If Not Now, When?: Duty and Sacrifice in America's Time of Need - Hardcover

aItas a privilege to call [Col. Jack Jacobs] a friend and an honor to recommend this remarkable life story.a
aTom Brokaw
aOne warning: the book you are about to read, at its core, is a story about selflessness, sacrifice and service, and it collides loudly and rather violently with much of our current culture. We are presently a nation of 120 million blogs and bloggers. Put differently, 120 million of us are enthused enough with our own stories a convinced enough in our own wisdom and wonderfulness of self a to believe there is great utility in posting our every thought, desire and daily movement on the internet, presumably for the common good, the benefit of all. Jack was handed a weapon and told to use it on foreign soil to defend his brothers and his country. As you read this, ask yourself which of the two actions you find more heroica]I will never view my friend Jack in the same way again. I just didnat think it was possible to admire him any more than I already did.a
aBrian Williams
aCol. Jack Jacobs (Ret.) received a Medal of Honor for is heroism during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, vividly described in his new book, "If Not Now, When? Duty and Sacrifice in Americaas Time of Need," He offers a mix of no-holds-barred personal history and pointed observations about the demands (or lack thereof) the U.S. makes on its citizens today. Never self-indulgent or preachy, Jacobs takes an honestaand often brutally funnyalook back at his own life and forward to the future of the military and the nation.a
a"Parade" magazine

Praise for If Not Now, When?

"Jack Jacobs is a living reminder that dynamite comes in small packages. From his days as a Medal of Honor recipient in Vietnam to his success on Wall Street to his outspoken commentary on MSNBC and his wise counsel to West Point graduates, Jack is the complete citizen."--Tom Brokaw, author of The Greatest Generation

"As good a Vietnam War memoir as I've ever read. And if that's not good enough, Jack Jacobs makes some very brutal, honest, and disturbing observations about America then and America now, and most importantly, about where we are headed. Jack Jacobs earned the Congressional Medal of Honor forty years ago, and he's earned it every day since."--Nelson DeMille

"[Jacobs] offers a mix of no-holds-barred personal history and pointed observations about the demands (or lack thereof) the U.S. makes on its citizens today. Never self-indulgent or preachy, Jacobs takes an honest--and often brutally funny--look back at his own life and forward to the future of the military and the nation."--Parade

"This book is a classic. Jack Jacobs is the bravest--and funniest--soldier I met in thirty-two years of military service. He is also an intellectual with a writer's gift of description. Jack tells a life story of military service with a sense of humor that makes palatable the brutality of intense combat."--General Barry M. McCaffrey, U.S. Army (Retired)

Jack Jacobs retired from the military as a full colonel in 1987. Today, he is widely regarded as one of the worldÂ's most perceptive—and outspoken—military analysts.

Douglas Century is a New York Times bestselling author.