Customer Reviews

Operation Iraqi Freedom: The Insider Story

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

NBC has done an exceptional job documenting the imbeds' experience in Iraq. Not only was this war covered more comprehensively than any other, but the reporters' experiences add a depth of human emotion so often lacking in the dry stand up reports from a briefing room. But their story is just one part of a beautifully produced book and DVD. This book is filled with stunning pictures of "shock and awe" as well as the innocents caught in the middle. If you only get one book on the recent war iun Iraq, this is it!

I genuinely enjoyed this book, it is an extremely eye opening. It made me feel very close to the situation in Iraq. The photography was so vivid and interesting to see it through the media's perspective.

This book has lots of behind-the-scene accounts from reporters who were actually there, as well as from the producers in the control room. There's also a forward by NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw and an introduction by retired Army general and current NBC military analyst Montgomery Meigs. The book comes with a full-length DVD produced by NBC News and presents highlights of their war coverage along with extra features such as postwar interviews and commentary. This hardcover book has lots of color pictures on its 144 pages and also comes with a DVD.

Of all the picture books about the 2003 War with Iraq, this is probably the best. It has a little more meat than the other books, and the book goes into detail from the GI's perspective. I have read a number of these books, and this is perhaps the best. All of these books have great pictures, but there is little writing of substance in each of them. This one has a little more traction and substance.

Several pages were devoted to David Bloom, the reporter who had a heart attack in Iraq. His live coverage was great, but the book paints him as a cut above the other reporters and NBC above the other news organizations. Other than this publicity, the book is well thought out and gives a detailed picture of the three operation to overthrow Saddam Hussein. This is a nice picture book and an above average read.

I have several different documentary books and dvd's on the invasion of Iraq, a subject of interest for me given that I was there with the 3rd Infantry Division. This book by far provides the most bang for your buck, with hundreds of action-photos and maps covering nearly every aspect of the war. It is written from the point of view of the imbedded reporters, so usually only one unit of each type is featured (ie, 3-15IN but not 1-15IN or 2-69AR). The DVD especially focused on the lives of the imbedded reporters, but both the book and the DVD covered an immense amount of information and made it interesting. I particularly appreciated the way the DVD showed specific news broadcasts, portraying what it was like to be watching us on TV during the invasion; I also was glad to see that at the end of the book it is dedicated to the soldiers that lost their lives between March 21 and April 14, 2003, and a by-date list of those soldiers is given.

Operation Iraqi Freedom was a war like none other, and this book captures that feeling. Many people worldwide were against the war and will probably pass by this book as a result. That's unfortunate because but no matter what your personal politics are, this book is is a stunning chronology of the good and the bad of Operation Iraqi Freedom. For one thing, the photographs are absolutely stunning. They show both sides of this war and the innocent Iraqi people caught in between a murderous dictator and the world's only Superpower. The book also has a very personal touch. I really enjoyed the photos of NBC anchorman David Bloom. Several detailed graphical maps in the book detail the journeys of the NBC reporters in Iraq and talk about what they encountered everyday from sandstorms to terrorist attacks. If you are the type of person who sees things on TV and feels like it's just a movie, then hopefully the personal tales of these reporters will shake you loose. There's a few books on the market now that try to capture this conflict in paper form, but they just don't come close. Too many of these books let their politics get in the way (imagine right wing Fox News making a book about war) or they were rushed to market to cash-in on the war. Not this book. It's a very eloquent and objective visual summary of the events of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The book also comes with a DVD which is pretty cool. Lots of nice animated graphics and emotional reports from the front line. I highly recommend this book no matter what your feelings about the war were. This book is beautifully produced. The quality of the stories, photographs and objective reporting of events is outstanding.

My husband is in this book, we didn't even know till I searched his name on the internet. I am so glad I did that because this is something worth keeping and showing our kids what their dad did for our country. I am very proud of him!

This is the best book on the Iraq war I have found so far. It has very good images and the included DVD contains VERY good footage. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.