What Was Asked of Us: An Oral History of the Iraq War by the Soldiers Who Fought It

By: Trish Wood

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Synopsis: "A visceral account of the war ... honest, agenda-free, and chilling." New York Review of Books. The Iraq war officially began on March 20, 2003, and since then more than one million young Americans have rotated through the country's insurgent-infested hot spots. But although stories of dramatic ambushes and attacks dominate the front pages of newspapers, most of us do not truly know what the war is like for the Americans who fight it. What Was Asked of Us helps us bridge that gap. The in-depth and intensely probing interviews this book brings together document the soldiers' experiences and darkest secrets, offering a multitude of authentic, unfiltered voices--at times raw and emotional, at other times eloquent and lyrical. These voices walk us through the war, from the successful push to Baghdad, through the erroneous "Mission Accomplished" moment, and into the dangerous, murky present. "Monumental. ... Amid the glut of policy debates, and amid the flurry of news reports that add names each day to the lists of the dead, Trish Wood has produced what is perhaps, to date, the only text about Iraq that matter."--San Francisco Chronicle. "An illuminating glimpse of American fighters' experiences in Iraq ... There are moments of strange beauty in the soldiers' recollections."--Chicago Tribune. "Stunning ... chillingly eloquent. ... Powerful and unflinchingly honest, Wood's book deserves to be a bestseller."--People