Customer Reviews

Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Michael Anthony has published his journal recorded during his year in Iraq serving as a medic in the midst of the worse than bizarre war being played out around him. The book is a journal written with fine graphics dividing the entries by hours in the days in the weeks in the months of his tour of duty - all bound by the barbed wire that so aptly describes the imprisonment felt by those serving in a position for a given period of time to perform despite the belief in the cause. This writing technique serves Anthony well: he is freed from the literary confines of connecting incidents, minutes/hours/days, into a flowing story - the entries do that for him.

What we learn from this young writer (of very great promise!) is not so much about the particular war in Iraq, but instead about what happens in every war in which civilians serve in the medical capacity. The flow of information is more about the interaction of the various members who comprise the OR team - the docs, the medics, the techs, the nurses, the true military personnel who command the actions away from the OR table - than it is about the war itself. Anthony introduces the friends he makes, the enemies he encounters, the pecking order of those in charge, the 'illegal activities' that are commonplace, the addictions, the chronic lack of sleep, and that most difficult hurdles of all - the agony of seeing young bodies both American and Iraqi torn by shrapnel and commonplace explosions. We feel Anthony's grief and disillusionment while we are sifting through his own addiction to sleeping pills, his only way to rest from the trauma and the at times exceeding boredom of the day.

So what Michael Anthony has achieved in MASS CASUALTIES is an insider's (literally) account of being a medic in a war that grows ever more unpopular with each day. It is timely and it is well written. If the reader expects to discover significant information about the actual war strategies and atmosphere on the battlefield of Iraq, then this is not the book to read. But for a fine account of how the days pass while imprisoned by a war game far from home, Anthony captures that beautifully Grady Harp, February 10

This book relays the experiences of a soldier deployed to war in a way that only a vetern can portray. I was unable to put the book down from start to finish. I knew all of the stories before they were told, because I lived them. Yet I found myself unable to set the book aside as I was drawn in by Anthony's unique story telling abilities. I had high expectations about where this book would go. I wanted to re-live my memories without censorship, without being politically correct. Reading this book fealt as though I were reading my own journal; a journal which Anthony had prepared just for me. Although some of the stories seem too crazy to be true, I can assure you they are honest accounts of where our deployment took us. From the unstable leadership, to the drug-induced sleep, every story is exactly how I had remembered it. I'm proud to have served with Anthony, and I'm proud of the courage he had to put this book out there for people to see. (Just as he had warned fellow soldiers about the dangers of a questionable vaccine). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the truth about modern combat.

I am drawn to a soldier's memoirs not only because I'm a warrior at heart, but it tells the experience and emotions during their tours overseas, educating one in a lifestyle very different from the one that too many people take for granted. Specialist Michael Anthony's book lacks no sharing of that experience and those emotions. Whether it was connecting with his thoughts and humor throughout, or relating to his very-much-human sentiment, I just could not put this book down and actually read it all the way through. I was pulled in and wanted to know what happened next. It really is a phenomenal read.

The book "Mass Casualties" by: Michael Anthony; is a book that surpasses the genre of war memoir. It goes further than simply telling a story in narrative or journalistic form. It tells the ins and outs of life and war, that not even the best memoirs talk about.

Even though its title is somewhat provocative and gives the demeanor of a political book, it is not. It is a war story for those that need something that can be conveyed without pretty language or verbose military speak. As a veteran and reader, I was especially interested in the way Anthony expressed the true realities of war, or as he put it "the emotional shrapnel" that all soldiers carry (not all shrapnel is bad, sometimes it just acts as a reminder).

Anthony being a veteran and this book a memoir of his time in war, there are the obvious circumstances that come with it. What makes this story different than the rest isn't only the fact that Anthony tells the stories that aren't being told anywhere else--which he does, but that he does so with a new, raw voice. You almost feel compelled to read the book as if it were written by a young Vonnegut, Heller, or O'brien.

If you only read one story of war, or if you've already read one, we all owe it to those that fought, to hear their stories. Read this book!

I just finished reading this book, literally couldn't put the book down. Michael really gives a raw point of view of HIS war experience.

This book is better than any story I've ever read, better than Harry Potter. Michael Anthony doesn't hide any emotion. He expresses every emotion he has at any given time. From thoughts of death to the memories of friends, Michael Anthony gives you an experience you'll never forget.

Every page, every line, every bit of ink is pure gold. Michael Anthony is not worried about what people may think, this is HIS story, these are actual encounters he had in Iraq. It's as if you are reading directly from his journal he kept.

Michael Anthony survived Iraq, and I don't know if I could of done the same. I recommend this book 100%.

It's fitting i'm writing this review on the 8th anniversary of 911 because that event is the pretext to this book, and so many other stories about this war that will never be told.

The book is a non partisan view of the war from a medics vantage point. It does not take sides as to if it was right or wrong to go to war, it just tells the honest story of a young solider who was thrust into the conflict and how he deals with the stresses of war. Also, it goes into great detail the motions and prepartions to be sent off to Iraq, some of the most humorous points in book are found here. Reading the book you get a real sense of what it would be like being sent to war and dealing with its inevitable consistant outcome, death and its effects.

There are emotional highs and then lows encapsulated in this book. I think anybody reading this memior will really appreciate what a solider goes thru whether they agree with the war or not. I couln't help but keep reading, the stories were interesting and some i counldn't believe actually occurred.

The most touching and my favorite moment, is when he told his parents he was called to go. The narative captured the raw emotion of that moment and what must have been going thru a parents mind seeing their youngest child sent away, possibly to his death.

The book explains you never really get used to war or prepare for it, you just evolve. You deal with the cards you are dealt and just try to cope. Now I know why the issues the returning veterans have when returning to, so called, real life.

I would recommend this book to anyone you wants an honest depictition of the Iraq war and its consequences.

A memoir which is precisely chronicled that will change our perception of such wars in this 'shocking and unprecedented eyewitness account'. The unspeakable horrors of war is vividly written in diary-form and it stays in our minds long after turning the final pages to close the chapter and the 'flight home' to end the traumatic 'resume' of putting his life, on the line.

Prologue (p9):
'And for the real unlucky ones, you will come home so emotionally disfigured that you wish you had died over there'
'Eighteen years old and I was preparing myself to die.'

Then with the accuracy of a 'time and almost hourly-drilled' recounts, we read what happens as if 'present' in the 'BBBBAAAAAAAMMMMM!!!' moments of 'clearing our weapons-' (p96) to the daily happenings, said in humour, 'I get a VHS movie called "Air Bud". Just what I wanted: an old movie about a dog that plays basketball, and it's in Spanish.'

Reminds me of RC Sherriff's Journey's End where the young Raleigh has those moments of sentimentality, on the Western Front.

Poignant, yet the author captures some of the humour in his recounts of being in Iraq with the keen eye of someone who found the war incredibly and to me, unnecessary, to say the least.

Very touching and the recounts will make you wonder why we have to go to such lengths to gain victory for our country.

Anyone thinking about going into the military would do well to read Michael Anthony's memoir, Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception, and Dishonor in Iraq. While the title might suggest that this is the work of some renegade peacenik, another soldier-turned-antiwar-activist, Anthony in fact seems proud of his military service, and he never criticizes the US mission in Iraq. Not that any of that matters. Mass Casualties isn't about the politics of war. It's simply what it claims to be, a memoir, one soldier's remembrance of his time in Iraq.

A natural storyteller, Anthony populates his book with memorable characters, some loveable, some not so loveable. There's Denti, a fellow operating room medic. "Denti's always been a storyteller, and I quickly learned to never believe anything he says, including the fact that he was a pimp, a drug dealer, gang member, and a weightlifting power-lifter--he says he only joined the Army because he wanted to get away from the hectic lifestyle." There's also Gagney, the staff sergeant in charge of the operating room who's not exactly the world's most gracious loser. "Then a month ago Gagney, Reto, Denti, and I were playing Risk, a game of global domination. I had an alliance with Reto, and we attacked Gagney's armies. Gagney flipped out, knocked the game board over, called us all `f***ing idiot cheaters,' and stormed off."

One can't read Mass Casualties without at some point being reminded of M*A*S*H. People are often joking around. People are often--okay, usually--okay, almost always--having sex--lots and lots of sex. But, more to the point, nobody wants to be there. This isn't summer camp. This is the Army. This is war. And everyone knows that at any given moment his life could come to a sudden, tragic end.

The more we read, the more we realize that the practical jokes and adulterous escapades are really just a desperate attempt to create some sense of normalcy. But, of course, normalcy can't be created in the hellishness of war. No matter how hard Anthony and his cohorts try to escape the horrors of their present reality, there they find themselves, operating on a soldier who's just had his face blown off, running into a bunker as mortar rockets rain down from the sky. "When I close my eyes," Anthony writes, "I dream of death and war. When I open my eyes I see death and war. I blink and as my eyes close I see images of death, and as they flutter open I see death--there is no escaping it."

Many who went to Iraq undoubtedly had it worse than Anthony. Indeed, his experience appears to have been a relatively good one. (Let me stress the word relatively.) And this is precisely why those wanting to join the military should read Mass Casualties. Because, as Anthony so masterfully illustrates, war thrusts all of its participants, even those who don't end up getting shot full of holes, into a situation that the human psyche is simply not equipped to handle.

Contrary to what most eighteen-year-olds think, war isn't like a game of Halo. It's certainly nothing like the latest Army recruitment video. And to make matters worse, the military is largely run by a bunch of self-absorbed, even sadistic, people who don't seem to give a damn about those serving under them. At one point, Anthony describes how a colonel postpones treating a severely wounded soldier so he can finish attending an awards ceremony. Another time, the unit's officers refuse to send a suicidal soldier away to receive the care he needs, fearing that doing so might make them look bad.

Yes, the military might "make you a man," that is, if you come back alive. But, as Mass Casualties demonstrates, as the record number of soldiers returning home with drug and alcohol addictions, with brain damage, with PTSD and other mental disorders, can testify, it's also likely to destroy you.

When there is a war, the books and war-writers will come; and the Iraq war is no exception. There are dozens of books about the Iraq war, and there are hundreds more books about every other war/conflict. What you will notice about these wars, and then the subsequent books, is that every now and again, amongst the dozens of books written, there are a few that stand out. "Mass Casualties", with an in-depth look into the real lives of soldiers and what goes on behind the scenes, is one of those stand out books. Michael Anthony manages to characterize the real conditions of soldiers as they deal with their own emotions in the war, from dealing with suicides, deaths, to PTSD--while it's still forming, to dealing with drugs, and all the smaller aspects that we forget go on during war.

Given the title, I can see how people may assume this is a work of an anti-war soldier, but make no mistakes, and do not let the title fool you; this book is non-political and makes no juxtaposition about whether we should be there or not.

Most important to note: This book isn't written by a commander, a high ranking official, it isn't written by a journalist, a historian, or a politician. It was written by a lower ranking soldier that was there. These are the soldiers that are out there fighting and in the mess of it. Journalist may run around with pens and paper while commanders are chauffeured around, and politicians are safe at home. Of all the war books I've read, and the more I plan to read, the truest ones, and the ones I enjoy the most, are from the few at the bottom, who still manage to see it all, as if they were at the top.

Finely written, and beautifully told, I recommend it!

This book was a massive disapointment. The title and cover would lead you to believe that this is about a medic on the frontlines in Iraq. In reality, the book is just a guy complaining about his work and being in the Army. Surprise, surprise. Your boss is a jerk, there is drama amongst your co-workers, you wish you were somewhere else, etc., etc. You could take the military ranks out of this story, as well as the occasional mortar attack, and 90% of the working population in the US could have written this. In fact at times you forget that the author is in Iraq, since he never leaves the base and what he writes about is the same nonsense that goes on at just about any workplace in America; his boss is incompetent, people are sleeping around, people are ratting on people for being mean, his schedule stinks, and on and on. The climax of the book is when he refuses to take an anthrax shot.

I do not wish to detract from Spc. Anthony or his service, my issue is with the way this book is hyped vs. the actual story. Picking up this book is like coming home from work and listening to your significant other gossiping about their own job and only about half as interesting.