{"product_id":"strongman-9781938603488","title":"Strongman","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn Army Reservist, Ben Wallace, is a reluctant member of the U.S. Army\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReserve. Yet, when he is called to duty in Operation Desert Shield, he realizes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehe wants to experience what his grandfather calls, “The Enlightenment of War.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHe initially joined the Army as a form of rebellion against his father–a Vietnam\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eera draft dodger–and as a way to be closer to his grandfather. His grandfather\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis a veteran of Guam. Wallace needs to experience combat, he thinks, to make\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehimself a man.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeveral things make this unlikely. Wallace is, first of all, a Laboratory Technician\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein a General Hospital. Second of all, every aspect of modern warfare isolates the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esoldiers from the discomforts and realities of the conflict. They have comfortable\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003euniforms made from hi-tech microfibers, access to phones to call home at any\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etime, rations designed by master chefs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWallace also becomes entangled in the schemes of a profiteering sergeant, Philip\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMice. Mice needs Wallace, for his physical strength, to defeat a rival sergeant\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand to manage the enlisted men while Mice establishes a business trading in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003econtraband. When the hospital arrives in Saudi Arabia, Mice sets up a thriving\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etrade in homebrewed beer, used furniture, and bacon. The trade deals in comfort\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eitems designed to alleviate what little discomfort that remains among the soldiers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Wallace and Mice and finally dispose of the rival sergeant, Wallace realizes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMice will never arrange for Wallace’s transfer to a field hospital near the front\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elines as long as he remains useful to him. When Wallace threatens to turn himself\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eover to the MPs, Mice quickly transfers Wallace to a field hospital. Following\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe First Infantry’s advance on Basra, Wallace encounters his first surrendered\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIraqis. The persistent unreality of the American Army’s war begins to slip away.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen he faces the remains of retreating Iraqi soldiers destroyed on the highway\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eto Basra, he finally experiences “The Enlightenment of War,” even though at\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethis point he would rather remain unenlightened.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Matt Briggs","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49074047615227,"sku":"9781938603488","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/CoreSourceHub_47656ae3-d753-4e97-8f26-c7206c7698f9.jpg?v=1784136395","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/strongman-9781938603488","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}