Ruben Gallego

From the Arizona Congressman, a "powerful" and "searing" (PW) chronicle of the eternal bonds forged between the Marines of Lima Company, the hardest-hit unit of the Iraq WarAt first, they were “Lucky Lima.” Infantryman Ruben Gallego and his brothers in Lima Company—3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, young men drawn from blue-collar towns, immigrant households, Navajo reservations—returned unscathed on patrol after patrol through the increasingly violent al Anbar region of Iraq, looking for weapons caches and insurgents trying to destabilize the nascent Iraqi government. After two months in Iraq, Lima didn't have a casualty, not a single Purple Heart, no injury worse than a blister. Lucky Lima.Then, in May 2005, Lima’s fortunes flipped. Unknown to Ruben and his fellow grunts, al Anbar had recently become a haven for al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The bin Laden-sponsored group had recruited radicals from all over the world for jihad against the Americans. On one fateful day, they were lured into a death house; the ambush cost the lives of two men, including a platoon sergeant. Two days later, Ruben’s best friend, Jonathon Grant, died in an IED attack, along with several others. Events worsened from there. A disastrous operation in Haditha in August claimed the lives of thirteen Marines when an IED destroyed their amphibious vehicle. It was the worst single-day loss for the Marines since the 1983 Beirut bombings. By the time 3/25 went home in November, it had lost more men than any other single unit in the war. Forty-six Marines and two Navy Corpsmen serving with the battalion in Iraq were killed in action during their roughly nine-month activation.They Called Us “Lucky” details Ruben Gallego’s journey and includes harrowing accounts of some of the war’s most costly battles. It details the struggles and the successes of Ruben—now a member of Congress—and the rest of Lima Company following Iraq, examining the complicated matter of PTSD. And it serves as a tribute to Ruben’s fallen comrades, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. With its gripping accounts of some of the war's most costly battles, They Called Us 'Lucky' is a must-read for anyone interested in military history and the politics of war. It offers a firsthand perspective on the Iraq War and the struggles faced by soldiers like Ruben Gallego, who served in the hardest hit company of the hardest hit battalion of the war and occupation.

In this life, you are either a player or a chess piece. To be a player, you need to take responsibility for your decisions. Will you help another one even if you are helpless yourself? Will you betray your friend to save his life? Once you enter the game, you must keep playing it. It doesn't matter if you are too young, or cannot walk, or if you do not know the rules. Do not look at the board. Keep playing.The "Chess" is the second book of Rub n David Gonz lez Gallego. It was first published in Russian under the title "I am sitting on the shore." In 2019 this book won the Best European Book (Fiction) at the first-ever European Chess Award Ceremony.

He is a Russian with a Spanish name. A child of the foreign exchange students was born in Moscow and diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy. The Soviet officials told his mother that he died, and took him away to the worst place imaginable. Without the use of his hands and feet, he endured through the Soviet orphanage system. He was scheduled to die at the age of 15. However, the boy survived. He escaped. He lives.If you like to read about pink flowers, good fortune, and pleasant people, this book is not for you. This story is about pain, sorrow, and horror of near death. This book is also an extraordinary personal testament, the story of one boy's triumph in the face of impossible obstacles. What does not kill you will make you stronger. This book can make you stronger. That is if you have enough courage to read it from the beginning to the end.

Sammakko julkaisi syyskuussa 2006 Ruben Gallegon Venäjän Bookerin 2003 voittaneen omaelämäkerrallisen teoksen Valkoista mustalla. Kirja on raaka ja koskettava, suoraviivainen kuvaus vammaisen pojan selviytymisestä Neuvostoliiton ajan vankilamaisista orpokodeista. "Jos ihmisellä ei ole käsiä tai jalkoja, hän on joko sankari tai vainaja." - Ruben Gallego

"En självbiografisk roman som fullständigt tar andan ur en." Kulturnytt, P1 "Jag är tagen. Det är väldigt sällan man träffar på böcker som skakar om hjärtat riktigt. Det blir en femma." Magnus Utvik, SVT (23/11) Ruben Gallego föddes 1968 på den sovjetiska nomenklaturans sjukhus i Kreml i Moskva som barnbarn till det spanska kommunistpartiets dåvarande ledare. Komplikationer uppstod under förlossningen, hans tvillingbror avled och Ruben föddes svårt handikappad med en CP-skada. Modern fick beskedet att båda barnen hade dött och för Ruben inleddes en lång odyssé genom ryska barnhem, där han under mycket svåra förhållanden växte upp utan vetskap om sin familj. Först efter Sovjetunionens fall 1991 lyckades han med hjälp av en sköterska som hade förälskat sig i honom fly från det fängelseliknande ålderdomshem - det sovjetiska samhällets slutstation - dit han vid 15 års ålder skickats för att dö. Efter flera års eftersökningar kunde han återförenas med sin mor i Prag. Han lever numera med fru och barn i Madrid. "Sina minnen har Ruben Gallego med vänsterhandens förvridna pekfingrer långsamt, bokstav för bokstav, tryckt ner på datorns tangentbord. [...] en självbiografisk roman som fullständigt tar andan ur en. Jag vet inte när jag senast läste en bok som innehåller så mycket förtvivlan - och så mycket hopp, en sådan helvetesskildring med ett så livsbejakande, trotsigt perspektiv. Ruben älskar livet, människor och världen trots att han flera gånger fick höra: "Det hade varit bäst för dig grabben om du aldrig hade fötts."" Kjell Albin Abrahamson, Kulturnytt Boken - som tilldelades ryska Bookerpriset 2003 - är utgiven i England, Frankrike, Holland, Italien, Kina, Norge, Polen, Portugal, Ryssland, Spanien och Tyskland - överallt har den rönt stor uppmärksamhet och i flera länder har den blivit en bästsäljare. Översättning från ryska av Ola Wallin.