Will They Ever Trust Us Again? Letters From the War Zone

By: Michael Moore

Narrated by: Michael Moore, Multiple Readers

Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

American soldiers serve willingly. They risk their lives so the rest of us can be safe. The one small thing they ask is that they not be sent into harm's way unless it is absolutely necessary. But after being lied to about weapons of mass destruction and about the connection between al Qaeda and Iraq; after being forced by stop-loss orders to extend their deployment; after being undertrained, underequipped, and overworked long after George Bush declared Iraq "Mission Accomplished", these soldiers have something to say.

From his famous 2003 Oscar acceptance speech to his record-breaking documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. But in this audiobook, Moore gives the spotlight to the real heroes of protest: the men and women who have fought in Iraq and want the American public to know how they feel about their mission and their Commander in Chief. Moore also fields letters from veterans of other wars and mothers, wives, and siblings of our soldiers in the field. They also express their anger and frustration, their tears and pain, and their hopes and prayers.

Impassioned, accessible, and moving, these are letters that reveal the true hearts and minds of the men, women, and families on the front line.

©2004 Michael Moore (P)2004 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Multi-voiced Performance, 2005

Michael Moore fan, but skip this

I'm a big fan of Michael Moore & my politics are largely aligned with his. I've liked his other books, likewise his movies. But there's something about this piece that feels a little generic and repetitive. To me, listening to this book felt more like Michael Moore's words put into the mouths of people writing him. I doubt this is the case, but I was looking forward to a more revealing look inside soldiers' lives and the lives of their families. Instead I found a lot of political passion conveyed through letters.

So, I can't say I really recommend this to you even if you're a Michael Moore fan. Then again, it was good background noise while I did the dishes. Not worth $20, but if you've got a book left in your balance to spare and just looking for some lightweight listening, this might be worth it your while...

Will They Ever Trust Us Again

It is what it is. Those who support Bush will hate it - those with relatives and friends involved in the war will welcome it. It is emotional, war is emotional !

Just okay

I know the point Moore is trying to make here but to me, it seems as if he's using the soldiers to help further justify his cause. Don't get me wrong, the book is good as it details some of the many sad stories that these young brave soldiers go through (and the folks at home should know the exact conditions that we put our soldiers through) but then again, we all know war is bad and I'm pretty sure that many of these soldiers knew what risks were when they enlisted to begin with.

Finally our troops can speak the truth

This is a devasting collection of letters from men and women in our armed forces. Their observations and feelings on our current state, from 1/2 way around the world is startling and insightful.
Naturally, the "kneejerkers" will rail against this without ever reading a page of it.
It's too bad because they are shutting out the voices of Americas "true patriots"...our troops.

Ways You Can Support Our Troops

Rather than simply give my opinion of this great collection of letters from troops and their families, I offer a paraphrased excerpt from the Appendix of <B><U>Will They Ever Trust Us Again?</U></B>

Ways you can support our troops:

Homes for Our Troops at homesforourtroops.org - their mission is to build specially adapted homes for our severely disabled soldiers and their families.

The Wounded Warrior Project at unitedspinal.org - seeks to assist those men and women of our armed forces who have been severely injured.

Fisher House at fisherhouse.org - the Fisher House program is a private/public partnership that supports America's military in their time of need.

Give the gift of groceries at commissaries.com.

Send books. If you would like to send books to soldiers yourself, check out booksforsoldiers.com, where soldiers will post requests for books they'd like to get their hands on and all you have to do is pick a soldier to send a book to.

Operation Uplink at operationuplink.org - you can donate calling cards, so military families can stay in touch during their extended separations.

Operation Hero Miles at heromiles.org - through Operation Hero Miles, you can donate your airline miles to American soldiers so they can get home to visit with their families.

United Services Organization (USO) Care Packages - [phone] - at usometrodc.org - you can donate money to the USO to help sponsor care packages sent to the troops through their site.

Armed Forces Emergency Relief Funds at afrtrust.org - helps the soldiers and families with paying for food and rent, medical and dental expenses, personal needs when pay is delayed, and funeral expenses.

Red Cross - helping military families at redcross.org. Contact your local Red Cross chapter and find out how you can help with military families in your area who are struggling in this time of war.

Thank you to all men and women in uniform for their service.

THANKS MIKE

Would you listen to Will They Ever Trust Us Again? Letters From the War Zone again? Why?

YES

What was one of the most memorable moments of Will They Ever Trust Us Again? Letters From the War Zone?

TOTAL CONTENT

What about Michael Moore and Multiple Readers ’s performance did you like?

THE FACT THAT THEY ARE REAL LETTERS FROM REAL SOLDIERS

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I AM FAMILIAR WITH MICHAELS VIEWS

Any additional comments?

HOPE MIKE CONTINUES TO BRING THE TRUTH TO PEOPLE

Grateful

Thanks for the beautiful letters, Keep the fight

Stunning, Painful

These letters aptly put focus on the human side of war.

Directly from those touched by the Iraq War

I was skeptical of the bias of Michael Moore from this book, but Moore only writes the introduction. This book is a compilation of letters from soldiers, veterans, and family members- all read by a variety of narrators, who do an excellent job bringing each letter to life. Several of the letters come from those who saw Moore at the 2003 Academy Awards and thought he was just a moron, but after seeing how the war is being so ineptly fought, they wanted to hear what he had to say. Others had either read ?Dude, Where is My Country?? or had seen Fahrenheit 9/11- bought bootlegged in Iraq no less. Many letters vent the frustration felt by our soldiers at things they have seen in Iraq that were morally wrong and unethical. These actions not only hurt the Iraqi people we are there to liberate, but our own servicemen and women. Michael Moore gives them a voice, in an environment where asking questions is not looked upon favorably. Our soldiers allowed Moore to print their letters, many anonymously, because they realized the goodness and patriotism in questioning our government. It does a lot in helping our soldiers and this country. Where would America be if Thomas Payne had not written ?Common Sense??

I feel that Mike definitely cares about the well being of soldiers and in supporting them, either in getting them a more effective leader than Bush or making sure their needs are met in other various ways. In fact the last ten minutes of the book are nothing but ways to aid our military people (monetary aid to families, or even sending them books to read)and all those who feel this war directly (medical aid). I have profound respect now for Moore in that he uses his status and, yes his money for the common good. It has given him the power and responsibility and he is using it as he sees to influence good not only for those protecting our freedom and rights but every American, even those who hate Moore. You may not listen to him, but at least hear our valiant.

Pay good money for someone to read emails to me?

This is just hour after hour of narrators reading emails received by servicemen, past and present, who support Michael Moores position, which I happen to agree with, but I feel a bit cheated that M.M. did not actually write this book. The servicemen and women did it with very little input from Mr. Moore. The emails are certainly touching but very redundant. This could have been a one hour book and that's stretching it.