This is a good book. It's a series of oral reports from 28 people from the American armed forces who went to Iraq, plus one surgeon with the army operating in Germany on soldiers coming in injured from Iraq. A few of the people have two chapters and there's a glossary in the back for the military terminology.
I saw this in the library a while ago and felt like, I should read this book, but I don't want to. But I checked it out last week and even though it's emotionally difficult and had my eyes watering at times, it's not so bad.

This is such a powerful book.

a gruesome and hard-hitting look at the Iraq War, written by the veterans in short essay format. not all of them are anti-war, in fact many are pro-war and some are overtly racist. but regardless the book provides a pretty thoroughly convincing argument for why the war is far more horrific than most of us know or are willing to know.

This is a powerful, sobering look at the reality of what it's like to be a soldier on the ground in Iraq.

Each brief chapter is essentially a monologue by a veteran about his or her experiences. There is a brief introduction to the different sections, but no editorializing about the individual accounts. The good, the bad, the ugly. . . It's all here.

The challenges of war on the human spirit

The Iraq War is a very controversial and very misunderstood conflict. If you ask servicemen and civilians, the answer to the cause of sending in the troops to Iraq vary. Answers differ from the al-Qaeda link, the elimination of an oppressive regime to the protection of oil interests.

This is a compilation of stories of what the Iraq War was really like in a soldier's point of view. They tell their stories of why the joined the military to dealing with a developing situation on the ground. Iraq is a new form of warfare where there are no more frontlines because the enemy will attack you on all sides. The lines are now classified to zones. Fighting an unseen enemy is not easy for the serviceman and have negative effects on them such as PTSD and unprovoked hostility.

Never mind what the politicians say, going to Iraq started from a noble cause to a downward spiral of butchered lives. I hope that the Middle East have order restored.

Oral history of the Iraq war by the soldiers who fought there. Disturbing, sad, yet hopeful in parts.

Neither pro-war nor anti-war. Interviews with American soldiers (mostly Marines) who served in Iraq. I read some of it through tears. If you want to know why so many soldiers came back from Iraq with catastrophic debilitating life long injuries and/or severe PTSD, read this book. It was a different kind of war. A tough read but a real eye opener. It's easy to say in passing "Thank you for your service." Do you really understand the sacrifice? The poignant last sentence of the book: "If I were to ask you, ballpark--how many soldiers have died in Iraq . . . well, do you actually know?"

It is short stories and I am reading it for a class. I like it but it is a hard read due to the content and closeness of the topic.

I read a lot of WWII history but this is new. The book was written in 2006, so it is obviously a bit dated, but really absorbing. The author transcribed interviews with soldiers and Marines who served a variety of roles - from a sniper to the director of Mortuary Affairs at one of the bases. It was a really good look inside what happened.

My curiosity made me want to read about the Iraq war that wasn't from any American leaders or propaganda from any news source although Trish Wood is an investigative journalist, so I picked this book with no regrets. Very insightful yet disturbing on the atrocities of war, there was a section in this book that bothered me but I'm glad to know the real history of this unjust war.

Oral histories of people recently returned from serving in iraq...The media does a great disservice to the stories of actual servicepersons, mitigating their lives to managable narratives that don't really share the scope of what is going on, not even close...I'd check out the book.

I think the last quote for the book is a good summary for why state-siders should bother with the book:

"They [Americans] don't invest themselves in the real issues of the war. Why did we get over there? When are we going to return? What is happening? How many soldiers have died?

If I were to ask you, ballpark -- how many soldiers have died in Iraq...well, do you actually know?"


~ What about Iraqi soldiers?
~ What about non-service contractors? US? International?
~ Non-Iraqi jihadists from other nations?
~ Iraqi Interpreters, taxi drivers, etc.?

The roots of this war tree are deep and will soil the region for a century, we have to as a nation of couch-bound observers begin understanding the scope of this endeavor...and how to mitigate it's damage for the future.