Our guest is Jerad W. Alexander, a journalist who's written for Esquire, Rolling Stone, The Nation, and other publications. From 1998 to 2006, he served as a U.S. Marine, deploying to the Mediterranean, East Africa, and Iraq, and his new memoir covers these experiences. That book is "Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War." As was noted of it by Kirkus Reviews: "Alexander offers a well-attuned perspective of the military world and how its expansive influence not only motivates, but also arouses a justification for war itself.... [His] insights into the myth-building ethos of the military...are well-articulated, and he ably explores ideals of masculinity, heroism, and camaraderie within the military establishment.... Alexander vividly captures the foreboding atmosphere of a country under siege and recounts the disturbing incidents he witnessed.... An absorbing memoir."
"Volunteers: Growing Up in the Forever War"
