Charles@Afghanistan: Crazy Encounters from the Not-So-Front Lines

Since the war in Afghanistan began there have been "first person" books, movies, and memoirs galore about the intense experience on the ground, the political controversies, and the regrettable losses that go hand in hand with any war. Just to be clear about this; Charles@Afghanistan: Crazy Encounters from the Not-So-Front Lines by Charles McDonald Holt IS NOT THAT BOOK - not by a Texas mile! There are more than a few stories in this book that will frighten you, or bring a tear to your eye - but there are far more that will bring you make you gasp for air, and wipe away tears - of laughter.
This story of a good old boy from the South East Texas Piney Woods turned truck driver for the U.S. Military in Afghanistan, is told in a series of emails he sent home to family and friends to document his experiences as a "stranger in a strange land." From stories of fallen comrade ceremonies, plumbing that is both primitive and mystifyingly complicated at the same time, to sharing his chicken dinner with the biggest Wasp he had ever seen: "He is as large as a Bumble Bee, the color of a Red Wasp, and his tail is black in color with a big yellow ring. He looked like a Hornet on steroids." Holt, sees it all, and tells it all, and never loses his dry sense of humor. His stories have heart and humor, and he is also a truth-teller; a non-military man in the middle of a very military operation - it's called war. War is never fun, but that doesn't mean that it can't be funny.