BookBrowse Reviews Soldier's Heart: A reflection on the relationship between art and life from inside the US Military Academy at West Point

Samat explores the connection between literature and real-life for the students at West Point Military Academy, for whom "real-life" has changed drastically in the last few years. When Samet accepted her position as a civilian literature professor in 1997, the Army, to which the academy contributes about a thousand second lieutenants each spring, wasn't at war with anyone. But as she says, "Following Sept. 11, 2001, the stakes of American soldiering had suddenly been raised, as well as the stakes of teaching at West Point."

Teaching the literature of war to individuals who could imagine themselves fighting a war in progress against a specific identifiable enemy was a new experience. For example, in 2003, as the nation watched...