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A Review of I Heard My Country Calling by the Washington Independent Review of Books, August 4, 2014

August 4, 2014
by Tom Glenn, The Washington Independent Review of Books

““Nobody’s going to outwork me.” Through sheer determination and hard work,
Jim Webb excelled as a Marine, a U.S. Senator, and a bestselling author.

[H]is narrative offers an inside, no-punches-held look at the life of a man to whom independence was more important than money or power….

The writing from beginning to end is excellent. Webb has honed his craftsmanship to the point that glorious sentences roll out, one after another, though one might ask for more economy here and there. My guess is that here, as in other endeavors, no one has worked harder than Webb to master the art. I found the first two-thirds of the book totally enjoyable, less because of the content — Webb’s early life — than because of the writerly skill. The last third, starting with Webb’s experience in Vietnam, I found riveting. Everything, from his childhood to the U.S. Senate, is put in context by extraordinary historical background. If you know Webb’s writing, you know that history is one of his fascinations, and the backdrop of history informs each episode….”

To read more of the review, please visit: 
http://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/bookreview/i-heard-my-country-calling-a-memoir