Summary of Matti Friedman's Pumpkinflowers

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Avi was another example of the kind of person changed or ground up by war. He was suspicious of institutions like the military, and his experiences would confirm that suspicions were justified. #2 The army was still very much the old army, with old ideas about war, but the war for which Avi was bound was different and augured others to come.
The world that day at the desert base was the past. #3 The army replaced the trappings of Avi's former life with new objects. These included a rifle, boots of stiff red leather, fatigues distributed in unpredictable sizes by harried quartermasters, and golden bullets. #4 The danger of innocence is that it can be cracked easily by stupidity and cruelty. And so not much time had passed before A.
began thinking that perhaps it was not right that he was the only one who was not late. His concern grew when he heard the other members of the platoon saying that the regular punishments of running back and forth were not even punishments for something they had done wrong.