Book Review Most of these reviews are by the editor of wesupportthevets.com and are his viewpoint. To enter your own review of any of these works or to submit a review on other veteran topic books, send to editor@wesupportthevets.com and in the subject area, use "book review submission" so we will not toss your thoughts out with the spam mail.
November 15,2007 FIASCO BY ROBERT RICKS
Keep
in mind that Ricks is a reporter for the Washington Post. For some reason
that title makes publishers want to run and stop the presses and buy the
authors manuscript .The entire writing is a scathing critique. Hicks does a
great job on getting the dates right and the progression of deep involvement by
the U.S. Ricks would make the reader think that he was present during several
key discussions. on page 167 he quotes General. Greg Garner as telling the
President about his replacement- "You made a good choice on Jerry Bremer--he is
a good, hard working guy." Said Garner, ever the loyal team player. Bush
responded "Hell I didn't choose him, Rumsfield chose him , just
like he chose you." Ricks spares no one in his accounting for the FIASCO.
Rumsfeld in particular. Rumsfeld is depicted as an egocentric, self centered
person that would never admit to a mistake. He is constantly described as a
person that could never assess a situation and set the strategic response..
Looking back on Rumsfeld's results, one would have to agree. The paperback has a
postscript dated 2007 that attempts to fill in some of the important gaps.
NOVEMBER 14,2007 JUST ANOTHER SOLDIER by JASON CHRISTOPHER HARTLEY
Without
a doubt in any veterans mind that has served kicking sand, this is the best
review of daily duty in Iraq. Jason is a vet. A soldier. Jason has been there
done this...without the comforts of a five star hotel to write his reports
in. Hartley kept a blog running while he was writing the book in
country,....that is until his CO found out about it and as we all remember, when
you are "on the list" by your CO --life can get pretty interesting. Jason
was the company crap burner for some time. Good read.
November 30,2007 THE TERRORIST WATCH BY RONALD KESSLER
This
one could have been printed by the Government printing office. Kessler would
have the public believe that the CIA and FBI have never be disorganized or
sloppy in their work. Most of the work is from reports and interviews with FBI
agent Art Cummings who at the time of the writing, headed up the FBI's
international terrorism operations. Boring is a polite word to use. Use in place
of sleeping tablets.
DECEMBER 1,2007 IN THE COMPANY OF SOLDIERS BY RICK ATKINSON\
Pulitzer winner Rick Atkinson goes to Iraq with the 101st airborne division in 2003. Another Washington Post reporter, Atkinson takes you into the huddles for action plans and the occupation of Baghdad. One of his best assets was the fact that he ( Atkinson) was at the elbow of Major General David H. Petraeous- the top dawg in the fight. Atkinson does a number on the Pentagon for not having a plan of reconstruction and humanitarian assistance until late January. The author displays his knowledge of what a reader wants, describes the action closely with operation names, people and divisions or groups involved. It is indeed, a chronicle of combat.
Coming next......THE SECRET WARRIORS by the master of military writing,.....W.E.B. Griffin