So much can we learn from this book. Would that it would be required reading for every highschool student, every young person who faces the possibility of conscription. Those of us who have spent time in America's wars whether [with me] in Vietnam, or in Korea or Europe or the Middle East can only shed tears of shared memories while reading this emotional book. Maybe with time enough voices such as that of Vladislav Tamarov will create a chorus loud enough to descry war of any kind. Until that time we stand in quiet unison behind those with the bravery of Tamarov to speak the truth. Most especially now....
"The only thing we wanted was to go home," he says, giving a name and a personality to each young man in the photos. Some were killed within minutes after the photos were taken; some lived longer and were wounded or killed later; and some, like Vlad himself, lived to tell about it. His words are simple but carry universal truths. "Our fate did not always depend on us," he says, as he describes the act of sweeping for mines so that others troops would be able to follow in relative safety. "Everything about it was insane," he says, as he later looks at the politics, which thrust him into the war as well as surprising bits of kindness from the Afghans who mostly looked at the solidiers with sadness and suspicion in his eyes. Once, an Afghan woman had baked bread especially for them and when, as he says, "I held that fresh fragrant bread in my hand, I almost forgot there was a war."
Some parts of the narrative are repetitive which added emphasis to what he was saying. And some parts are pieces of dreams and nightmares that haunted him later. Always though, there was a simple truth to it all. It brought me right into the heart of the madness and I could feel his fear as well as his desire to survive. The combination of photographs and words went straight to my heart. This is a fine book. Anyone who is willing to explore the harsh reality of soldiers everywhere, and this Soviet soldier's experience in particular, will find it wonderful. Highly recommended.
