It Happened On the Way to War

My good buddy, Rye Barcott, gave me the honor of being an advanced reader to his book/memoir, It Happened On the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace. Obviously, I'm a little biased, but the book is excellent.

I recommend all of you to go and pre-order it immediately - you will not be disappointed and you will definitely be moved and better for having read it..

It's along the lines of Three Cups of Tea and Rye has led a pretty amazing and eventful life and I'm honored to call him a friend.

From the Amazon.com profile of him and his book:

In 2000, a 20-year-old college student heading to the Marines sought to understand the ethnic violence that had convulsed Africa and might one day confront him in uniform. Rye Barcott rented a tin shack in the heart of the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya. He learned Swahili, asked questions, and listened to young people talk about how they survived in squalor he had never imagined. He stumbled into friendship with a widowed nurse, Tabitha Atieno Festo, and a hardscrabble community organizer, Salim Mohamed.

It Happened On the Way to War is the gripping story of this unlikely trio's journey to empower to one of Africa's largest slums. Together they built Carolina for Kibera (CFK), a Time magazine "Hero of Global Health," that uses sports to prevent violence, improve healthcare, and promote youth leadership. CFK is a pioneer in a movement called participatory development. Barcott learned that with the right kind of support, people in desperate places can take control of their lives and create breathtaking change.

Engaged in two seemingly contradictory forms of service at the same time, Barcott continued his leadership in CFK while serving as a human intelligence officer in Bosnia, the Horn of Africa, and Iraq. Struggling with the stress of leading Marines in dangerous places, he took lessons from CFK's approach to community development and became a more effective counter-insurgent and peacekeeper. This is a true, painfully honest story of sacrifice and courage, failure and triumph, and the ability of a small group of committed people to help change the world.

About the Author
Rye Barcott founded the renowned non-governmental organization Carolina for Kibera (CFK) with Salim Mohamed and Tabitha Atieno Festo while he was an undergraduate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After graduation, he served as a Marine for five years on active duty. In 2006 ABC World News named then Captain Barcott a Person of the Week and Person of the Year for his dual service to Kibera and the Marine Corps. As a Reynolds Social Entrepreneurship Fellow, he earned master's degrees in business and public administration from Harvard University. He is currently a member of the World Learning Board of Trustees and a TED Fellow living in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Source: http://bandofburtons.blogspot.com/2010/08/it-happened-on-way-to-war.html