Search - Michael Moore :: Will They Ever Trust Us Again: Letters From War

A Non-Fiction Account

Chan Joon Yee | Singapore | 02/05/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Michael Moore says that he does non-fiction, unlike some people who make up stories about WMDs in Iraq to justify a war which is really aimed at filling the pockets of individuals with vested interests in a "liberated" Iraq.



This book is a collection of letters from soldiers at the frontline of the war in Iraq. There are also letters from the soldiers' families and veterans. Moore aims to inform the American public about what the soldiers feel. They are proud to serve, but they also want to know exactly what they are fighting for when there are no WMDs and liberating the Iraqi people is none of America's business.



Michael Moore's powerful words: "They served so that wedon't have to. They offer to give up their lives so that we can be free. It is, remarkably, their gift to us. And all they ask for in return, is that we never send them into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. Will they trust us again?"



Titles of letters include:

"War slaves"

"I feel like I have blood on my hands"

"Obvious ulterior motives"

"There is no excuse for this war"

"Where are the WMDs? Why are we over in Iraq?"

"I call myself an American"



This book is so important at a time when the mainstream media in the US was totally one-sided in favour of the war. I could have given it 5 stars alone for content, but to be honest, I was little bored towards the middle and had to skip some letters before coming to the end. The worst thing is, this book didn't manage to convince enough people not to re-elect George Bush. Is it because people didn't know or they just didn't care?



This book is outdated. Reading it totally will not give the same impact, the hope and despair felt by the first readers before the elections. I hope that almost everyone in America realises by now that this war was a mistake from the start."

The Words of Soldiers

Winslow Bunny | Rockledge, Florida United States | 03/01/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For the record, Michael Moore is the fellow who put this book together, through his invitation to soldiers to write to him. Mr. Moore, as we all know, is a polarizing figure who you either hate or love, for your own reasons, and he's the guy who came up with the idea for this book. The real authors of this book, though, are the soldiers who responded to his invitation and wrote back about their feelings of our military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book really belongs to them and their honesty in expressing their thoughts. Now, not all soldiers feel the same way as those who appear in this book, just as there is no clear-cut concensus at home of our military presense in these Middle East countries. Yet I do not believe for one minute that the feelings of these soldiers are just isolated examples from the fringe of our military; when asked to possibly lay down your life for your country, a soldier needs to believe that the cause he is fighting for is good and just, and if there is some question as to the legitimacy of this military operation, soldiers question if their wounding or death would be in vain. Military action was much more clear-cut until about sixty years ago; then our pretense for military operations became progressively more blurry for those out on the battlefield. The soldiers in this book are the real stars of this story: they are the ones with the most to lose and the ones who see the what is really going on in the countries under siege, plus they are the ones who know best about the good or bad that we are creating in these countries. Michael Moore, for his part in the authorship of the book, has put together the book and then has ask the ultimate question: given our blurry pretense for military operations in the Middle East for the last five years, will we (or should we) ever be trusted again when we say that we need to go to war? It's quite a good question, based on the e-mails of those who have been asked to fight."

Funny but scary

Natacha Maldonado | NJ | 08/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"he kept it funny while telling the dark and horrible truth, not for everybody but if you find humor in irony than this is a good read"