Dissecting the American Soldier

KARACHI: It was an all-white affair at the weekly meeting of the Reader’s Club this Friday as members of the club got together to discuss the week’s pick, titled “American Soldier”. This autobiographical account by General Tommy Franks, the commander-in-chief of Centcom, starts with his childhood memories and goes up to the point when he became one of the most competent commanders in the history of the United States. In his book, Franks also narrates various sordid details and secrets of the American armed forces during the War on Terror.

Dr Abu Bakr Sheikh, the speaker at the event, described the book as “a forthright, candid discussion”. The doctor professed that he was unaware of the fact that the general had such in-depth knowledge of the US history and international relations.

Sheikh also posed questioned for the audience, took their feedback and answered their questions while sharing his perspective on the current US diplomatic ties with the audience.

The Reader’s Club is one of the oldest clubs of its kind in Karachi. It was created eight years ago by Azmat Khan, Abbas Hussain and a few like-minded people, who wanted to explore and share various texts that exist in the global pool of literature today.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2010.