Literature at West Point
We usually associate the curriculum at the United States Military Academy at West Point with mathematics, engineering and the sciences. But a new book entitled Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet lets us know that literature is alive and well at West Point and a vital component of a soldier's education and life after graduation.
Samet is a full professor in the English Department and has been teaching at the Academy for ten years. She has degrees from Harvard and Yale and this book is about her varied experiences in adapting to life in the military setting. She has taught a variety of authors in her courses such as Homer, Virgil, Hemingway and Shakespeare and has had quite an affect on the cadets she has educated. Read an interview with her by The NewsHour on PBS. She is a remarkable woman and shows us again the importance and power of literature in our lives.