Soldiers' books show Iraq's front line

Soldiers' books show Iraq's front line
By Richard Allen Greene
BBC News website

"The war in Iraq may be far from over, but it has already produced a small crop of books by soldiers who fought in it.

These books are not like Anthony Swofford's acclaimed marine memoir Jarhead, a searing but elegiac account of the first Gulf War written a decade after the events it describes.

Colby Buzzell on patrol in Mosul (Photo courtesy of Colby Buzzell)
Colby Buzzell's description of an ambush in Mosul is stunning

They are raw and immediate, based on blogs or letters home, and at their best they hurl the reader directly into experiences neither Hollywood nor 24-hour news channels can replicate.

While the authors, all Americans, describe similar events - endless waiting to go into action, sand in the eyes, nose and mouth, the chaos and confusion of actual combat - each has a unique perspective and voice.

Colby Buzzell is perhaps the best storyteller, and without a doubt the funniest.

His is the kind of brutal wit that enables him, when ordered to write a letter to be delivered to his next of kin in case of his death, to pen this:

"Dear Mom and Dad, you're right. I should have gone to college instead. Love, Colby."

But he is also sensitive enough to tear up the letter once he gets to Mosul, both because "having a death letter on me kinda creeped me out" and because he doesn't think his parents will see the humour in it if they ever do receive it. "

I thought this book deserved a mention.
To read more:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4602958.stm