Devotion tells the story of American soldiers in the Korean War. A center piece of the book is the friendship between Tom Hudnor and Jesse Brown, the first African-American pilot in the Navy. It’s rare that I find a book that moves my emotions. The lives of the men and women in this book have had a lingering affect on me. Their lives give great insight into issues of race, family, courage, loyalty, and faith. The author, Adam Makos, does a great job unraveling the story in such a way that you wonder what will happen next.

A few quotes:

“Words can have all the power in the world or–none at all. That’s up to you.”

“Every night he could sneak away, Jesse practiced cursing himself until his eyes remained steady, until he could shrug away the vilest insult without flinching. He knew those words were sure to come. For what he dreamed of doing, the insults would be coming in planeloads.”

“If we stick together, we can’t be beaten.”