I can't believe how lucky I am. I pick up the most amazing books at my local library! Just recently I found Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet. (Really, it's not as dry as it sounds!)
I think what initially caught my eye was the cover image of a pair of boots standing atop a stack of books. I'm always interested to read books "on books" but have never truly found a good book in that genre. Samet's book fits that category as well as being a memoir and history book. I love her anecdotes about her English 102 students at West Point and how the cadets grapple to make meaning out of the literature they study in her classes. Relevance is a constant theme; how does classic literature, prose or poetry, relate to the lives of soldiers preparing to go to war?
I'm only partway through the book, but I love it. I feel like I'm back in school, in a sense, being taught by an amazing history and literature teacher! Fun!
I think what initially caught my eye was the cover image of a pair of boots standing atop a stack of books. I'm always interested to read books "on books" but have never truly found a good book in that genre. Samet's book fits that category as well as being a memoir and history book. I love her anecdotes about her English 102 students at West Point and how the cadets grapple to make meaning out of the literature they study in her classes. Relevance is a constant theme; how does classic literature, prose or poetry, relate to the lives of soldiers preparing to go to war?
I'm only partway through the book, but I love it. I feel like I'm back in school, in a sense, being taught by an amazing history and literature teacher! Fun!