Craig M. Mullaney

5530. The Unforgiving Minute A Soldier's Education. by Craig M. Mullaney (read 6 Feb 2019) This is the story of the author's life at West Point (class of 2000), in Ranger training,.,at Oxford, and in Afghanistan. It is exceptionally well-told and the account of his time in Afghanistan is at times vivid and exciting. The author is very gungho and his account is often poignant and evokes one's whole-hearted admiration. I have not read a memoir of the Afghanistan war which tells as well what the war there is like--often dull but at any time likely to be deadly. The account also tells of his personal life as he went through his military time--including teaching at the Naval Academy.… (meer)

Craig Mullaney's memoir reveals such a personable and erudite young man. His experiences are told with humour and great humility, despite his rather extraordinary achievements. There is also a lot of pain in this book, from the loss of his men in battle to the loss of his father through estrangement; only one of these feels fairly resolved by the end, and understandably so. Also of interest is the way in which Mullaney immerses himself in Hindu culture out of both intellectual interest and love for his wife, and seems to mesh this well with his unshaken Catholic faith.

As when reading the work of his contemporary Nathaniel Fick, I could not help but think that if not the world but at least most of the military in the world were staffed by fellows like them, I would feel a lot better.… (meer)