33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Revealing that the Author Realized, November 4, 2006
This review is from: Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force (Hardcover)
I rated this book five stars because of the author's willingness to tell so much about himself (good and bad) and his leadership against the military's DADT policy.
I need to say upfront that I am gay, was drafted into the Army in '67 and served in Vietnam (hated every minute) and grew up in the same conservative Massachusetts' community as Richen Lehmkulm. I have never meet Reichen and never watched the reality TV shows on which he has appeared. I am aware that Reichen is a controversial person in the gay
community.
The first half of "Here's What We'll Say" takes Reichen from childhood through high school. My life was very similar to Reichen's. He did a good job of describing what junior high and high school is like in rural, less liberal communities of Massachusetts. Reichen's big issue during the Mass. years was feeling inferior and angry because he lived with his mom and step father in a trailer park. Some anger is still there, because Reichen names the two people who were class bullies and picked on him in the 7th and 8th grades. He states that they must be gay, even though both men are married and have many children. Reichen provides no proof that either man is gay.
Reichen learned to love flying planes from his beloved grandmother and
secured a slot at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. He did well in the various training programs and showed leadership potential before his freshmen year (equal to basic training and advanced infantry training). By his second year, it is obvious that Reichen has no respect for most of the rules and training underclassmen requirements of the Air Force Academy. Many of the rule and regulation may be ridiculous, but even I (a mere draftee) understood the underlining purpose behind the rules better than Reichen.
If it ever occurred to Reichen that his love of flying and nothing else were fairly slim reasons for attending the Air Force Academy, he never mentions it in the book.
Reichen was able to have a fairly active gay sex live at the Air Force Academy and helped others navigate around the horrible Don't ask, Don't tell policy. This is the best part of the book. Reichen is not afraid to show both his good qualities and his arrogance in full bloom.
Finally the author atributes his low history grades freshmen year to his poor skills at "understanding chains of events." Yet his book is full of detailed chains of events in his life. Understanding chains of events is my best skill. Yet, I couldn't come close to writing such a detailed book about my life. Reichen does acknowledge those who helped him with the book, but I believe that he received much more help than he is admitting.
Despite all these reservation, I still rate this book 5 stars. Based on the book, my guess is that Reichen will take strong exception to my critical comments, if he ever sees this review. But, I hope I am wrong on that.
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44 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing, October 22, 2006
This review is from: Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force (Hardcover)
this book was an amazing story. it told you everything you wanted and didn't want to know a/b both reichen and the air force academy. there are some things that happen in this book that are both terrifying and saddening. it shows you that something really has to be done w/ the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. some of the things he tells you about just breaks your heart like his sexual assault and his friends attempted suicide after his boyfriend was removed from the academy after peolpe squealed on him. this is a must have that will enlighten you to things you never knew happened and still happens. this is a better book then i could ever say.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
True to the spirit of that era, November 13, 2007
This review is from: Here's What We'll Say: Growing Up, Coming Out, and the U.S. Air Force (Hardcover)
I lived in Colorado Springs during the late 1980s, and I had a cousin who graduated from the Academy in 1992, so I'm familiar with the culture of both the city and the Academy during the general time period that Reichen was a cadet. While he obviously had to use made-up names for his characters and create composite characters based on more than one person to protect his friends, the virulently anti-gay atmosphere that he describes is true to life. As a gay man myself, I had to remain deeply closeted in my own sports-related work environment, as well as enduring constant tirades in the local news media about the evils of "the chosen homosexual lifestyle." That Reichen was able to engage in any kind of gay-oriented social life at the Academy, Ground Zero for all things homophbic in "The Springs," demonstrates a high capacity for risk taking--some might even call it courage.
While I've lost a lot of respect for Reichen in his post-military quest for eternal youth and gay celebrity status (I guess he has to play on his looks while he still has them), I'll always admire him for writing this book.
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