On Another Man's Wound - WWII Military Memoir Book | Firsthand Account of Irish War of Independence | Perfect for History Buffs & Military Enthusiasts

Marvelous book. Surely this must be a classic of Irish literature?O'Malley tells the story of his involvement in the Irish war of independence. He was an organizer and recruiter for the IRA as well as leading guerilla actions. He is imprisoned and beaten, and escapes. He tells all this in a very compelling literary voice--not boasting, and not self-involved. It's a stoic voice, but it's saved from Hemingway-esque self-parody by O'Malley's love of the natural landscape and the people of ireland.O'Malley was born to middle class respectability among "west English" parents. He learned about irish as opposed to anglo-irish culture from the servants. When the Easter Rising breaks out he isn't sure where his loyalties lie. But he commits to Independence and from that point his story is as much about discovering and inventing the Ireland that could be free as it is about freeing ireland. His own self-discovery is the discovery of ireland's self; his own growth into maturity parallels ireland'sThis makes it seem like the book is grandiose but it's not at all. O'Malley doesn't boast or linger on his own heroism. He's open about his failures. His descriptions of moments of action are no more or less verbose or detailed than his descriptions of the foggy dew. It's a very "masculine" voice but in the best sense: sensitive and active and aware, outward looking but not obtuse.Really a pretty remarkable book and one that should be on the shelves of anyone interested in nationalism and counterinsurgency. I imagine there are analogs to O'Malley in vietnam, Algeria; in Latin America--any place where nationalists are trying to throw off colonial rule. They have to imagine what it is they are fighting to bring about.