Although Fobbit is fiction, Abrams spent 20 years in the military and time in Iraq within public affairs. Obviously, he knows something about the military and what is involved within its sphere of communications. However, with this writing being fiction, he is able to take any liberties he desires with his characters and their circumstances, which provides for an understanding of "life" for those working on base, and their experiences of war, which is not on the front lines. This book acknowledges those who are involved in the daily activities of war "behind the scenes," and rarely, if ever, covered by the media. For those reasons, I appreciate this book.
To keep straight the various characters was difficult to do. From decisions on deadlines to decisions of life or death, there was a lot of activity amongst many characters within each chapter. In some respect, though, this was not an issue, since each character had his own situation to try to control, despite the environment and personal and professional expectations. The internal conflict of some characters about working on base rather than in the field presents a new dynamic not seen in characters of typical books on war. I wonder if this conflict permeates the military and/or if we, as a society, hold double-standards of those in the military.
Understanding life and the roles of those working on base was refreshing and enlightening. Many individuals are involved in daily operations and to support those who are in the field/on the front lines. Yet, at the same time, as one character notes, some decisions are made easily and without reason or reflection when made within an office, with the strike of a pen, or the click of a box on a computer screen.
I have read comments that some of this writing has come too soon after the war in Iraq. However, for civilians in the U.S. and to off-set the media coverage, I think Fobbit and related books are necessary and important to our understanding of such a significant time and piece of history, and the influence on the individuals involved.
