Pulitzer-winner Chivers in Westerly
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter and bestselling author C.J. Chivers appears Thursday in Westerly’s Savoy Book Shop & Cafe to discuss and sign copies of his newest book, “The Fighters.”
In this examination of modern warfare through the prism of America’s efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11, Chivers, who extensively covered both conflicts, reports through the perspectives of six different warriors: a fighter pilot, a corpsman, a scout helicopter pilot, a grunt, an infantry officer, and a Special Forces sergeant.
Chivers, himself an Marine Corps infantry veteran, depicts the bravery and commitment of our forces — as well as the subsequent issues of guilt, frustration, physical and mental anguish against enemies whose tactics, loyalties are constantly shifting and evolving without the backdrop of a moral compass.
In their starred review of “The Fighters,” Kirkus called the book “searing” and “chilling” and wrote, “Now no longer in combat, the protagonists were candid with Chivers about the worth of their military missions. Sometimes bitterness emerged, but more often puzzlement, as the combatants tried to work through why they and their fellow troops were fighting elusive enemies for no clear purpose.”
This should be a bracing and revelatory experience.