Contest Alert!

Just a quick post to say that Melodye Shore has a review up of The Sandbox: Dispatches From the Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. (You may remember that I offered to donate a copy of this book to the first person who commented and was willing to review it as a YA read.) And, clever person that she is, she has a contest to go along with her review. Head over there now to read her thoughtful, concise review and to enter the give-away. (Deadline: Saturday night!)

Veterans Day: Blogging the Wars

From the blog, The Sandbox:

BLOGGING THE WARS
Name: SANDBOX DUTY OFFICER David Stanford
Date: 11/12/07

Three Sandbox contributors will be featured on San Francisco public radio station KQED's nationally distributed live call-in program "Forum with Michael Krasny" today. Here's the description from the KQED website, which will offer streaming and download:

Blogging the Wars -- On Veteran's Day, Forum talks to soldiers who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan about their service, and about how blogging has helped them express their battlefield experiences. Guests include Ernesto Estrada, policy associate with the Iraq Veteran Project of Swords to Plowshares, a community based veteran's rights organization; Troy Steward, first sergeant of the New York National Guard and a blogger at bouhammer.com; Alex Horton, specialist in the Third Stryker Brigade of the U.S. Army whose blog, "Army of Dude," can be found at www.armyofdude.blogspot.com; and Lee Kelley, captain in the Utah National Guard whose blog, "Wordsmith at War," can be found at www.wordsmithatwar.blog-city.com.
Host: with Michael Krasny (Hour Two)

From The Sandbox (and a Book for Review)

What does a soldier stationed in Afghanistan write about? The most important thing in the world. From a post over at The Sandbox:

"This is what it's all about. You can see a lot of the emotions of Afghanistan on their faces. Determination, friendliness, happiness, uncertainty, and trepidation are all there on one face or another. The children of Afghanistan are the future of Afghanistan, and when these children are educated and grown and live in an Islamic democratic society that works, there will be no home in Afghanistan for extremism. That is what will make our country and all the countries of the world safer."

Go read the entire post (it's mostly pictures with commentary) and then, check out Gary Trudeau's book that is based on this blog. Yes, I'm talking about the creator of the comic strip, Doonesbury. He launched a blog for military personnel on the front lines, and this book was just released in October.

Would somebody like to review it as a YA read?
(I'll send you a copy. Post your name in the comments or email me.)

The book was featured on NPR's All Things Considered, and is "a fundraiser for Fisher House, a 'home away from home' for the families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers."