Overview

"""Boots on the Ground"" is a riveting account of the war in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division as it convoys north from Kuwait to Iraq's Tallil Air Base en route to night-and-day battles within the major city of Samawah and its nearby bridges across the Euphrates. Karl Zinsmeister, a frontline reporter who traveled with the 82nd, brilliantly conveys the careful planning and technical wizardry that go into today's warfare, even local firefights, and he brings to life the constant air-ground interactions that are the great innovation of modern precision combat. What exactly does it feel like to travel with a spirited body of fighting men? To come under fire? To cope with the battlefield stresses of sleep-deprivation, and field rations for weeks on end? Readers of this vivid day-to-day diary are left with not only a flashing sequence of strong mental images, but also a notion of the sounds and smells and physical sensations that make modern military action unforgettable. Ultimately, ""Boots on the Ground"" is a human story: a moving portrayal of the powerful bonds of affection, trust, fear, and dedication that bind real soldiers involved in battle. This is a true-life tale of superbly trained men in extraordinary circumstances, packed with concrete detail, often surpassing fiction for sheer drama."

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9780312996086

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Karl Zinsmeister's splendid report from within the maelstrom of combat demonstrates how the public can benefit when America's superb military is closely observed by a superb reporter. <br>--George F. Will, news columnist <br><br> The finest, most objective piece of war journalism I've read since Ernie Pyle in World War II. Tells the story after talking to all grades of soldiers. No one else took the time to tell the full story. -Lt. Col. Burton Poole, USAF, Retired<br><br> The most powerfully real 'war experience' I will probably ever have. I applaud its insight, voluminous factual information, the personal stories collected from many soldiers, and especially the discoveries about the power of love in extreme life-and-death situations. Karl Zinsmeister has done an invaluable service to America in getting to the heart and soul of this war. -Mary Lavato, A Soldier's Mother<br>

Karl Zinsmeister's splendid report from within the maelstrom of combat demonstrates how the public can benefit when America's superb military is closely observed by a superb reporter. <br>--George F. Will, news columnist <br> The finest, most objective piece of war journalism I've read since Ernie Pyle in World War II. Tells the story after talking to all grades of soldiers. No one else took the time to tell the full story. -Lt. Col. Burton Poole, USAF, Retired <br> The most powerfully real 'war experience' I will probably ever have. I applaud its insight, voluminous factual information, the personal stories collected from many soldiers, and especially the discoveries about the power of love in extreme life-and-death situations. Karl Zinsmeister has done an invaluable service to America in getting to the heart and soul of this war. -Mary Lavato, A Soldier's Mother<br>

Author Information

"Karl Zinsmeister's newest book is"" Dawn Over Baghdad: How the U.S. Military is Using Bullets and Ballots to Remake Iraq."" He is editor-in-chief of ""The American Enterprise,"" a national magazine of politics, business, and culture (TAEmag.com), and J. B. Fuqua Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a major Washington, D.C. research institute. His work has appeared in publications such as ""The American Enterprise, The Atlantic Monthly, Reader's Digest,"" the ""Wall Street Journa""l, and even a Marvel comic book series of real-life soldiers' tales. A former assistant to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Zinsmeister has been an advisor to research and policy groups, and has testified before Congressional committees and Presidential commissions many times. He appears often on television and radio programs. Zinsmeister lives with his wife and three children in rural upstate New York."

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