Axe, David 1978-

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Axe, David 1978-

PERSONAL:

Born 1978, in Dallas, TX. Education: Furman University, Greenville, SC, B.A., 2000; University of South Carolina at Columbia, M.A., 2004. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, writing, reading about writing, writing about reading and writing, tropical fish.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Washington, DC. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, journalist. Defense Technology International, Washington, DC, military editor; military correspondent, Iraq, Lebanon, East Timor, and Afghanistan, 2005—. Contributor to Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) and British Broadcasting Corp. Radio.

WRITINGS:

War Fix (graphic novel), illustrated by Steven Olexa, NBM ComicsLit (New York, NY), 2006.

Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War (nonfiction), University of South Carolina Press (Columbia, SC), 2006.

Contributor to Popular Science, Washington Times, and Military.com. Author of Web log War Is Boring.

SIDELIGHTS:

A military correspondent who has reported from such trouble spots as Afghanistan and Iraq, David Axe is also the author of a graphic novel/ memoir and a nonfiction book, both dealing with military themes. War Fix, published in 2006, is part memoir, explaining how the young journalist got into war reporting from his more sedate early career as a small-town political reporter. In a panel discussion led by Edward Carey for Comic Book Resources, Axe explained that War Fix "was about my first trip to Iraq, which had a sort of dream-like or nightmare-like quality to it." Ray Olson, writing in Booklist, felt that the text and illustrations combine to "communicate powerfully Axe's fascination with war and induce readers to share it." Less favorable was the assessment of a Publishers Weekly contributor, who felt the book inadequately developed the autobiographical narrative, so that the reader cannot "decide whether David is a helpless, innocent geek or a perverted voyeur." Axe's other 2006 work, Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War, examines the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at the University of South Carolina by following the career of four cadets, two females and two males. Axe critically examines ROTC culture and training in this "massively informative little book [that makes] great reading," according to Booklist writer Olson. Axe describes failings of the ROTC program, which include a lack in development of critical thinking skills in cadets as well as poor tactical training. He also found that the female cadets suffered from sexual harassment.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Axe, David, War Fix, illustrated by Steven Olexa, NBM ComicsLit (New York, NY), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2006, Ray Olson, review of War Fix, p. 77; December 15, 2006, Ray Olson, review of Army 101: Inside ROTC in a Time of War, p. 7.

Columbia Journalism Review, June, 2006, Paul McLeary, "David Axe on Why They Do It."

Publishers Weekly, May 8, 2006, review of War Fix, p. 52.

Reference & Research Book News, May, 2007, review of Army 101.