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Warrior King: The Triumph and Betrayal of an American Commander in Iraq | 
 enlarge | Authors: Nathan Sassaman, Joe Layden
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $12.95
You Save: $13.00 (50%)
New (28) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $5.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 175644
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 0312377126
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.704434092
EAN: 9780312377120
ASIN: 0312377126
Publication Date: May 27, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: CHARITY SALE!!! Book is new, has slight shelf wear to dust jacket. 100% of the proceeds benefit the literacy efforts of Books for America
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Product Description
The startling and controversial memoir of combat and betrayal, written by one of the most prominent members of the U.S. fighting forces in Iraq A West Point graduate, a former star quarterback who carried Army to its first bowl victory, and a courageous warrior who had proven himself on the battlefield time and again, Lt. Col. Nathan Sassaman was one of the most celebrated officers in the United States military. He commanded more than eight hundred soldiers in the heart of the insurgency-ravaged Sunni Triangle in Iraq, and his unit’s job was to seek out and eliminate terrorists and loyalists to Saddam Hussein, while simultaneously rebuilding the region’s infrastructure and introducing democratic processes to a broken people. Sassaman’s tactics were highly aggressive, his methods innovative, and his success in Iraq nearly unparalleled. Yet Sassaman will always be known for a fateful decision to cover up the alleged drowning of an Iraqi by his men, in which they purportedly forced two detainees to jump into the Tigris River. The army initially charged three soldiers with manslaughter and a fourth with assault---the first time troops who served in Iraq have been charged with a killing in connection with the handling of detainees. Sassaman’s decision led to his downfall, despite an impressive career, and sent shock waves through the American military. This controversial decision goes to the heart of the complex fight in Iraq, where key army leaders betray one another, politics in the war room leads to lost lives on the battlefield, and enemy factions routinely sabotage U.S. efforts, making success difficult for American commanders on the battlefield. Warrior King is the explosive memoir of one of the most deeply involved members of the U.S. military in Iraq. This is the first book to take readers from the overnight brutality of combat to the daunting daytime humanitarian tasks of rebuilding Iraq to the upper echelons of the Pentagon to show how and why the war has gone horribly wrong.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
 An ex grunt August 27, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I guess I should start off by saying that I served under Lt. Col. Sassaman's command during OIF 1. I've always told my family and friends that I am proud to have served under him. I ended up reading the book in a single sitting. I feel that the information provided in the book was accurate and actually captured some of the views of the soldiers under his command. Sassaman was well liked by his men, and better yet trusted.
I believe in my heart that the We, under his command, did what was necessary to at least have a fighting chance. Combat is an ugly nasty beast. War hasn't changed since men started waging it, just the means of fighting it has. Combat/War has unfortunately always meant the death of innocent people. That's right, great grandpa in WWI, grandpa in WWII, dad in Vietnam...it hasn't changed. It's a sad truth and American's need to wake up and realize that.
I'm glad this book was published, I'm not ashamed of the things I did over there. Further more, I am glad to have something to show/pass down to my family, I just wish I could get it signed.
Fighting Eagles!!!!
Wolverine 6D/Rock 6G
 Self serving revisionism. August 27, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sassaman will do almost anything to avoid taking responsibility for his own failure of leadership. He flails around blaming anyone and everyone around him. The fact remains that he was in charge and failed to provide the needed oversight to prevent his men from murdering Iraqi civilians. The buck stops at the man in charge even if he's desperate to blame everyone else. Do not buy, it's a waste of time.
Warrior, hardly... August 20, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Should be called Moaning King...So you went back from the first class cabin, huh? TO check on the men...Such leadership... So many facts wrong... The 2nd Battalion of the 503rd REGIMENT not division is bad enough but and no MP's with them...
An absolutely misleading and horrible read...
I know warriors sir... You are not that.
How much is true and how much is self-serving revisionism? August 1, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Based on the book alone, I think Lt. Col. (ret.) Sassaman has created a compelling story of his Army career and experiences as a mechanized infantry battalion commander in Iraq. However, when reading "tell all" autobiographies, I am always leery of how much the ego and self-interest plays into it. Sassaman blisters his brigade commander relentlessly, but this is all the word of one man and his own POV.
The reviews are telling, though. Several of his former officers/soldiers have praised him and his leadership, so you can make the case that much of what he says in the book is true, and that he believes in his heart that he did the right things.
What military professionals are going through these days is a far cry from the peacetime armed forces of the 80's and 90's, and the kinds of moral and ethical dilemmas Sassaman faced have proven to be the undoing of others across the various services. It's always easy to play armchair general, so I respect the colonel's service and his attempt to tell his story. Not having served in his unit, I can only take him at his word.
I found the book to flow well and it certainly kept my attention throughout. His descriptions and images are pretty accurate given that I served in the same part of Iraq a little more than a year after he returned to the States.
The bottom line for me is that while I think it is a good book and interesting read, I would caution those unfamiliar with the military/army and the war in Iraq to not take this as an absolute rendering of what has happened. For those in opposition to the war, this is something to latch onto as proof of failed foreign policy, but every single battalion and brigade AO is different, and all meet with different results. Painting his account as the definitive Iraqi war story is a mistake- this is just part of the mosaic, and you should also read Tom Ricks's "Fiasco", David Bellavia's "House To House", Jim Lacey's "Takedown" and Michael Yon's Moment of Truth in Iraq" to gain a different perspective.
My fear is that someone reads "Warrior King" and decides in his or her own mind that this is the way it is all around the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan and that is simply not so. I have served under some amazing brigade and battalion commanders, and there are a lot of good stories coming out of Iraq as well. Knowledge is power.
Sassaman's book is a worthy read, but he clearly has an agenda, and the way he goes after his superiors is something to be noted. How much of it is absolute honesty, and how much of it is self-serving revisionist history is a question only the author can answer.
 the path of virtue July 13, 2008
3 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is certainly a passionate book about one Soldier and officer/s experience in war. My role in this war was the director of plans for the commander of land forces in 2002/03. My feeling on reading this book is that the truth is somewhere in the middle. I do not know LTC Sassaman. I do know now BG Rudesheim. He is a good man and a good Soldier. I was not there in theater when these incidents occured. what this book points out is that war is a cruel business and not to be taken lightly. We citizens should consider the cost of war and ask questions of our leaders before and during war. If there are questions or incosistencies in the rationale for war we are obligated tobring these up. Many people accept the assertion that there was no planning for what to do after our forces got to Baghdad. I assure you that there was a plan. The question is why was there no follow through. Sassaman does a credible job in presenting his version of the events in one area during one period during the on going war. I urge peple to read MORE about this tough war and about the Soldiers Marines Sailors and Airmen who are fighting it. Remember though that one man or woman/s experience in this war cannot be THE definitive work on it.
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