Gallagher excels at describing the peculiar culture of America’s volunteer army with humor and attention to the little details. Throughout Kaboom, we get a sense of the ground level insanity and simple stupidity of the military leadership, while gaining an enormous respect for the troops tasked with carrying out what are sometimes contradictory orders. The day-to-day of military life is grueling, boring and sometimes rattled by moments of violence, and Gallagher’s account certainly conveys that to a largely ignorant civilian audience. Throughout the book, one develops a great appreciation for the soldiers, NCO’s and junior officers out in the field, trying to making America’s counterinsurgency plan in Iraq work.

In addition, Gallagher describes the complicated political situation on the ground between Shia and Sunni Iraqis, various paramilitary forces, the Iraqi National Police, the Iraqi Army in a way that further illustrates the naiveté of the war’s original goals.

It’s also worth noting that much time in the book is given to illustrating the U.S. Army’s dependence on civilian interpreters (or “terps”), and the bravery of the local men who openly collaborate with the Americans for the greater good of their country. The interpreters are a fully integrated part of the U.S. military presence in Iraq and being identified by the wrong people could put their lives and the lives of their families at great risk. Yet these men continue to work with the U.S. Army in an attempt to improve conditions in Iraq.

Where the book falls short, however, is when Gallagher attempts to describe his state of mind through all this — the resulting chapters read like a mix of blank verse and Nine Inch Nail lyrics. He’s best when he’s writing a clear account of the facts, but at his weakest when he attempts to push his writing beyond that.

I have not read many books on the war in Iraq — Evan Wright’s Generation Kill being the only other one — so I can’t speak to how Kaboom compares to other Iraq memoirs. I can say, however, that I found it to be an engaging and funny look at a world that is poorly reported by the mainstream media. It was certainly worth my time.