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Moment of Truth in Iraq: How a New 'Greatest Generation' of American Soldiers is Turning Defeat and Disaster into Victory and Hope | 
| Author: Michael Yon
Publisher: Richard Vigilante Books
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $17.93
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Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 94
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.1
ISBN: 0980076323
Dewey Decimal Number: 956
EAN: 9780980076325
ASIN: 0980076323
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
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Book Description
Never underestimate the American soldier. That's the moral of former Green Beret Michael Yon's brilliant battle-by-battle, block-by-block tale of how America's new `greatest generation' of soldiers is turning defeat and disaster into victory and hope in Iraq. The American soldier is the reason General David Petraeus's brilliant strategy of moving our soldiers off isolated bases and out among the Iraqi people is working. Working to find and kill terrorists, reclaim neighborhoods, and help lead Iraq to democracy. Yon is no cheerleader. According to the New York Times, he has logged more time in combat situations in Iraq than any other reporter. When failed American leadership was driving Iraq into chaos and civil war, nobody told the story earlier or better than Michael Yon. The top brass was so mad that twice the U.S. military denied him access to Iraq. So Yon has supreme credibility when he says that we are finally winning, not primarily with our overwhelming technology, not with shock and awe destruction, but with the even more powerful force of American values--with the courage and leadership, strength and compassion of our soldiers. Iraqis respect strength, says Yon. They know American soldiers are "great-hearted warriors" who vanquish the Al Qaeda terror gangs that "raped too many women and boys, cut off too many heads, brought drugs into too many neighborhoods." But Iraqis also discovered that these great warriors are even happier helping rebuild a clinic or a school or a neighborhood. They learned the American soldier is not only the most dangerous man in the world, but the best man too. That's what turned defeat into victory. Here is the true, untold story of the American soldier and the courage and values that are bringing victory for America--and Iraq.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
Calm, methodical, and even-handed. Above all, convincing. May 1, 2008
I got turned on to this book by Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds, [...]-- who often links to Michael Yon. MY review is choppy, but the book is not. I'm just shepherding a couple of children and it's tough to get my thoughts together. In contrast, Yon's writing in Moment of Truth is very lucid. Don't judge the book by my writing style, please.
I didn't know it would be such a good read. My first impression was that Yon brought clarity to the myriad units fighting, and he clarifies the relationships between our allies and our enemies. This alone would be reason to buy the book -- current media war reporting runs to lazy, ill-informed, agenda-driven, or incomplete stories. It has been almost impossible to decipher WHO are our allies, and WHO are the enemy. Clarity.
Yon relates events even-handedly. There is no lip gloss on this book -- you are going to get the straight story. Did we execute poorly at the beginning of the war, to the detriment of our credibility? We did. Did it nearly cost us the war? It did. Have things changed? They have.
Yon is trustworthy. He has been embedded with US and British units since 2004, fighting with them. He's not a cheerleader. He's a professional. We will win counterinsurgency with media reporting such as his.
Yon lays out story after story of how Iraqi governance is being built through watching the example of American soldiers.
The book is up to date, with reporting into January of 2008.
It's a fast read -- takes maybe 2 evenings, but it's the war coverage the American public should have been getting all along.
For me, the most hopeful takeaway from this book is that the US Army is becoming competent at counterinsurgency and urban warfare. This is encouraging news. Our soldiers have always been the best among us. It is the hearts of the American soldiers that is turning Iraq into a success story.
Get it and read it -- I am so glad I did.
INDESPENSABLE WAR JOURNALISM April 30, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Mike Yon is a "hands on" reporter...he doesn't talk about theories of the war--he walks his readers through it. He doesn't tell readers what to think about the war--he describes the details and allows the readers the freedom come to their own conclusions. Deep. Thought provoking.
Another thing I really value about Yon's writing--he humanizes the Iraqis. They are so "far" away from the American public, that they are often not even considered when discussing the tragedies and losses of this war. If you ask the average citizen here how many they think have died in Iraq, they will almost always just refer to the Americans.
Yes, this is a war influenced by and affected greatly by media...and Yon's journalism is one of our greatest assets in this fight. His words are brutally honest in describing what he saw, encountered and experienced, but then, that is exactly what makes this work, so refreshingly unbiased, so valuable. Way to go, Mike!
why Abu Ghraib Hurt USA April 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Michael Yon gives a view of the war from the trenches. Heart rending stories of humanity and leadership are intersperesed with harrowing evil of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Gives us hope that the good souls everywhere wish the same for their familes. It reminds me more of Max Hastings writing on World War II.
He let us know how big a disaster Abu Ghraib was. It handed a huge propoganda victory for the enemy and cost us many lives. Book ends on high note and I am hopeful that we will prevail.
Keep up the good work Yon. Looking forward to see more of your postings.
I wish we had someone write like this on Afghanistan.
My 91 year old mother says it is great. April 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My 91 year old mother just finished Yon's book and says every one in Washington needs to read this book and find out what is "really going on over there." The American soldier is portrayed as a hero, but not with the whitewashing of uncritical nationalism. The US has made mistakes, but we fix them. Most of our service men and women are heroes. The Iraqi interpreters are heroes. The people of Iraq are finding out that Americans are truly good people. And the Iraqi "street" is full of good people. (Wake up you bad mouthers!)
She was particularly touched by Yon's description of the injured Iraqi who told Yon if he died to please cut his heart out and take it to America to bury.
This book should make us proud. Thank you Michael Yon.
MUST READ! April 27, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Having family members in the military (vets of both Iraq and Afghanistan), I have a special reason to hate the brutality of war. Yet, the evil that we are fighting in the form of radical Islam is not fiction. Michael Yon brilliantly paints a picture of the good and the bad of this particular war. My wish is that every American would read this book...and then, think!
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