Iran Books

Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War

Evan Wright

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 180 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Semper Fi!!!! Thank you Evan Wright!!! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is amazing!! I am a disabled vet from OIF2. I spent 5 years in the Corps(1 of them in Iraq). My Lieutenant gave me this book 2 days before I went in to operation phantom fury(i think that was the name of the op, it was in November of 2004 when we took the city of Fallujia). My best friend is currently with that same unit that is in the book. So obviously I would be interested in reading this book, but for any of you who really want to know what is in the mind of the young Americans fighting over seas and what its like to be over there, this is the book for you. The dialogue in this book is so REAL it's not even funny. I could not put this one down.

I have read some negative post on here, and it seems that they might be upset because the author of the book often gives the lower ranked guys point of views about some of the jacked up things their officers were doing or such. There is a review with a 1 star rating from a supposed First Sergeant from 1st mar div. He says the author stabbed his unit in the back. I disagree(although I don't know all the facts behind that accusation). Most civilians didn't even know about Force Recon before this book came out. Now they made an HBO special about it(haven't seen yet) that has received great reviews, and every civilian I talk to thinks that Force Recon is the best of the best. If anything Evan might have improved the Corps' recruitment numbers. When the first sergeant says that "his unit got stabbed in the back" by Evan, I would envision Evan sharing classified top secret information to the enemy or something. That was not the case, Evan told it how it is or was. He is a journalist and is allowed to do that because of that thing called THE CONSTITUTION. That is the same thing that the first sergeant swore to defend, right?


5000 STARS

P.S. Thank you Evan Wright!!!!!!!!!!!

Editorial Review:

Based on the author's National Magazine Award-winning series in Rolling Stone, this New York Times bestseller offers a firsthand account of the first warriors of the current generation to enter the Iraq War.

Big Boy Rules: In the Company of America's Mercenaries Fighting in Iraq

Steve Fainaru

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The truth is being told...... 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.

I finished reading "Big Boy Rules" last night. I hope the Cote, Young, Munns, Reuben, Withrow, and Nussbaumer families find comfort in knowing the truth is out, and the story of their sons, brothers, fathers, husbands, and friends is being told.
The book is very well written. As despicable as the outcome is, Steve Fainaru did a fantastic job of capturing the life of Jon, the strength of the Cote family, and the corruption that led to this tragedy.

What was the authors motive by omitting the whole truth? 2 out of 5 stars.
6 of 11 people found this review helpful.

I guess one who doe's not know or who has never experienced Iraq, would give all stars to this book. Yes it is a good read. However the author stopped short and left out key details on certain subject matter. I got the feeling it was an effort to extort a certain response from the readers. Some of the stories told did not happen, some did not happen even close to the way he discribe. Which may not matter much. However the omission of key details is a definite attempt to produce a desired impact on the reader. For example, the author remarked negatively numerous times about the armor of the vehicles. He left out that the armor worked. Why? He stated that Paul walked up to him and out of the blue, Paul said he was an alcoholic. That did not happen, so what was the authors reason for writing that? He condemed Crescent Security for not manning the the convoy with appropriate security. Why did he fail to tell the part that those 7 left more than an hour earlier than thier scheduled time and did not inform the other 20 Iraqi security members. There many other statements and twisted facts the author was grossly incorrect about. So I must question the acuracy of the other parts of the book.

Editorial Review:

Traveling with a group of American security contractors---mercenaries, or "mercs"---Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Steve Fainaru reveals in gritty detail the men who live by Big Boy Rules.

Escape from the Deep: A Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew

Alex Kershaw

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 19 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The adrenaline-soaked story of nine men who fought the Japanese from America's deadliest submarine, survived its sinkage, and endured months of brutal torture in captivity.

By October, 1944, the U.S. Navy submarine Tang was legendary--she had sunk more enemy ships, rescued more downed airmen, and pulled off more daring surface attacks than any other Allied submarine in the Pacific. And then, on her fifth patrol, tragedy struck--the Tang was hit by one of her own faulty torpedoes. The survivors of the explosion struggled to stay alive in their submerged "iron coffin" one hundred-eighty feet beneath the surface. While the Japanese dropped deadly depth charges, just nine of the original eighty-man crew survived a harrowing ascent through the escape hatch.

But a far greater ordeal was coming. After being picked up by a Japanese patrol vessel, they were sent to a secret Japanese interrogation camp known as the "Torture Farm." They were close to death when finally liberated in August, 1945, but they had revealed nothing to the Japanese--not even the greatest secret of World War II.

All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror

Stephen Kinzer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 137 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Sometimes the truth has a liberal bias 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

To write a good history book like this one an author needs to do well in three separate areas. He needs to research the topic at hand, write a readable account and finally analyze the events. Kinzer performs exceptionally well in all three areas. First, the book is meticulously researched. He discusses appropriate history without going into unnecessary or boring details to give the reader an appropriate context and background leading up to the 1953 coup. He also uses a diverse set of resources which leaves no holes in the story.

Second, Kinzer's writing is engaging and at times suspenseful. In fact at the end of many chapters, I was unable to put the book aside and take a break from reading due to the suspense Kinzer created. The story is very easy to follow and the reader needs practically no background to follow the events. This is particularly impressive given the relative short length of the book. My only criticism is that I wished he had summarized the cast of characters in an appendix or in the beginning as many similar books do.

Finally, his analysis, while many have called too liberal, is even handed. He makes a leap by implying that 9/11 events may have not happened if it weren't for the 1953 CIA led coup. Of course we will never know for sure. He supports his claims convincingly that the coup led to the eventual 1979 hostage crisis and the anti-American feelings in the Middle East. Liberal bias? The facts speak for themselves. The CIA using American tax payer money to overthrow a popular and democratically elected government. We, in the USA, would not appreciate if foreigners overthrew our government so why have a double standard? Perhaps Mossadegh is being glorified too much and ultimately he would have led Iran towards the wrong path, but the point remains that we will never know thanks to the coup. Kinzer does entertain the possibilities that Mossadegh would have been terrible for Iran and the West so I reject the idea that he has a strong liberal bias.

If you, like me, find the "Death to USA" chants and hostage taking barbaric and puzzling, this book will offer you fresh insights and help you understand the roots of these actions. You will become a lot smarter and more knowledgeable about the Middle East after reading it. I highly recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

With a thrilling narrative that sheds much light on recent events, this national bestseller brings to life the 1953 CIA coup in Iran that ousted the country’s elected prime minister, ushered in a quarter-century of brutal rule under the Shah, and stimulated the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and anti-Americanism in the Middle East. Selected as one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and The Economist, it now features a new preface by the author on the folly of attacking Iran.

The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Linda J. Bilmes

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"This is a catalog [of costs] the Bush team never looked at. It's a catalog that they still don't want you to see."—James Galbraith

America has already spent close to a trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there are hundreds of billions of bills still due—including staggering costs to take care of the thousands of injured veterans, providing them with disability benefits and health care. In this sobering study, Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard University's Linda J. Bilmes reveal a wide range of costs that have been hidden from U.S. taxpayers and left out of the debate about our involvement in Iraq. That involvement, the authors conservatively estimate, will cost us more than $3 trillion.

"Stiglitz and Bilmes have clearly demonstrated the need for Congress and the administration to ensure that those making sacrifices today will see those sacrifices honored in the future."—Dave W. Gorman, executive director, Disabled American Veterans

Persepolis Boxed Set

Marjane Satrapi

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life. Marjane’s child’s-eye view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, with laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.


Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return

Here is the continuation of Marjane Satrapi's fascinating story. In 1984, Marjane flees fundamentalism and the war with Iraq to begin a new life in Vienna. Once there, she faces the trials of adolescence far from her friends and family, and while she soon carves out a place for herself among a group of fellow outsiders, she continues to struggle for a sense of belonging.

Finding that she misses her home more than she can stand, Marjane returns to Iran after graduation. Her difficult homecoming forces her to confront the changes both she and her country have undergone in her absence and her shame at what she perceives as her failure in Austria. Marjane allows her past to weigh heavily on her until she finds some like-minded friends, falls in love, and begins studying art at a university. However, the repression and state-sanctioned chauvinism eventually lead her to question whether she can have a future in Iran.

As funny and poignant as its predecessor, Persepolis 2 is another clear-eyed and searing condemnation of the human cost of fundamentalism. In its depiction of the struggles of growing up—here compounded by Marjane’s status as an outsider both abroad and at home—it is raw, honest, and incredibly illuminating.

Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq

Michael R. Gordon, Bernard E. Trainor

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 96 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Informed by unparalleled access to still–secret documents, interviews with top field commanders, and a review of the military’s own internal after–action reports, Cobra II is the definitive chronicle of America’s invasion and occupation of Iraq—a conflict that could not be lost but one that the United States failed to win decisively. From the Pentagon to the White House to the American command centers in the field, the book reveals the inside story of how the war was actually planned and fought. Drawing on classified United States government intelligence, it also provides a unique account of how Saddam Hussein and his high command developed and prosecuted their war strategy.

Written by Michael R. Gordon, the chief military correspondent for The New York Times, who spent the war with the Allied land command, and Bernard E. Trainor, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general and former director of the National Security Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cobra II traces the interactions among the generals, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and President George W. Bush. It dramatically reconstructs the principal battles from interviews with those who fought them, providing reliable accounts of the clashes waged by conventional and Special Operations forces. It documents with precision the failures of American intelligence and the mistakes in administering postwar Iraq.

Unimpeachably sourced, Cobra II describes how the American rush to Baghdad provided the opportunity for the virulent insurgency that followed. The brutal aftermath in Iraq was not inevitable and was a surprise to the generals on both sides; Cobra II provides the first authoritative account as to why. It is a book of enduring importance and incisive analysis—a comprehensive account of the most reported yet least understood war in American history.

Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit

Charlie A. Beckwith, Donald Knox

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Not quite as good as Haney's book, but still good 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

If I had not read Eric Haney's book "Inside Delta Force" before I read this one, I probably would have loved it. The inherent problem is that both books cover roughly the same time frame, with Beckwith's book beginning earlier (going back to Vietnam inspirations) and ending while Haney was still in Delta. Both books provide detailed coverage of Operation Eagle Claw, which can be a little redundant, but that's no one's fault really. What I liked about Beckwith's book was the understanding it gave about where the idea for Delta came from, what his operational credibility was, and the intense opposition he faced in birthing this elite unit. Some folks will be bored with the various political machinations at work, but I found it interesting to see how something like this comes to be. Less interesting to me was Beckwith's account of Selection and the like because he didn't have to go through it like Haney did. I'd definitely recommend this book, but if you only want to read ONE book on Delta, I'd recommend Haney's first. And while there is certainly some overlap in information between the two works, I read them back to back and still enjoyed them.

Editorial Review:

The only insider's account ever written on America's most powerful weapon in the war against terrorism

Enemy of the State: The Trial and Execution of Saddam Hussein

Michael A. Newton, Michael P. Scharf

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

At 12:21 p.m., on October 19, 2005, Saddam Hussein was escorted into the Courtroom of the Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad for one of the most important and chaotic trials in history. For a year, two American law professors had led an elite team of experts who prepared the judges and prosecutors for “the mother of all trials.” Michael Scharf, a former State Department official who helped create the Yugoslavia Tribunal in 1993, and Michael Newton, then a professor at West Point, would confront such issues as whether the death penalty should apply, how to run a fair trial when political and military passions run so high, and which of Saddam’s many crimes should be prosecuted.

Newton was in Baghdad in December 2003 when the Tribunal was announced and Saddam was captured.  In the following months, Scharf and Newton helped write the rules of the Tribunal, conducted a mock trial in (perhaps appropriately) Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and provided legal analysis on dozens of issues. Newton then returned to Baghdad several times during the trial and appeal. Now, from its two shapers, comes the fascinating inside story of the trial and execution of Saddam Hussein and the attempt to bring the rule of law to post-invasion Iraq.

The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq

Rory Stewart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 62 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A troublesome perspective 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The author tells us his experience while never giving his opinion. At the end, it is very difficult not to have a very sad picture of how our intervention in Irak is going to end. It is easy to read, it is important to read it.

Editorial Review:

In August 2003, at the age of thirty, Rory Stewart took a taxi from Jordan to Baghdad. A Farsi-speaking British diplomat who had recently completed an epic walk from Turkey to Bangladesh, he was soon appointed deputy governor of Amarah and then Nasiriyah, provinces in the remote, impoverished marsh regions of southern Iraq. He spent the next eleven months negotiating hostage releases, holding elections, and splicing together some semblance of an infrastructure for a population of millions teetering on the brink of civil war.

The Prince of the Marshes tells the story of Stewart's year. As a participant he takes us inside the occupation and beyond the Green Zone, introducing us to a colorful cast of Iraqis and revealing the complexity and fragility of a society we struggle to understand. By turns funny and harrowing, moving and incisive, it amounts to a unique portrait of heroism and the tragedy that intervention inevitably courts in the modern age.

(08/04/2006)