Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Celebrate Veterans Day with memoirs from past Commanders-in-Chief

It's Veterans Day! Here are two recently-published memoirs of past Commanders-in-Chief that offer some great reading to celebrate this holiday. Talk to the Reader's Advisory Librarian (at the desk in the fiction section) for more great suggestions, and please post some suggestions of your own!

Bush, G.W. (2010) Decision Points

Publisher summary: The author offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life and presidency, discussing the hotly contested 2000 election, 9/11, the Iraq war and his controversial decisions on the financial crisis, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan and Iran, as well as his decision to quit drinking, discovery of faith and relationship with his family.

Carter, J. (2010) White House Diary

Publisher summary: During his years in the White House, President Jimmy Carter kept a diary filled with insights into his presidency, his relationship with friends and foes and his lasting impact on issues that are still important today, and now the diary is available to the public for the first time, with the best entries selected by Carter himself and complemented by his candid reflections.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

Celebrate Veterans Day with memoirs from past Commanders-in-Chief

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