I was expecting to learn about Mr. Ladd's experience in the military while at the same time I was intrigued about how they relate to his Christian values. I am a Christian. I found myself struggling with this book. What I first noticed in the beginning was that while I did appreciate getting to know Mr. Ladd and what his childhood was like growing up until he enlisted, the chapters read more like snippets. This was a little clunky to read as I would start to be interested in a section of the book or that topic and then it would end and the next part would jump around to a different time period.

After I got used to this, the second part of this book was while Mr. Ladd really started explaining how military and religion intertwine. Again, I found this enlightening but at times I know Mr. Ladd did not mean to but it came off preachy. This could have been helped if the length of the topic had been shortened just a little. For example, Mr. Ladd talks about the subject of alcohol. This goes on for several pages. After a while my feelings went from intrigued to semi-intrigued. Yet, I came to realize that this book really should be read slower and in small portions. This way you can reflect more on what Mr. Ladd is talking about. I did get from this book that Mr. Ladd has a deep understanding of the world and that God is great.

When Jason Ladd asked me to read and review his book, I was excited to learn more about how life in the Marines relates to life as a Christian. I've read a few fiction books with a military backdrop and find myself fairly comfortable with a majority of the terminology. Unfortunately, while reading One of the Few, I found myself incredibly lost within the jargon and acronyms used to explain the life of a marine.

This book is split into three parts. First, you are given some background on Ladd and his life growing up and how he become a Christian. While the use of military acronyms was distracting to the story, I enjoyed learning about how Ladd grew up in a military family, how that led to him entering the marines himself, and how he became a believer. In this section, Ladd explains some ways that life in the marines echoes the life of a Christian, and I found those analogies fascinating. I think that if the book had stayed with this style of writing, or ended here, I would have enjoyed it much more than I did.

The second section, titled Be Not Deceived, is where things started to go downhill for me. The third section is titled Always Be Ready. The point of these two sections, I think, was to lay out a clear doctrine of Christianity. I myself have read several books on apologetics and have taken courses in college on the subject. I found these chapters to be an attempt to fully explain a secular worldview versus a Christian worldview, however, the arguments were not laid out clearly for me. Jumping between marine analogies, quotes from Bible scholars, Scripture, and descriptions from history or media were extremely hard to follow.

I was very excited to read Ladd's words saying he was going to lay out the groundwork for leaving a legacy of faith for our children, but I found it to be an unfulfilled promise. Each chapter was thoroughly researched, as you could tell from the evidence presented in each chapter. But the layout of it was hard to follow. It definitely felt like the first part of this book was a separate book from the second two parts.

I received a copy of this book from the author. This review is my honest opinion.

In the beginning, the author mentioned a remark made by one of his friends: "Your life is not that important to grant writing a book about." I read this book, and I agree with what the author said towards the end- every life is important enough to be worth writing abook about. This is all the more true when during the course of that life, the individual realizes their importance as a human created by God, made in His image, for His glory.

Jason B. Ladd is a Marine fighter pilot, so this book is packed-full with analogies and metaphors about the resemblance between a Christian's life and a Marine's. Prepare yourself for a lot of Marine talk and many capital letters words. I was unfamiliar with all of these, so it was a new thing I learned. However, at times it got overwhelming and I stopped trying to remember what all the words meant. I just accepted that they were relevant to the book. If you are familiar with the US Marine and other military structures in US, you're good. If you are not, don't give up, there are some good stuff in this book.

The book starts from the author's young years as a military kid, back when his family was stationed in Japan. The events of the book (although "events" is a bit much said, because events are not the focus of the book) are not chronological. However, the main idea of the book is Ladd's repentance and acceptance of God and Christianity. It is not (as I was tempted to think) an easy-breezy kind of book, where you learn about a man who decided to just accept God. This is about someone who researched God, who read a lot, inquired a lot, and then accepted that this God of the Christians is the only God. At times the book covers some hard topics, and deep theological issues. Reading this as a Christian should be no problem, but for someone who is not used to such aspects of faith it may be a bit challenging. Worth reading, though.

One of the Few is divided into three main parts. The second and third part are the most "practical", if you will. They approach various daily life situations. This is great - it's like showing the basics to a new believer, or showing a non-believer what this Christian living is all about. As someone who's lived both lives, so to say, Ladd is not talking gibberish, he knows what being a Christian entails in the everyday life. It is encouraging to read it as a Christian, and thought-provoking as a seeking person who wants to learn more about God.

As I mentioned, this is a well researched book. It is clear he's read and studied a lot, and I liked all the references written down at the end of every chapter, not all added at the end of the book. They are useful for anyone who wants to learn more about a certain topic covered in a chapter. Although at times it may seem difficult to read because of the subject approached, it's something useful. I am glad and grateful I had the chance to read it.

I was contacted by the author and offered a free e-book copy to read and review. All thoughts expressed here are my own.