Always a Soldier
Service, Sacrifice, and Coming Out as America’s Favorite Black, Gay Republican

Almost rated a 3 because the first half of the book didn’t pull me in as the second half did. But that wouldn’t be fair, simply because the second half kinda blew my socks off. Prior to reading this book, I’d seen Mr. Smith on a random news snippet as well as a social media video. I was impressed by......more

This was pretty much two separate books. One was about Robs life as a gay soldier during don’t ask don’t tell. It was interesting and a bit of a cautionary tale of the difficulties of having to hide your private self from your professional self. Most soldier books I’ve read are written by people who......more

Just finished the audio book and absolutely loved it. I'm a huge fan of Rob Smith. He's funny, charismatic, and extremely smart. He also has an abundance of common sense, which seems to be sorely lacking in today's society. In ALWAYS A SOLDIER, Rob talks mainly about his decision to join the Army in......more

I want to support Rob Smith and I admire him, but this is not a well put together book. The writing is fine but he spends the first 80% of it talking about his four-year military career, in which not a whole lot happens beyond him having to hide is homosexuality. There's very little about his upbrin......more

Rob Smith grew up about a half hour away from me, yet his experiences in inner-city Akron are completely different than mine in the small, rural town that didn't even become a city until I was in high school. The child of divorced parents, Rob lived with his grandmother while his mother shuttled aro......more