Review of Life After Death - A Guardsman's Tale

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Lucy Vera
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Review of Life After Death - A Guardsman's Tale

Post by Lucy Vera »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Life After Death - A Guardsman's Tale" by James Paul Watson.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Life After Death - A Guardsman’s Tale by James Paul Watson is an eye-opening book about what goes on in the British Army. It is a non-fiction autobiography. It is also a historical novel based on the military.

Watson as a child, was troublesome because of his childhood experiences. He was taken to a children's home from where he joined the army at the tender age of seventeen. After entering the military, he underwent training with his colleagues where they were taught how to kill their enemy.

They were assigned their first mission, which was to secure Kosovo, where they had seen a genocide. After witnessing the genocide, it left them traumatized. They fought and battled in Northern Ireland; they also fought the Taliban in Afghanistan, where they witnessed many gruesome deaths and heinous injuries. These experiences had some psychological effects on them. What did the British Army do to help the soldiers who developed psychological issues? Did the British Army even care about the welfare of the soldiers?

This book has a lot of positive effects. This book educated me on what childhood experiences do to individuals as they advance and how they influence one's decisions. I learned that one’s childhood experiences could also cause one to have the effects of PTSD. I learned about the British Army from this book. I learned about their rigorous training, incessant missions, and the numerous wars they fight. This book really opened my eyes to how the soldiers are treated in the army. I love how the author attached pictures to some chapters of this book. The language of this book was relatively easy to understand. I was also able to learn a few new words, such as Bayonet, Reconnaissance, Inundated, Exacerbate, Sectarian Racism, Attrition, and so on. This book brought out some emotions in me. For instance, I was sad when I read about Watson’s childhood story. He was neglected, abandoned, and constantly beaten by his parents, who were into drugs and alcohol. I was also angry about how the British Army treated the soldiers regarding their welfare.

This book has just one negative aspect. The name doesn’t in any way tally with the contents of the story. When I saw the title of this book at first, I thought it was a story about life after death, but it turns out it wasn’t. I found minimal errors in this book. This shows that this book was professionally edited.

I, therefore, rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Despite the negative aspect I stated above, I enjoyed every aspect of this book. I learned so much about the British Army and, might I add, life in general.

I recommend this book to lovers of non-fiction novels. Also, anyone who loves reading autobiographies, historical fiction, and military stories would enjoy this book.

******
Life After Death - A Guardsman's Tale
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Nomcebo_0619
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Post by Nomcebo_0619 »

Childhood traumas are a real thing. I commend the author for tackling this topic. Thanks for a wonderful review.
June Blue
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Post by June Blue »

PTSD in soldiers caused by wars needs more recognition. The author has brought forth an important truth with this book.
Ntandoyenkosi M 7
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Post by Ntandoyenkosi M 7 »

He really joined at a tender age. Seventeen . But a big shout out to the author. The book is amazing
José Cortez
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Post by José Cortez »

I agree with you that one's childhood experience could cause their PTSD. I would love to read this book.
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Post by kunle Onigbinde »

Actually, the title of a book could be attracted, but contents spell different things just to create emotional love, I will love to read this book, because it involves power versus intelligent.
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danicas
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Post by danicas »

I really liked the book about life after death- A Guardsman's Tale. But first , when I started reading it, I was like will I really finish reading this book? Because of the ward topic that's not really my type. But then, to see how people are able to strongly to survive. It just brought out my sensitivity.
Darlings O
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Post by Darlings O »

I think I would love to read about the British Army. This seems like an interesting read. Thank you for recommending.
Darlings O
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Post by Darlings O »

June Blue wrote: 28 Dec 2021, 13:16 PTSD in soldiers caused by wars needs more recognition. The author has brought forth an important truth with this book.
This is the simple truth, we don't talk about this enough.
Habeebllah Lekan
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Post by Habeebllah Lekan »

He really join at a tender age.Childhood traumas are a real thing. I commend the author for tackling this topic. Thanks for a wonderful review.
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Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala
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Post by Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala »

Witnessing mass killings at such a young age was bound to scar the author. I'm glad he documented his experiences and journey. Awesome review!
Documented history is a gift from the past to the future! - NqobileM
Walter R
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Post by Walter R »

Watson seems to have been through a lot even as a child. This seems like a great book to me.
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Post by Kennedy NC »

What really goes on in the British army? I am curious to know and I can't wait to read this book.
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Post by Ekezie1998 »

I find non fiction novels lovable and maybe this one would also not be different. Nice to see that you also enjoyed this book.
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Umesh Bhatt
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Post by Umesh Bhatt »

The review has given a good overview of the theme of the book and the title had the same effect on me as it had on the reviewer. Thanks for the nice review.
Knowledge is power but one has to be a bookworm! :techie-studyingbrown:
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