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Watch Kevin Patterson on Canada AM discussing Outside the Wire



"Outside the Wire tells us more about the lives and deaths of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan than will ever be conveyed in news reports of military briefings."
-Ottawa Citizen

"Some of these accounts are moving and heartbreaking. Others are painfully raw. All are memorable and, in most cases, quintessentially Canadian, being a mixture of fearlessness and civility."
-Halifax Daily News

"[I]n this startling new book... the voices of battle denote the ecstasy of survival, the thrill of engagement, and the crippling loss that accompanies the death of friends and compatriots. At times haunting and desperate and at other times playful, even lyrical, these unmediated dispatches are flesh and bone, mind and matter, and, above all, soulful to the last. For observers of Canada’s national drama on the killing fields of Kandahar province, Outside the Wire is a must-read. It ensures that our soldiers are heard — that they do not go missing in action."
-The Walrus

"[Outside the Wire is] not an easy book to read, but it is an astonishing one. . .Reading this book, one cannot help but feel that others should, too. We should pause and consider this book, then return to our nationwide debate. . .It certainly would help us better grasp what's going on over there.  .  .We need to hear from the people who are there doing the heavy lifting of this mission -- the soldiers, government workers, aid workers, reconstruction personnel.
They know the cost, the politics, the potential and the numerous pitfalls. This book lends that voice fully, utterly, and at times agonizingly."
-What's On Winnipeg

"The breadth of this volume and the variety of the contributors and their insights provide an invaluable window into the current Canadian experience in Afghanistan."
-Guelph Mercury

"Refreshingly . . . raw and evocative, infused in equal parts with pain, sadness, and the kind of rage only a war zone can elicit. There are also warnings for what is to come."
-Quill & Quire