Sharkman Six

Rating:
Summary: 360 degrees of mindlessness
Review: This food distribution/police action/nation-building/rules-of-engagement war was frustrating in the extreme. Mr West and the spooky voice of Lee Sellars combine for a gut wrenching and agonizing story on audio. We put our military in harm's way and did not give them the means to DO SOMETHING and when they did do something it was inevitably the wrong thing based on the "rules" of the moment. This is the Black Hawk Down of fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Never leave the freakin boat
Review: This modern war story grabbed me by the collar and never let go. In the same prose as Tom Clancy with a touch of Stephen Ambrose reality, Mr West delivers an incredible (possibly true)story of a generation who "was not supposed to fight a war". I highly recommend this novel for anybody looking to quench their nationalistic thirst while looking for an awesome tale of the trials and tribulations of a man's leadership amongst his peers.
If you like knowing what "really happened" combined with some action and suspense you will love sharkman six.

Rating:
Summary: We Need Gavin Kelly in Baghdad
Review: While this book suffers from Mr. West's obvious autobiographical struggle to reconcile his liberal arts education with his warrior instincts, this book is, nonetheless, excellent and an engrossing read. For those of us who have worked our way through the entire Tom Clancy library and have nothing left to read, Mr. West may be a welcome addition to the scene. One hopes he loses the tendency to imbue his Marines with a conscience and sticks to the warrior stuff, especially as our national attention shifts to big game cave-hunting in Afghanistan. In any case, a good read and a good start to our introduction to Gavin Kelly. I hope more follows.