A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, 2009, * * * *

Set just after the events of September 2001, the novel deals with anxiety and disconnection of a post-9/11 America, and focuses on the insidiousness of racism, the blind-sidedness of war, and the recklessness thrust on others in the name of love. Tassie Keltjin, 20, a smalltown girl weathering a clumsy college year in 'the Athens of the Midwest,' is taken on as prospective nanny by brittle Sarah Brink, the proprietor of a pricey restaurant who is desperate to adopt a baby despite her dodgy past. The novel is full of mordant humor in shades of gray to charcoal, a quirky, self-deprecating heroine who notices both too much and not enough about the people in her life, depictions of contemporary American mores and fripperies, and finally, a double examination of the fragility of love's intent. As the year unfolds Tassie's own life back home becomes ever more alien to her: her parents are frailer; her brother, aimless and lost in high school, contemplates joining the military. Tassie finds herself becoming more and more the stranger she felt herself to be, and as life and love unravel dramatically, even shockingly, she is forever changed. Moore's graceful prose considers serious emotional and political issues with low-key clarity and poignancy.

The Good Soldiers by David Finkel, 2009, * * * *

In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq which he called “the surge”. He said: “Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences.” A skeptical nation listened and among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed "The Rangers". About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them. For the 2-16, waning violence still meant wild firefights, nerve-wracking patrols through hostile neighborhoods, trash piles that could hide an IED, and dozens of comrades killed and maimed. Finkel's firsthand view is limited, however, as the soldiers' perspective is one of constant reaction to attacks and crises with little sense of exactly how and why the new American counterinsurgency methods calmed the Iraqi maelstrom or what constitutes a success. This book combines the action of Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down with the literary brio of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried,  and is an unforgettable work of reporting. David Finkel has produced a story not just about the Iraq War, but of all wars.  Finkel's firsthand description presents an honest, painful and beautifully rendered account of the American experience in Iraq.  .

Final Salute:A Story of Unfinished Lives by J. Sheeler, 2008,* * *

Based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning story, Jim Sheeler's shines an unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead. Final Salute Is a stunning tribute to the soldiers who have died in Iraq and their devastated families. Sheeler spent two years shadowing Maj. Steve Beck, a marine in charge of casualty notification, as he delivered the news of battlefield death to families. The reader is put in Beck's shoes as he walks up to houses, delivers the knock on the door dreaded by every military family, and tries to comfort distraught spouses and parents. . After the knock on the door, the story has only begun. From the beginning, Major Beck decided, if he was going to do this job, he would do it his way, the way he would want it done if he were the one in the casket. He learned each dead Marine's name and nickname; touched the toys they grew up with, read the letters they wrote home and held grieving mothers in long embraces. This is an achingly beautiful, devastatingly honest story of the true toll of war. Jim Sheeler weaves together the stories of the fallen and of the broken homes they have left behind and also tells the story of Major Beck and his unflagging efforts to help heal the wounds of those left grieving. Above all, it is a moving tribute to our troops, putting faces to the mostly anonymous names of our courageous heroes, and to the brave families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country.