THE UNFORGIVING MINUTE A Soldier's Education

In simple but intelligent language, an Army officer shares his physical and mentally maturing experiences at West Point and Army Ranger school. Listeners can decide if those lessons in obedience, discipline, and conformity prepared him for leadership as a platoon leader in Afghanistan. Todd McLaren adapts his narration to the situations Mullaney describes. He assumes a raspy, gruff voice for orders from the Lieutenant's superiors and a somber one for occasional introspective moments. McLaren's subtle treatment avoids exaggeration while preserving the emotional moods the author intended for his memories of romance, combat, and death. McLaren capitalizes on the author's military brevity in describing war and captures his softer side as Shakespeareian poetry punctuates his recollections of courting his wife during postgraduate study at Oxford. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2009]