Novelist and Time correspondent Nick McDonell brings this stunning account back from the latest iteration of the War in Iraq—an engrossing, ground-level report on the conflict still unfolding under its second commander-in-chief. Traveling to Baghdad and then to Mosul with the 1st Cavalry Division, McDonell offers an unforgettable look at the way things stand now—at the translators stranded in a country that doesn’t look kindly on their cooperation, at the infantrymen struggling to make something out of the soft counterinsurgency missions they call chai-ops, at the commanders inured to American journalists and Iraqi officials both—and what the so-called “end of major combat operations” means for where they’re going.
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Nick McDonell is the author of three novels, most recently An Expensive Education. He has reported from Africa, the Middle East, and elsewhere for Harper’s, Libération, and other publications.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Great writing, but not enough to merit a book,
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This review is from: The End of Major Combat Operations (Paperback)
As someone who has embedded as a freelance photojournalist in Iraq several times, I think I can appreciate any correspondent's efforts to tell his or her story...so while three stars might seem "negative," it's not so much the writing or the subject that's at fault; just not enough of it to merit this kind of publication.
It's not the author's fault. This 'book' was actually a McSweeney's essay, and at probably 40,000 words it's actually a strong example of short-form writing. But...they published it as a book, and expect legit paperback prices. His embed was two weeks, with multiple units, so I have to question just how much knowledge he really brings to it. Yes, it's a lot of surface sensation, and it definitley sticks with you, but in just a few days a reporter's not really going to learn a whole lot about the context of whereever he or she is. So yes, Iraq is intense at any point, but I'm not sure the contents here really justify a book about two weeks with the soldiers. And I've read his peices for "Time," and they are pretty much reproduced here. Granted, he was in Iraq longer than two weeks - this just covers his embed time. One passage that bugged me was when he recounted a conversation with a higher-level officer, writing about a vague answer he has been given, "there was a smile creeping around his face, as though he had said something clever, answering the question without actually saying anything at all." I felt that way about this book, like McDonell - who is a great writer - used his writing skills to make much more out of a series of anecdotes than the events probably deserved. You know how a movie trailer for even a really bad movie can use jump cuts and theme music to make a whole lot out of not much? That's sort of how I felt - and maybe if I hadn't been to Iraq several times myself it would have fooled me too - but in the end, there's a lot of melodramatic scene setting to cover over the lack of true detail. So...if I had originally read this in McSweeney's I probably would have been moderately impressed, but this was presented as a book; it doesn't earn the necessary gravitas.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Touching fire,
This review is from: The End of Major Combat Operations (Paperback)
The novelist Nick McDonell is embedded in the 1st Cavalry Division for 2 weeks ostensibly on behalf of Time magazine to gather information on an article about the tensions between the Arabs and the Kurds and whether this would escalate into a civil war. The book is an account of his day to day time in Iraq during those 2 weeks.
McDonell sees how soldiers who have been trained to fight have to learn to become diplomatic policeman as they patrol the streets, direct traffic, search houses, and mediate disputes. It's an uneasy situation for the soldiers who mostly seem lost and bored. The book shows how fragile the supposed democracy of Iraq is. Iraqi interpreters (or "terps" in military slang) are saving money to leave the country before the end of 2011 as that's the date set for US Military withdrawal. If they stay behind, they will likely be killed. When McDonell talks to soldiers in the Iraqi army, they say quite brazenly that as soon as the US leaves they will take off their uniforms and run away. There is a lot of talk about police chiefs supporting terrorists and taking bribes. Even when the Americans are trying to do good they end up inadvertently causing trouble for the locals. On one occasion, soldiers are monitoring the distribution of rice sacks to the population. 2 masked men show up and begin shooting at the soldiers who shoot back. The masked men run off but 2 young boys who were playing by a nearby truck are shot dead in the crossfire. McDonell wonders if the soldiers had not been there if the boys would not be dead. McDonell organises a basketball game with a friend's cousin but has to reschedule due to meetings. The game never takes place and he receives an email saying the cousin was killed because he was playing basketball and seen to be promoting a Western pastime. The overall impression of the book is faint as, personal tragedies aside, there isn't an overall message or vision that will come as a surprise to many. Iraq is a mess and the occupation is, and always has been, shaky. The American presence is the only reason any perceived progress is made and when the Americans leave, all that they've tried to set up, the infrastructure, the ideology, all the work gone into improving society, will probably come undone. It's a well written book that holds your interest but there isn't anything groundbreaking imparted by the writer. But then he was only there for a fortnight. The book left me with a weariness I feel whenever I think about the Iraq war. It just seems so pointless. One of the soldiers, Specialist Patterson, a medic with the 1st Cavalry, sums it up succinctly: "They were fighting each other before we got here. They're gonna be fighting after we leave." Why are we still bothering this country?
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Unique and Moving,
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This review is from: The End of Major Combat Operations (Paperback)
Absolutely incredible read. "The End of Major Combat Operations" came as 1/2 of McSweeny's 34, but will also be sold separately. In a time where we seem inundated with the same impersonal stories about the two wars we're fighting, this book delivers a truly personal and conflicted account of life in Iraq as a solider, as a citizen and as a reporter. Without a doubt, the best war read I've come across so far.
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