What do you think of the title of the book, The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell? What does it refer to specifically? How does the author contextualize the title choice in the reading? How did you react to the reading overall?
The conditions of the Iraqi desert and the streets of Baghdad are described in detail throughout the reading. How do the author’s descriptions explain the fighting and tactics of the war in Iraq? How is this similar or different to what we have read about the war in Vietnam and World War Two?
Crawford spends time in the final chapter detailing his return to his hometown and his experience with friends at the Blue Crab festival. What image of America does this encapsulate, and how does it contrast with your image of America today?
Why do you think Crawford chooses to split the images of his honeymoon, time with his wife, and dreams of his post-college life with the “brown-out” on his birthday? What about the smaller details of his childhood memories with the war’s conditions and combat? What does this context does this provide to the war?
What are Crawford’s beliefs on the war? How does he view the army’s tactics, equipment, organization, and leadership? Do these opinions shift over time, especially after he has returned to the US?
Several times over the course of the reading, Crawford’s unit is charged with moving positions and joining new units, always with the explanation that it is temporary and they will be going home soon. How does he react and explain these moves to the reader? How do the units react to his unit?
On page 213 Crawford says, “Things hadn’t gotten particularly bad at that point, and it’s not like I was depressed or consciously worried. Still the rumblings of discontent had begun to boil. The phone was picked up just a little less often at home. I found myself looking with greater disdain on the Iraqis we had come to liberate. I lived for any excuse to deliver violence on them. This isn’t a confession; this is life.” How is this similar/different to the image you have of the war in Iraq? How about the media’s portrayal?
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