Title: Six Years In The Middle East
Author: Tenacity
Publisher: Toplink Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 978-1948962704
Pages: 186
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Aaron Washington
Hollywood Book Review
I have never set foot in any Middle East country, but the author Tenacity made me feel as if I have spent a part of my life in the Arab countries. He takes the reader through his journey and work in the Middle East. The reader is first brought to Iraq when the book starts. It is one thing to hear about stories from the Middle East when narrated by a civilian; it is however interesting and intriguing when the narrator is a military contractor. Tenacity gives details of his mission in Iraq, Baghdad, Qatar and other areas in the Middle East in such a way one wants to keep reading.
Prior to reading this book, I had very little knowledge of how Ops are done, how teams are selected and how the war in the Arab world affected the people. Before leaving for Iraq, the author said he was excited at the prospect of experiencing an adventure in a foreign land. Through the descriptions of emotions and his way of describing the events, that’s the exact feeling I had while starting the book.
If you are wondering what entails the life of a department of defense contractor with American military abroad, then Six Years In The Middle East is what you need to read. Tenacity’s life was certainly an adventure. Every experience he and his team had in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Qatar, Oman, and Iraq was exciting and different. I especially enjoyed how they worked together. Being taken to work in a foreign land can be challenging, especially if you are not experienced. I found life in Iraq, in particular, to be most interesting.
Tenacity’s use of pictures when telling his story brought the book to a whole new level of realism. Pictures convey a lot of messages; sometimes more than words. By including images in his text, Tenacity enabled the reader to visualize some things on the ground. I appreciate that he added pictures of anything he could get; be it his shoes, random locations, working gear, outfit, colleagues, you name it. Tenacity really wanted the reader to understand every bit of his journey.
Six Years In The Middle East is a great book. The text and pictures complement each other and the story flows well. I found it fascinating reading about the problems Tenacity faced while in the Middle East. This is because more often than not, the team would find a solution and solve the problem. Reading about his journey made me realize how important critical thinking is. There is power in teamwork. Like the common saying goes; two heads are better than one.
Tenacity’s story is amazing. I liked his bravery and way of dealing with things; I was amused by the traveling even though he sometimes traveled under unpleasant circumstances. There are a lot of life lessons one can learn from him. I think it has an element of fun being a military contractor. You get to see the world from a different perspective.