(Canastota, NY – Dec. 2013) John Ready knows what war looks like and he decided to write a memoir of his time in the Iraq War. Ready will talk about his book, “Does My Suicide Vest Make Me Look Fat?” at the Canastota Public Library on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.
“Does My Suicide Vest Make Me Look Fat?” is a memoir of the beginning of the Iraq War, when the US Military was flush with its success in toppling the regime of Saddam Hussein. The victory became tarnished as warring political and tribal factions transformed the “Land Between Two Rivers” into the Superbowl for terrorism.
Caught in this firestorm was a tiny, but determined, Civil Affairs unit that took on the momentous task of rebuilding schools, medical clinics, and mosques around the periphery of Baghdad International Airport during 2003-2004. It’s the kind of effort the media never covered.
This is a chronicle by John Ready, of the insane, stupid, humorous, surreal, and tragic events that befell this band of brothers and sisters on their journey through Iraq Reconstruction.
Ready served in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves for a total of 21 years. In 2003, he was deployed as a Civil Affairs Officer to Iraq, where he sat at a desk in an abandoned building equipped with air-conditioning.
Ready lives in Oneida where he is a photographer, a Mission Continues Fellow at Clear Path for Veterans, and a published author. He was interviewed on CNN in 2010 about his experiences in Iraq, specifically about how humanitarian aid contributes to our national security.
Light refreshments will follow Ready’s presentation.