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<em>The Yellow Birds</em> May Become Literary Classic

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - As much as we all hate war, many books about war have become classics and read for generations: The Red Badge of Courage, about the American Civil War, All Quiet on the Western Front, set in World War I, The Naked and the Dead, describing the horrors of World War II and The Things They Carried, a response to the Vietnam War.

The Yellow Birds may reach such status. Winning recognition from four major literary awards, accolades from The New York Times Book Review, The New Yorker, Tom Wolfe and Dave Eggers along with more than 20 other notables, Kevin Powers tells each of us what it was like as an infantry man in Iraq.

Powers is a poet, who has won academic recognition and while he is describing the fear and the psychological effects of the war, he writes in beautiful prose about the friendship of two young soldiers fighting to stay alive.

Hear Powers speak on March 19th at The Free Library on the Parkway.

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