"Shooting Ghosts" was written by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O'Reilly, photographed by O'Reilly, and was published by Viking in New York in 2017.

This is a hardcover, first edition, first printing of this extraordinary 340-page account subtitled: "A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer and Their Journey Back from War." The story, told in alternating first-person narratives, is enlivened by 30 color photographs, many of them dramatic, all of them eye-catching.

The original price, as shown on the dustjacket front flap, was $27.00.

From the dustjacket blurb:

“War tears people apart, but it can also bring them together. In this unique joint memoir, a decorated U.S. Marine and a combat photographer recount the unlikely friendship that helped them both heal their war-wounded bodies and souls. Their story, told in alternating first-person narratives, is testimony about the nature of war today and the long shadow it casts over everyone involved It is also a book of hope.

“When Finbarr O’Reilly, an award-winning photojournalist, was assigned to Sergeant T. J. Brennan’s squad in Afghanistan, skepticism was strong on both sides, but a bond slowly grew as they patrolled together through the dusty alleyways of Helmand Province and endured the trials of living in a Marine outpost in the desert. It deepened after Brennan was injured during a Taliban ambush, and both returned home. Brennan began to suffer from the effects of his brain injury and from the fallout of his tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. O’Reilly began to realize that war correspondents are as vulnerable as combat veterans to post-traumatic stress. Brennan was haunted by the things he’d done to the enemy, or didn’t do for his fellow Marines. O’Reilly had spent a lifetime photographing people at their most vulnerable while being unable to help, and faced survivor guilt as colleagues died on the job. Their friendship offered them both a shot at redemption.

“While war never really ends for those who have lived through it, this book charts the path two survivors found to calm the ghosts and reclaim a measure of peace. Fearless and honest, ‘Shooting Ghosts’ is a necessary book for our violent world.”

And from the reviews:

“The dueling-piano spirit of ‘Shooting Ghosts’ works because its authors are so committed to transparency, admitting readers into the dark crevices of their isolation. Both are sharp minds whose self-awareness keeps their stories from slipping into banality and their lives devoted to something beyond war.”—Wall Street Journal 

“A courageous breaking of the code of silence to seek mental health for veterans and the war-scarred.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Brennan and O’Reilly strip away any misplaced notions of glamour, bravery, and stoicism to craft an affecting memoir of a deep friendship.”—Publisher's Weekly

The book is in fine collectible condition, with no torn or bent pages, no scratches, stains or inscriptions, no remainder marks, no price-clipping, no bookplate, no ex-library, no book club edition, no flaws of any sort. It is as new.

The dustjacket is in equally fine shape and is protected in a clear and removable archival cover. 

Please see the photos for a fuller description and author profile.

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