In the Company of Soldiers

In the Company of Soldiers 

This is the latest book I've completed reading. In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson gives a perspective on the involvement of the 101st Airborne Division in the invasion of Iraq. The author gives an inside view of the division, mainly at the command level of Lt. Gen. William S. Wallace, Maj. Gen David H. Petraeus and the Brig. Generals and Colonels under their command.

The book is well written (the author won a Pulitzer Prize for his book An Army At Dawn) and is worth reading if you're interested in more detailed accounts of the war than you'll find in the news and periodicals. It does not, however, seem to have the same urgent, first-person portrayal of combat that can be found in other books I've read. Specifically Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden or The Hunt for bin Laden by Robin Moore. The closest this book gets to them in the first-person combat narrative is in chapter 14 (At the Gates of Babylon).

Nonetheless this is a good book especially for those who'd like a look at how the Gen.'s made tactical decisions and their performance under the pressure of sending their men on dangerous operations. Mr. Atkinson toughed through the same sand storms, camps, etc. as the men he portrays and I'd say he did a good job overall in writing this volume. Give it a read if it's down your literary alley.

You can visit the book's website and read other opinions (I haven't read any yet) or listen to interviews. In the Company of Soldiers Website