--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am reading \"The Yellow Birds\" by Kevin…" description: "\"I am reading \"The Yellow Birds\" by Kevin Powers and \"Redeployment\" by Phil Klay . Both Powers and Klay are Iraq War vets. Klay's stories are remarkable..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/george-packer-2917_bird_i-am-reading-the-yellow-birds-by-kevin-p_1542846.jpg" --- # I am reading "The Yellow Birds" by Kevin Powers and… ![“I am reading "The Yellow Birds" by Kevin Powers and "Redeployment" by Phil Klay . Both Powers and Klay are Iraq War vets. Klay's stories are remarkable.” quote by George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/george-packer-2917_bird_i-am-reading-the-yellow-birds-by-kevin-p_1542846.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/george-packer-2917_bird_i-am-reading-the-yellow-birds-by-kevin-p_1542846.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/george-packer-2917_bird_i-am-reading-the-yellow-birds-by-kevin-p_1542846.jpg) > “I am reading "The Yellow Birds" by Kevin Powers and "Redeployment" by Phil Klay . Both Powers and Klay are Iraq War vets. Klay's stories are remarkable.” [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author highlights reading works by Iraq War veterans, noting their remarkable storytelling. **In simple terms:** Reading veteran authors provides powerful war perspectives. Key Takeaway Seek authentic war narratives. Themes literature war veteran voices authenticity empathy Mood thoughtful somber Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - education - personal growth - historical awareness - supporting veterans - reading groups Key Concepts war memoirs first‑hand accounts literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How do these stories affect your view of war? - What can we learn from veteran perspectives? A Different Perspective Veteran accounts may be emotionally heavy for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Iraq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq/) [Iraq war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/iraq-war/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kevin/) [Klay Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/klay-stories-5750229/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Redeployment Phil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redeployment-phil-5750231/) [Remarkable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remarkable/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Vets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vets/) [Vets Klay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vets-klay-5750230/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Yellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yellow/) ## Related quotes > [ \[The Yellow Birds\] is based on a novel written by Kevin Powers, who is an Iraq War vet. I play a soldier who promises… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/the-yellow-birds-is-based-on-a-novel-written-by-kevin-powers-who-is/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [I'm reading a bunch of fiction by Afghan and Iraq War veterans for a New Yorker piece. There hasn't been that much, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-m-reading-a-bunch-of-fiction-by-afghan-and-iraq-war-veterans-for-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [The Iraq war was always a long shot. But it was made immeasurably longer by its principal architects in Washington, including Douglas Feith, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-iraq-war-was-always-a-long-shot-but-it-was-made-immeasurably/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“The slow, mismanaged arrival of armored vehicles and bulletproof plates for flak vests was only the most conspicuous demonstration of how the Iraq War,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-slow-mismanaged-arrival-of-armored-vehicles-and-bulletproof/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I learned to have a respect for animals and for the people who deal with them - vets and farmers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-timothy/i-learned-to-have-a-respect-for-animals-and-for-the-people-who-deal/) [Christopher Timothy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-timothy/) > [Sometimes I had the feeling that all of us in his family were like pets to him. The dog you take for a walk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-schlink/sometimes-i-had-the-feeling-that-all-of-us-in-his-family-were-like/) [Bernhard Schlink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-schlink/) > [I could not believe that anyone who has read this book would be so foolish as to proclaim that the Bible in every literal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/i-could-not-believe-that-anyone-who-has-read-this-book-would-be-so/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [I had the privilege and the honor of chairing the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. And it is interesting to me, you know, Republicans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-had-the-privilege-and-the-honor-of-chairing-the-senate-committee-on/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I was taking my dog out the other day and I met this chap who asked me where I was going. The dog is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chic-murray/i-was-taking-my-dog-out-the-other-day-and-i-met-this-chap-who-asked/) [Chic Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chic-murray/) > [I have vets like Antoine Walker, Greg Buckner, Mark Madsen, and Michael Doleac who keep me motivated to want to get better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-green/i-have-vets-like-antoine-walker-greg-buckner-mark-madsen-and-michael/) [Gerald Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-green/) > [My plan is to bring back like the Bracero Program from 1944 that ran for 20 years where the Mexican government vets these people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/my-plan-is-to-bring-back-like-the-bracero-program-from-1944-that-ran/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [Vets are different than other people. Frontline or support, they carry themselves differently than the rest of us. It is as if they entered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-tumlinson/vets-are-different-than-other-people-frontline-or-support-they-carry/) [Rick Tumlinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-tumlinson/) > [I don't feel any sense of competition at all, and that might be my naïveté, but I don't feel pitted against anyone at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-don-t-feel-any-sense-of-competition-at-all-and-that-might-be-my-na/) [Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/) > [I play because I have fun. The vets of this team, I just wanted to say thanks to them. You guys mean so much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/i-play-because-i-have-fun-the-vets-of-this-team-i-just-wanted-to-say/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [Don't forget our vets. They have been forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/don-t-forget-our-vets-they-have-been-forgotten/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) ## More by George Packer > [I don't think they need to be nice to reporters, but the White House seems to imagine that releasing information is like a tap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-don-t-think-they-need-to-be-nice-to-reporters-but-the-white-house/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [So many writers grew up in tortured isolation, in revolt against their families. I and my sister were in a house where writing was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/so-many-writers-grew-up-in-tortured-isolation-in-revolt-against-their/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Afghanistan can't police its borders, and its neighbors give sanctuary and assistance to insurgents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/afghanistan-can-t-police-its-borders-and-its-neighbors-give-sanctuary/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Hillary Clinton's such a classic Democratic political figure and believes so much in institutions and in gradualism in the old way of reaching compromises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/hillary-clinton-s-such-a-classic-democratic-political-figure-and/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [“In other words, Foxx represented what Sarah Palin (speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Greensboro three weeks before the election) called “the real America,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/in-other-words-foxx-represented-what-sarah-palin-speaking-at-a/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [America's vast population of working poor can only get so poor before even Walmart is out of reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/america-s-vast-population-of-working-poor-can-only-get-so-poor-before/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [The Olympics are never just about sports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-olympics-are-never-just-about-sports/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > ['The Assassins' Gate' is a very tightly controlled story of the ideas that led to the war and the consequences of those ideas in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/the-assassins-gate-is-a-very-tightly-controlled-story-of-the-ideas/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Amazon's identity and goals are never clear and always fluid, which makes the company destabilizing and intimidating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/amazon-s-identity-and-goals-are-never-clear-and-always-fluid-which/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Ideology knows the answer before the question has been asked. Principles are something different: a set of values that have to be adapted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/ideology-knows-the-answer-before-the-question-has-been-asked/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Everything seems set up for success in digital journalism - money, eyeballs, software, brands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/everything-seems-set-up-for-success-in-digital-journalism-money/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Climate change joined immigration, job creation, food safety, pilot training, veterans' care, campaign finance, transportation security, labor law, mine safety, wildfire management, and scores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/climate-change-joined-immigration-job-creation-food-safety-pilot/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [Much of the international unease with the Sochi Games has focused on the threat of terrorism, Putin's domestic repressiveness, and the Russian campaign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/much-of-the-international-unease-with-the-sochi-games-has-focused-on/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [I've been interested in American politics since I was eight. That was in 1968. It was an interesting year. I was a huge Eugene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/i-ve-been-interested-in-american-politics-since-i-was-eight-that-was/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [When I interviewed Paul Bremer in his office, he had almost no books on his shelves. He had a couple of management books, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/when-i-interviewed-paul-bremer-in-his-office-he-had-almost-no-books/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) [Explore all 144 George Packer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. 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He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) [Nina Schuyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-schuyler/) > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? 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The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am reading \"The Yellow Birds\" by Kevin Powers and \"Redeployment\" by Phil Klay . 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