Powerful Story...very well researched giving voice to our troops

books:


	• No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah Bing West Bantam, 2005 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 112 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Very insightful

"No True Glory" written by Bing West.

"No True Glory" chronicles the combat and political events directly relevant to the city of Fallujah from April of 2003 through 2005. Perspective is given from soldiers on the ground all the way up to commanding officers.

The Good: No True Glory provided a wide range of perspective and gave good information from all sides of the Fallujah story. It didn't just given the action and tragedy on the battle field and it didn't completely bog you down with politics or tactics. A good blend of political explanation that helped you to understand what happened and why was combined with thoughts and attitudes of the high ranking officers and mixed with the day to day activities of the guys who were actually kicking in doors and getting shot at. The mix was good and paints a full picture of not just what happened when but also why.

The Bad: I had previously read "Jarhead: a Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles" and "Generation Kill". Both of which were more personal because they focused on individuals or individual groups providing a personal aspect to each. That is the only aspect in which "No True Glory" lacks. The reality is that this couldn't be accomplished in "No True Glory" because the time frame the book covers is longer than any single tour of Duty served.

Overall: If military books interest you then pick up No True Glory and give it a try. A great read!

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Powerful Story...very well researched giving voice to our troops

Bing West did an excellent job! I chose this book because I wanted to better understand both the Battle for Fallujah and the larger War in Iraq from the soldier's point of view. West describes the negotiations and he makes that an essential interplay with the conduct of the War. The US is lucky to have the committment of troops who fought this battle under the political circumstances they faced then and continue to have to contend with.

The only unanswered question I have is: What was the source of the Insurgents' high powered weapons? West implies that they may be the remainder of the Iraq Armys' weapons under Sadam Hussain by describing the former soldiers and officers who fought with the Insurgents. But he does not directly address that.

Jim(Illinois)

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Very informative but definitely flawed

His account of the fighting in and around Fallujah was very informative. He description of the bravery and determination exhibited by the Marines was very memorable. Yet by ignoring the political ramifications of fighting a trumped up war created by the Bush administration and the large number of civilian casualties that have been subtained, he intentionally created a very distorted overall picture of the conflict. Also, his comparison of the fighting in Iraq with the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War was extremely inaccurate. By blindly accepting the offical version of events, Bing did an injustice to his readers. Amazingly, he pretty much ignored the total incompetence of President Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld, and the political leaders who served there. As a Vietnam Combat veteran myself, I was very disappointed that he didn't recognize the harsh fact that one man's terrorist in another man's freedom fighter. Or rather, the glaring fact that we can't militarily win a war of occupation, unless we literally accept the fact that we are corporate occupiers and not political liberators.

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Iliad

the title comes from a comment on The Iliad. a well written book. lots of details on the battle. also gives a broad view of the entire socio-political background. not for the faint of heart.

A gripping read!

I picked this up to read on a month long travel trip. I ended up reading it in one sitting! Consequently, Im very glad I had also purchased a few other titles on the same topic. I really good read, disturbing and terrifying at times with a great deal of insight, but a great read.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

"This is the face of war as only those who have fought it can describe it."?Senator John McCain

Fallujah: Iraq?s most dangerous city unexpectedly emerged as the major battleground of the Iraqi insurgency. For twenty months, one American battalion after another tried to quell the violence, culminating in a bloody, full-scale assault. Victory came at a terrible price: 151 Americans and thousands of Iraqis were left dead.

The epic battle for Fallujah revealed the startling connections between policy and combat that are a part of the new reality of war.

The Marines had planned to slip into Fallujah ?as soft as fog.? But after four American contractors were brutally murdered, President Bush ordered an attack on the city?against the advice of the Marines. The assault sparked a political firestorm, and the Marines were forced to withdraw amid controversy and confusion?only to be ordered a second time to take a city that had become an inferno of hate and the lair of the archterrorist al-Zarqawi.

Based on months spent with the battalions in Fallujah and hundreds of interviews at every level?senior policymakers, negotiators, generals, and soldiers and Marines on the front lines?No True Glory is a testament to the bravery of the American soldier and a cautionary tale about the complex?and often costly?interconnected roles of policy, politics, and battle in the twenty-first century.

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