Overview

This compelling book presents an unparalleled record of what happened after U.S. forces seized Baghdad in the spring of 2003. Army Colonel Peter R. Mansoor, the on-the-ground commander of the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division (the 'Ready First Combat Team') describes his brigade's first year in Iraq, from the sweltering, chaotic summer after the Ba'athists' defeat to the transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government a year later. Uniquely positioned to observe, record, and assess the events of that fateful year, Mansoor now explains what went right and wrong as the U.S. military confronted an insurgency of unexpected strength and tenacity.Drawing not only on his own daily combat journal but also on observations by embedded reporters, news reports, combat logs, archived e-mails, and many other sources, Mansoor offers a contemporary record of the valour, motivations, and resolve of the 1st Brigade and its attachments during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Yet this book has a deeper significance than a personal memoir or unit history. ""Baghdad at Sunrise"" provides a detailed, nuanced analysis of U.S. counterinsurgency operations in Iraq, and along with it critically important lessons for America's military and political leaders of the twenty-first century.

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9780300140699

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Reviews

. . . good literature and good history. . . . [Mansoor's] style is crisp, clear, and understated. . . . He tells his story from his viewpoint without judging others in the absence of unimpeachable evidence, and even then, lets the reader draw his own conclusions. --COL Gregory Fontenot, Military Review --COL Gregory Fontenot Military Review

The poetically titled Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq takes discussion of foreign policy down to the nitty-gritty of operational reality. --Benjamin Lytal, New York Sun (Fall Books Preview) --Benjamin Lytal New York Sun (09/17/2008)

. . . good literature and good history. . . . [Mansoor's] style is crisp, clear, and understated. . . . He tells his story from his viewpoint without judging others in the absence of unimpeachable evidence, and even then, lets the reader draw his own conclusions. -- COL Gregory Fontenot Military Review

Author Information

Peter R. Mansoor is the General Raymond Mason Chair of Military History, Ohio State University. A recently retired U.S. Army colonel, he served as executive officer to the Commanding General (Dave Petraeus), Multi-National Force - Iraq (2007-8); as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategy Group that proposed the surge strategy in Iraq (2007); as founding director of the U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Center (2006); and as Commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, in Baghdad (2003-4).

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