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<span style="vertical-align:middle;"><strong>Spending Time in an 'American Gulag'</strong>8</span> <div style="margin-bottom:.5em;">By Esmerelda Luv</div>What I expected from this book was a behind-the-scenes look at life in military basic training. What I got was an education of human nature in it's purist form. Through Private Gibbs, I met each character, I learned to accept and be accepted by all of them, I made mistakes and I corrected them, and I learned to love myself and then broadened that love to include others. Failures and successes were ever present and I learned to pick myself up when necessary and when to raise my hands and cheer. I ask myself, "Did I feel what the author wanted me to feel?" The answer is yes, his writing is that good. <br /><br />Patterson's novelized memoir read just as that, a memoir. When I opened the first page, I felt as though I was sitting next to him, and when I closed the book, I shook his hand and thanked him for sharing the memories. It was easy to read, the story flowed, the characters were easy to keep track of, and the author never strayed from the path. All in all, I enjoyed my time spent in the 'American Gulag'.