The Good Soldiers

Absolutely Great

The Good Soldiers is one of the best books I have ever read of any sort. Extremely well written, The Good Soldiers takes the reader on a journey into the Iraq war with such intensity that at times you feel the IED's go off and the bullets fly past your head. David Finkel writes a book that at one minute pulls at your emotions of sorrow and the next has you near ranting at the absurdity of the Iraq war. A must read for anyone trying to get an insight to the US involment in Iraq and what it means to our men and women in war.

10 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

Heartbreaking

I think most people forget about the war overseas. Understandably, everyone is facing a difficult economy amongst other things, but this book brings us back to reality. As a soldier myself, this book hit so close to home. I have yet to be deployed, so this book made me appreciate, even more, what my fellow soldiers do everyday in Iraq and Afghanistan while I get to be home living a normal life. This book was absolutely heartbreaking, and I cried pretty much the entire time reading it. It's a startling reminder that I think we all need. This book was well written and has amazing insight from soldiers who have lived in the midst of war. Very Powerful.

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

This book really brings the soldiers to life, the ones who died

Since I am a military mom this book really moved me and brought these
young soldiers back to life, or to life. I could not put it down.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

In Depth Look at the War in Iraq

I have recently taken to reading military history books to understand the situation our current world is in. I am 27 and the Middle East situation is my equivalent of the Viatnam War for prior generations. It is difficult to learn the situation our soldiers face, due to media manipulation. This book is a well written account of the "Surge" in Iraq and a;; the dificulties the soldiers faced. The book tells of the mental toll that the war is taking on the young men and women serving in Iraq. The war in the Middle East is nothing like anything we have seen before. The EFP's and IED's are causing a whole new set of problems for the soldiers involved. Finkel was imbedded with the 2-16 and painted a true picture of the true toll this war is taking on those individuals serving in the Middle East theater.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

May be the most anti-war yet...

How does one describe a war? Was there ever a war that seemed like a success? Oh yes--I remember now. The one Bush,Jr declared finished after a month or two.

Imagine you are lying flat on the hot, dusty surface of a road east of Baghdad, in Rustamiyah. Like an IED, say, or an EFP. (Improvised Explosive Device or Explosively Formed Penetrator) Imagine you take a picture of the world from that viewpoint. I felt Finkel's book allowed us to view the war in Iraq from a similar vantagepoint. A single battalion (the 2-16) experiences "the surge" in this book. We hear a rounded account, from the Lieutenant Colonel (Colonel K) leading the group, to the replacement soldiers for the dead and the wounded. We hear from the wives, the translators, the medalled, the battle-weary. There are no victors.

It is terrifying, war is. If you want to see what bad is, you can have a look here. As we strive in our lives to achieve, and be the best of what man can be, our soldiers are seeing the worst of what man can be. I don't have words enough to express my sorrow...

3 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Gritty Wartime Account

A war correspondent's story detailing the history of an America infantry battalion during the surge in Baghdad. The author takes the reader out on patrol in one of the nastiest neighborhoods in Baghdad and unblinkingly describes what happens when a homemade bomb explodes under a Humvee. The result is a vivid depiction of what war feels like on the ground. The book makes no attempt to tell the story of the war from a higher level, or to place the action described in its pages in any larger wartime context. This is not a comfortable book to read, but it is honest, and I do recommend it.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The best read on the Iraqi conflict

Having read more than 8 books on the Iraqi conflict I found Mr.Finkels book to very precise and to the point without needing to add "side bars" to complete the story. Easily the best read thus far on this issue.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

must read for all americans

the most heart wrenching account of what it is like in war in Iraq
raw detail of there lives and losses

2 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Complex

The war in Iraq is multi faceted. If you are look for more insight into the war in Iraq you should read "Women as Weapons of War: Iraq, Sex and the Media" by well known author and scholar Kelly Oliver.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Like it really was in Iraq

This is an honest and unvarnished telling of the experiences of an infantry company in the early days of the Iraq war. What these young soldiers saw and did is hard to fully comprehend - what they accomplished is awesome, the sad part is that what they did will probably not last in Iraq.
Like all real and factual accounts of combat and the soldiers who go through it, this ends up feeling anti-war. As a society we ask a great deal of the people we send to war - they must live with what they say and did the rest of their lives. Bless them.

True accounts of the daily life of a soldier

I loved this book. It really showed the war in Iraq for what it really is rather than what you hear in the news or read in an article. It really puts things into perspective. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes to read the truth and isn't afraid to read things that could potentially make you cry.

Perfection

This book should be required reading. It is so heart breaking honest and perfectly written. I recommend this book to everyone. I cannot say enough good things about it. You will not be disappointed.

Highly Recommend

This book should be required reading for all Americans. We owe such a debt to those who serve in our military - the least we can do is try to understand what it is they go through on our behalf.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

you won't regret this purchase!

Trust a stranger on this one. It was everything I hoped for from this type of war story.

Gut wrenching account of life and death on the front line against terror in Iraq

David Finkel puts you in the passenger seat of a Humvee in Iraq. He was encamped with the 6-12 who was assigned to Iraq from 2007-2008. The story is told through the eyes of Ralph Kuzlarich, Army lieutenant colonel, CO of the 6-12 in Bagdad during "George W. Bush's surge." This real life story of soldiers fighting for freedom brough tears to my eyes many times. It gave new meaning to truth, freedom, and American foreign democracy. A must read, RolloRT

Good on Info

It was very good on an information basis but as far as the real action is, it was pretty crappy. I enjoyed myself for the first half of the book, then it got sort of old.

False, Sentimental Agitprop

In "The Good Soldiers", David Finkel gives a verbatim account of dialogue between U.S. pilots and reconnaissance personnel during the now infamous "Collateral Murder" Apache helicopter attack that killed several innocent Iraqis, including two Reuters journalists. The problem is, Finkel's account was written prior to the public release of the video of the killings and, when Finkel's account is compared to that video, calls into serious question Finkel's active "spinning" of reports of the event to align with the U.S. military coverup of what many have called a US "war crime". Read the book if you want to see a journalist at work whose integrity has been severely compromised - and perhaps completely undermined - by his pandering to the needs of his sources (in this case U.S. Army personnel and staff) to create a narrative acceptable to the American public. Finkel's account of the "Collateral Murder" incident - an account which he has publicly defended in spite of ample recorded video and audio evidence of it's falsehood - gives one pause. It seems this author may be willing to outright lie to his readers in order to appeal to our desire to believe that America is sending "Good Soldiers" overseas to fight our battles for us. When the history of the media's support for US military actions is written, David Finkel and "The Good Soldier" will figure prominently; though probably not in a way that Mr. Finkel will like.

OUTSTANDING!!

Great book, helps bring home the war.

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