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 enlarge | Author: Richard Engel
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book
List Price: $28.00
Buy Used: $6.93
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Avg. Customer Rating:  26 reviews
Sales Rank: 63486
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 6.5 x 1.2
ISBN: 1416563040
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.70443092
EAN: 9781416563044
ASIN: 1416563040
Publication Date: June 3, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great Read! August 16, 2008
The personal details made this book much more interesting than just a blow-by-blow about the players and their politics. My only suggestions: 1) a map at the beginning of the book (even the author said that to explain all of this, a map was necessary) and 2) a glossary at the beginning of the book to explain some of the concepts in more detail.
 richard engel August 15, 2008
This book is a personal account of Engels service in Iraq as an American journalist. The book goes beyond the details we see on the nightly news and exposes the gritty, painful, and sometimes gruesome aspects of covering a war. Engel, who is fluent in Arabic, is the longest serving journalist in Iraq.
Engel's knowledge of the conflict is well respected in Washington and, upon a recent return, Bush asked to meet with him to discuss his views on the war. Engel showed up with a mismatched suit and spoke frankly with the president for 90 minutes. He writes of his discussions with Bush, and the candor with which he addressed the President.
He also writes about how tragic but inevitable ways in which the war affected him, his marriage, and his psyche. Speaking of the emerging civil war in Iraq, he writes, "There were fourteen car bombs, forty two roadside bombs, and twenty two shootings in Baghdad the same week. ...They were just numbers, adding up, and I was there, with my death abacus, keeping track. I didn't think I cared about the carnage. It just seemed like white noise. I didn't feel affected, but friends said I didn't look them in the eyes much anymore. I was jittery, cold, wired, hungry, and most of all detached. (p. 203)
Engel eventually moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where he relished the opportunity to escape from Baghdad. The way he describes the city conjures of images of a Paris on the Mediterranean. But shortly after he arrived, a war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah. He writes, "I spent the rest of the summer reporting from destroyed villages in southern Lebanon and covering refugees in my new home. NBC's Washington bureau chief, Tim Russert, told me I was bad luck. 'Engel, don't come to Washington', he said". (p 274)
Great explianation of the war August 7, 2008
Engel does a fantastic job clearing explaining the religious, political, and social problems in Iraq. He talks about his experiences with U.S. troops, with local Iraqis, and his close calls with death. The book is not political, it's just the real story, but Engel does voice his frustration with the violence and lack of progress. If you want to understand the war, Iran's role, the Shia Sunni conflict, and history building up to all this, this is a must read. Very interesting and hard to put down.
There are no "good" wars August 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I agree with all the other reviewers that said this should be required reading for Americans. The truth about war can't be told in 3 minute sound bites between commercial breaks. Through Engel's voice, the American occupation of Iraq is exposed. The book is brutally honest and very real. This isn't a partisan hack job from an outside observer, but rather a personal story about a reporter living in Iraq, embedded with the troops and often putting his life in grave danger to report the news for citizens that would rather ignore it.
first rate July 25, 2008
a first-rate, informed, even-handed description of the war in Iraq. Very much worth reading. Bing West
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