

• illustrations
• maps
• plates

Index

index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography