Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq [Mass Market Paperback]

Karl Zinsmeister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2004

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This account of one reporter's month with the 82nd Airborne Division is both a conservative polemic and a vivid portrait of American infantrymen in action. Zinsmeister, who was embedded with the army as a correspondent for The National Review, makes no bones about his unabashed support for the war, and for the American military in general. (He tells readers that he's always taught his own children "to think of military jet noise as 'the sound of freedom.'") The prospect of spending time rubbing shoulders with soldiers in the trenches clearly delights him even before he touches down on Iraqi soil. There is humor in the Zinsmeister's account of bartering for gear in Kuwait's "Body Armor Bazaar," and he provides useful insights into how many of the non-combat operations are actually performed by private civilian contractors. One of the best moments in the book movingly recounts how an Iraqi doctor worked with American soldiers to try to save a wounded boy, yet still refused to tell Zinsmeister his name for fear that his cooperation would draw reprisals later on. The author also gives heartening evidence of the genuine care taken by the troops to avoid civilian casualties. (Less agreeable is his evidence that guerrilla warfare was in full cry even before the formal end of the war.) But readers interested in this information should be prepared to wade through pages and pages of splenetic rants against the anti-war movement and Zinsmeister's fellow journalists, whom he dubs "left-wing, cynical, wiseguy Ivy League types." Such flaws, unfortunately, are not entirely redeemed by the book's outstanding array of color photographs.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"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."
--George F. Will, news columnist

"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

"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

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031299608X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312996086
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,043,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #22 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > History > Middle East > Iraq
  • #70 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Essays & Travelogues

More About the Author

Karl Zinsmeister is now completing two new books--a memoir, and a regional culture book.

From 2006 to 2009 Zinsmeister served in the West Wing as President George W. Bush's chief domestic policy adviser. His responsibilities stretched across many issues:  the mortgage and student-loan credit crises, improving care for military veterans, the formulation of  new immigration policies, stem-cell and biotechnology innovation, school reform, issues in health, transportation, environmental quality, national competitiveness, and so forth.   


For nearly 13 years Zinsmeister was editor-in-chief of The American Enterprise, a national magazine of politics, business, and culture based in Washington, D.C. Author and former Cabinet Secretary William Bennett called it "one of America's finest magazines.... intellectually interesting, well-written, lively, wide-ranging, and above all useful."


Zinsmeister is the author of several books, including two influential Iraq War journals written during lengthy stints when he was embedded with infantry troops in urban war zones:  Boots on the Ground (2003) was the first book published by an embedded journalist; Dawn Over Baghdad was published in 2004 to describe the beginning of the U.S. counterinsurgency effort. At the invitation of Marvel Comics, he also wrote a non-fiction graphic novel entitled Combat Zone (2005) that chronicled the actions of actual American soldiers.


In concert with his wife Ann, Zinsmeister conceived and produced a feature documentary film entitled Warriors that aired nationally on PBS in 2007. The film presented personal profiles of America's fighting forces, via on-the-scene footage he and two cameramen shot in Iraq. It received major funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.


Zinsmeister's work has been published in many national publications--from cover stories for The Atlantic Monthly and features in Reader's Digest to essays in the Wall Street Journal.

A graduate of Yale University, Zinsmeister did further studies at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. During college he won rowing championships in both the U.S. and Ireland. He was a U.S. Senate aide to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, has been an adviser to many groups, and has testified before Congressional committees and Presidential commissions.   


He originated a weekly radio commentary syndicated nationally to 100 stations, and has appeared often on a wide variety of national television and radio programs. He has lived, worked, or traveled in 40 countries, and nearly every U.S. state. He holds the highest U.S. security clearance.


Zinsmeister is married and has three children. He is an avid photographer, sings in his church choir, is an active gardener, and keeps hens. Old houses and woodworking are a personal love (he has restored seven 100-or-more-year-old homes). He delights in the outdoors, and bicycles, sculls, kayaks, skis cross-country and downhill, and enjoys extended wilderness backpacking trips.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was there, September 20, 2003

By 

Michael A Maita (Spring Lake, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq (Hardcover)

I'm squad leader assigned to Company D 3-325. I was there all the the way from Camp Champion, through the prep for the jump in the airport and the last minute scrub. My Anti-Armor platoon was attached to A troop 1-17 Cav for the move to Talil and to A 2-325 for the push into Samawah proper. I was shot through the left hand while we were trying to seize the bridges over the Euphrates.
This book does my men a great justice. I kept a journal out there and this book mirrors my experiences. I'm extremely thankful that our story has been told, and heard. All the men who were there and who still patrol Bagdahd are MY heros. I've never served with a finer group of paratroopers than my platoon. This book serves as a journal for all the men of 2nd Brigade.

27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! A rare gem., September 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq (Hardcover)

Wow, this book is a rarity. I love action-filled war novels. But I also love serious histories and current affairs books. I just finished this book and can say it combines the best of both worlds. As racing, tense, thrilling, and vivid as a Clancy or Mark Bowden story. (And when describing life with the troop surprisingly funny, and at times very moving and emotional.) But at the same time a deeply serious, wise, careful description and analysis of the Iraq war.

You want to know what real combat, war zones, and fighting men are like? Here's your book. You ARE THERE. And that's before you even get to the incredible photos. The downside: I wish it was longer. I got hooked and had it read in a day.

I'm giving this one for Christmas.

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Invaded my dreams, September 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the Battle for Iraq (Hardcover)

A lot of the war journalism I've read is much too heavy on "I" "I" "me" "me" and discussion of what the journalist is thinking, feeling, wanting. The tremendous strength of this book is that you really get inside the lives of the soldiers. It's about them, and brings them to life in a full and amazing way.

I met a huge range of characters: medics, special forces soldiers, a medal-winning sniper, men who get shot, pilots, generals, Iraqis, civilians caught in the crossfire. Crisp and simple and unadorned portraits you won't forget.

I thought I was sick of Iraq War discussions, but I heard this author on the radio and he sounded interesting. He is. I'm super-glad I got the book. This is a very different, very fresh perspective on the war, and a type of "up-close-and-personal" reporting on combat you rarely get. I found it gripping.

P.S. I'm really not sure what book the reviewer who described this story as lacking action read. It sure wasn't the one I read. The action in this book has invaded my dreams.