In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat, by Pulitzer Prize* Winning Rick Atkinson (Henry Holt and Company, 2005, 352 pp) Reviewed by Skye Anderson (pre-military book club discussion)
"I thought of Robert E. Lee's melancholy insight, about how fortunate we are that war is so terrible, or men would grow too fond of it." (p 207-8)
It All Started 30+ Years Ago
Do you mix up the two Gulf Wars? The one in 1991 and the one in 2003? Or confuse them with the Afghanistan War which took place during the Second Gulf War?
Never fear - this book is almost a play-by-play account of the 101st Airborne in the Second Gulf War, from pre-deployment planning and training, through the fighting weeks as reported by a journalist embedded with General Petraeus.
Author Rick Atkinson is no soldier** but he is an accomplished journalist. He tells of the times he didn't pack the suggested items and came to regret it, and the times he misplaced his gas mask and couldn't find it in the dark** and the times he. . . . but, on the whole, this is a war story. A long war story which brought back many memories of my own Army days and my own deployment.
You Will Like. . . .
Atkinson has included an extensive dictionary of acronyms, only a few of which I knew. And male soldiers or airmen or sailors will read the book quickly and understand it all, from the unit names (battalion, brigade) and their numbers (3ID, etc.). Fortunately, good maps are also included for this play-by-play description of the war (but thumbing to them will slow you down as will constantly referring to the 'dictionary' of acronyms). War afficionados will devour the story's timeline but those of us who know less, will soon be bored.
Told by a journalist who hasn't been in the military can be fun when he writes about a surface-to-air missile ambush, a SAMbush but the humor is few and far between. After all, this is a war book, a 'chronicle of combat.'
Percolating throughout the book are many snippets of Arabic history and biblical names from this former history major turned journalist as well as real gems like what the heat felt like, what the smells were as he encountered them, even a few gorgeous sunsets.
Before and During
In the Company of Soldiers is separated into two parts - before and during. This reviewer liked the 'before' part best: the 'during' part was fairly dry and a day-by-day or play-by-play account which might appeal more to infantry types who know their weapons of war.
The Infantry Waddle
"They lumbered past in a column, sweating beneath the weight of body armor, canteens, smoke canisters, knee pads, anti-tank weapons, rifles, night-vision goggles, M-249 light machine guns, gas masks - all the accoutrements of modern combat." (p 197-8) Much like Vietnam. . . .
Atkinson writes of his soldiers taking a knee and pointing their weapons to the ground, trying to defuse a situation (which probably happened several times) and taking down a statue of Sadam, which also happened in several locations. But most of all, Atkinson shows us General Petraeus who did not stay safe in HQ but constantly moved among his troops. In addition we learn about planners who often would change orders at the last minute and from far away. SNAFU indeed!
*An Army at Dawn
**"Squeezing into the rear seat of the Humvee, I was nearly immobilized by the gear wedged around my feet and shoulders - flak vest, helmet, CamelBak, day bag, camera, notebook, gas mask, map board, and the bank of radios. Almost every day I absentmindedly left one or more items behind - in the tent, on a helicopter, atop a vehicle hood - and only the attentive forbearance of Miller and Fivecoat had kept me from scattering half my possessions in a personal debris field across Iraq." (p 223)
NEXT: Comments from a military book club composed of veterans who read and discussed In the Company of Soldiers
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