If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need - Hardcover

Jacobs, Colonel Jack; Century, Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0425223590 ISBN 13: 9780425223598

Publisher: Berkley Hardcover, 2008

Synopsis

Born a second generation American in Brooklyn and raised in Queens, Jack Jacobs was the quint-essential common man - until he left college and found himself thrust into the chaos of combat in Vietnam. There, Jacob's true nature would reveal itself in a crucible of battle and bloodshed.
Acting as an advisor to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion, Jacobs was with his men when they were caught in a devastating ambush, and the commander was wounded. Though severely injured, First Lieutenant Jacobs took command and withdrew the unit to safety. He then returned again and again under intense fire, saving the lives of a U.S. advisor and thirteen allied soldiers. For his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty," Colonel Jacobs received the nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor.
Here Colonel Jack Jacobs tell his story of honor and the personal code by which he has lived his life. He also expounds with blunt honesty and keen insight his views on our contemporary world - including the "War on Terror" and the dreadful mismanagement of the war in Iraq.
And, most important, the nature and necessity of sacrifice is explored. For even though America's fighting men and women risk everything on a daily basis, the idea of serving one's country has seemingly become obsolete.
If Not Now, When? is an account of a unique life at both war and peace, and the all-too-often unexamined role of the citizenry in the service and defense of the Republic.

About this title

About the Author:

Jack Jacobs retired from the military as a full colonel in 1987. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the worldÂ's most perceptive—and outspoken—military analysts.

Douglas Century is a New York Times bestselling author.

Review:

Praise for If Not Now, When?

“Jack Jacobs is a living reminder that dynamite comes in small packages. From his days as a Medal of Honor recipient in Vietnam to his success on Wall Street to his outspoken commentary on MSNBC and his wise counsel to West Point graduates, Jack is the complete citizen.”—Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation
 
“As good a Vietnam War memoir as I’ve ever read. And if that’s not good enough, Jack Jacobs makes some very brutal, honest, and disturbing observations about America then and America now, and most importantly, about where we are headed. Jack Jacobs earned the Congressional Medal of Honor forty years ago, and he’s earned it every day since.”—Nelson DeMille

“[Jacobs] offers a mix of no-holds-barred personal history and pointed observations about the demands (or lack thereof) the U.S. makes on its citizens today. Never self-indulgent or preachy, Jacobs takes an honest—and often brutally funny—look back at his own life and forward to the future of the military and the nation.”—Parade

“This book is a classic. Jack Jacobs is the bravest—and funniest—soldier I met in thirty-two years of military service. He is also an intellectual with a writer’s gift of description. Jack tells a life story of military service with a sense of humor that makes palatable the brutality of intense combat.”—General Barry M. McCaffrey, U.S. Army (Retired)

About this edition

• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0425223590
• ISBN 13: 9780425223598
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304