by David Finkel
First published 2009
President Bush announced the surge strategy for Iraq in January 2007. The young soldiers of the 2-16 battalion, known as the Rangers, believed they would make the difference this time. Washington Post reporter David Finkel embedded with these infantry troops as they deployed to one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhoods. Over fifteen months of combat, Finkel documented their daily reality through firefights, roadside bombs, and the grinding toll of urban warfare. The soldiers who returned home bore little resemblance to the optimistic troops who had deployed. Finkel wrestles with whether the surge truly succeeded while chronicling the human cost paid by individual soldiers. His account captures both the immediate chaos of combat and the lasting changes war brings to those who fight it.
Genres: history, military-fiction, non-fiction, biography-memoir, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: chronicle, first-hand-account
Setting: Baghdad
Period: 2007
287 pages · Hardcover · Sarah Crichton Books
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, war