Bulletproof Vest

For the author, a lifelong sufferer of anxiety, the idea of a bulletproof vest (or a 'bullet resistant' one, as the salesman reminded him) suggested a potent metaphor for humanity's relationship to violence, security, and mortality. His book mixes his own wartime accounts from Iraq and Syria with discussions of anxiety and the history of body armor; along the way, Rosen seeks to describe just what he was trying to banish when he put on his vest. The author's prose alternates between being confessional and informative ... Over the course of this reliably tense book, Rosen does a wonderful job of emphasizing the destructive power of warfare by framing his thoughts around account of being a noncombatant in a war zone. Overall, it's a quick read but one with great impact, as it asks its audience not only to think about protective vests, but also about the soft, vulnerable things that they're meant to protect. A compelling, thoughtful dive into the pursuit of being bulletproof. * Kirkus Reviews * Kenneth Rosen, war-reporter, journalist, abyss-looker, intuiter of the human spirit, presents the materials of war, stitches them together in a fascinating story that shows no matter how tight and polymeric the jacket, the true dangers of war are the mental wounds that go straight to your head. His insights into war do what they can to protect us from those wounds--but like the vest, offer an imperfect protection. Thankfully, Kenneth's words are near perfect and perfectly moving. * Nicole Walker, Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, USA, and author of Sustainability: A Love Story (2018) *