Praise for Tomas Youngs War
I consider myself extremely fortunate to have known Tomas Young. Im grateful that this powerful book of Mark Wilkersons will allow readers to experience the strength, humor, and wisdom that this strong-willed and courageous man maintained till the very end. I miss him intensely.
Eddie Vedder
Tomas Young joined the army to wage war and emerged a champion of peace. The grievous injury he suffered in Iraq consigned him to a wheelchair, but from there he rose to incredible heights, raising the hue and cry against an illegal war and those who authored it. Mark Wilkersons biography of Tomas Young is difficult but essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the ravages of war and the torment suffered by veterans and their loved ones. This book is a tribute to Tomas, written proof that profound humanity can survive the terrible crucible of war.
Amy Goodman, host and executive producer, Democracy Now!
Tomas Youngs is a story that every American should know. A soldier who paid a terrible price for the crimes of his superiors, Young courageously spoke out against the illegal war that eventually took his life, and attempted to hold those who initiated it accountable. Mark Wilkerson has done a great service in rendering Youngs life, and the lives of those who cared for him, in their full humanity.
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Powerful, moving, inspiring. When I finished reading this book I felt it was my duty to state again that I will do whatever it takes to ensure there are no more young Americans who will have to go through what Tomas had to endure. Never again. Thank you Tomas and thank you Mark for telling his story.
Michael Moore, Academy Awardwinning filmmaker
There is nothing more courageous than a soldier who stands up against an unjust war. Tomas Young was a true American hero.
Tom Morello
Tomas Youngs war in Iraq lasted only five days, long enough to oblige Americans who sent him there to read this intimate, harrowing account of the life he lived after.
Ann Jones, author of They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from Americas Wars: The Untold Story
An extremely poignant statement on human vulnerability and the devastation of war.
Kirkus Reviews
Tomas Young, an army soldier paralyzed in Iraq, surmounted his injuries to become one of the most powerful and eloquent voices denouncing the war. He condemned with a righteous fury those who lied to lead us into war, including George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, and called for them to be prosecuted and tried for war crimes. He grieved for all who were injured or killed in the conflict, American and Iraqi. He spoke on their behalf. And as his health deteriorated to the point where he was unable to leave his bed he penned in his last letter one of the most scathing indictments of the Iraq war and the terrible betrayal he and his fellow veterans endured. He served as the conscience of the nation. And although his life was cut short, his is the final word on a war that should have never been fought.
Christopher Hedges, author and Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist
Tomas Youngs War is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of a courageous soldier and his family. Few books reveal the graphic details of how families deal with the catastrophic war injuries of their loved onesMark Wilkersons Tomas Youngs War does just that in a sympathetic and at times humorous way. I first met Tomas in 2005 when he and his wife arrived in hot Camp Casey, Texas, to challenge President Bushs war on Iraq, the war that had almost killed him and had left him gravely injured. Over the next eight years, as his body deteriorated, his mind remained clear about the Bush administrations lies that took the nation to war and he became an important voice for peace, not war!
Colonel Ann Wright, US Army Reserve (Ret.) and former US diplomat who resigned in 2003 in opposition to the Iraq war
Brilliantly rendered.... Amid the unpleasant realities of urinary tract infections, hollow bedsores, leaking urine bags, failed erections, a collapsing marriage, and blinding loneliness, Wilkerson finds a story of love, hope, and fierce loyalty.... Before another commander in chief swaggers before the news cameras and declares Bring it on, I want them to read this book.
Phil Donahue, from the foreword
As the dogs of war were howling in early 2003 and the media was simply regurgitating their hysteria, Robert Greenwald and I organized a group of celebrities, politicians, and military experts who could get attention and launched Artists United to Win Without War. We were excoriated, of course, but at least created some debate before the inevitable disaster took place. In later years, I argued that Dick Cheney, George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, and their attending lapdogs should be required to walk naked down the main street of every American city, town, and hamlet that lost a child, or part of one, to that horrifying misadventure and suffer the ignominy they so deeply deserved at the hands of the people they had betrayed. After reading Tomas Youngs War , Mark Wilkersons immensely powerful, pain-streaked book, I would only amend my prescription for these war criminals by adding the requirement that they be forced to read the book, aloud, while walking those streets.
Mike Farrell, actor, activist, and author of
Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist
TOMAS YOUNGS WAR
By Mark Wilkerson
Haymarket Books
Chicago, Illinois
2016 Mark Wilkerson
Published by
Haymarket Books
P.O. Box 180165
Chicago, IL 60618
773-583-7884
www.haymarketbooks.org
info@haymarketbooks.org
ISBN: 978-1-60846-650-4 (Paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-60846-591-0 (Hardcover)
Trade distribution:
In the US, Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, www.cbsd.com
In Canada, Publishers Group Canada, www.pgcbooks.ca
In the UK, Turnaround Publisher Services, www.turnaround-uk.com
All other countries, Publishers Group Worldwide, www.pgw.com
This book was published with the generous support of Lannan Foundation
and Wallace Action Fund.
Lyrics to No More by Eddie Vedder are used with permission; lyrics to Until the End and Stray Bullets by Tom Morello are used with permission; lyrics to Soldiers Heart by Jacob George are used with permission; quote from Where the Wild Things Are is used with permission from the estate of Maurice Sendak.
Cover design by Shepard Fairey (www.obeygiant.com).
Based on a photograph by Olivier Morel.
Interior photo credits:
Danny Clinch (www.dannyclinch.com); Claudia Cuellar;
Phil Donahue; Alan Messer (www.alanmesser.com); Olivier Morel;
Eugene Richards (www.eugenerichards.com); Cathy Smith; Riley Soden
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.
For Tomas and his family
Contents