Book Review: In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat (Iraq, 2003)(OT) Part 2 of 2

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 (post-military book club discussion)

Yesterday we reviewed the book In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat prior to our military book club meeting. I like to do this, then take notes on the the book club's remarks, just to compare my thoughts with those of the group's. Our book club consists of about 10 people who are veterans or retirees (also veterans!), most of whom are men (I was the token female today.). We have all the services represented and a couple of us have been deployed.

Today's blog will be short - I was late tuning in to the zoom meeting because the start time advertised was incorrect. Nevertheless, I easily found out that most of the others really liked In the Company of Soldiers. I was one of two would not necessarily recommend it (as to why, see the previous blog below). (I think the default is to recommend a book though, rather than to say you disliked it.)

We have a fantastic facilitator, a Naval Academy graduate, and we all know each other, having been together (starting in person, pre-pandemic) for about four years of reading and chatting and, of course, with shared backgrounds in the military (though different services, different ranks, different time periods).

Today's discussion, however, seemed to be more about the topic, especially General Petraeus, than about the book itself, which is fine but still needs to be pointed out. At times, though, a couple of us read from the book what we felt was significant to illustrate something - and the others seems to remember the quote in question most of the time. One standout for me was the coordination of the different services, another was the fact that General Petraeus did not stay in his headquarters but continually moved from unit to unit to check on his soldiers (and the war).

Each year we meet about five times and our books cover everything military - from battle books to memoirs, including those about women soldiers, and we try to read a book from each of the major conflicts each year, from the Civil War to World War I and II, to Korea, Vietnam and now Iraq and Afghanistan. Personal experiences shared with the group are meaningful.

And members of our military book club are truly "in the company of soldiers"!