War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom [Paperback]

Oliver L. North (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2005 | Series: War Stories (Book 1)

Fresh from his tour as an embedded journalist in Iraq, bestselling author Oliver North reports in living detail, the story of the real Iraq War. Includes 50-minute DVD of "War Stories" episode (FOX News Network) on the War in Iraq.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

North is a retired Marine infantry veteran of Vietnam and was a key player in the Iran-Contra affair. This book is a mostly workmanlike presentation of his experiences as a war correspondent for FOX (which shares copyright on this book) as the U.S. invaded Iraq. Any political uproar it may cause is likely to stem largely from Pavlovian responses to the name of the author, a response that ignores that he has written both fiction and nonfiction as well as having been a Marine officer. So it is hardly surprising that he does excellent work covering a Marine aviation unit, one appointed to transport assault troops and evacuate wounded in aging helicopters-never without risk and sometimes with bloody incidents. These are vividly and knowledgeably described, as is the Marines' courage and professionalism. Nor is it surprising to witness the empathy between a retired Marine about to become a grandfather and younger Marines about to see combat. The briefer coverage of the armored units of the 4th Infantry Division is a little frustrating, and the polemics against antiwar journalists and politicians, while unlikely to offend readers who share the author's views, feel redundant. So does the capsule history of Iraq in the appendix, although well-written enough to give the author credibility as a popular historian. Even the larger issue of the linkage between a correspondent, a network and a publisher who are all politically simpatico can hardly be made into anything especially sinister without the same kind of political partisanship that the book exhibits in its less inspiring moments. DVD of Fox News North special not seen by PW.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

This book includes a free DVD featuring the hour-long Fox News Channel episode of Oliver North's War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Regnery History (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895260379
• ISBN-13: 978-0895260376
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars NORTH GETS IT RIGHT!, February 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom (With DVD) (Hardcover)

LtCol North gets it right in this book!

Unfortunately, unlike a soldier from Columbus, GA who wrote the review dtd 16 January. The soldier impugns the veracity of LtCol North's account of the evacuation of a dead corpsman. How do I know what really happened? I am the pilot who DID evacuate the corpsman, and I can vouch for the version in the book. The statistics of the Medical Company in question have little or no bearing on whether this happened like North says it did. The Company should be offended at the actions of one of their own members, and not at North for telling the truth.

While there are minor inaccuracies in this book, (e.g., he lists my unit as Marine Light/Attack Helicopter Squadron 267 when it was actually 269) they are not substantive, nor do they alter the gist of the individual stories. This is a great read - LtCol North got it right!

Major Timothy Kolb

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible First Hand Accounts of the Danger w/ Details, December 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom (With DVD) (Hardcover)

I like tales of war and I kind of expected this to be a nice, glossed over, made-for-TV version of the Iraq War (part II). But it was so much more than that! It was real! All the grit, gore, and horrors of war play out from page to page. You really get a feel for what it was like to be there, but you also get a taste of the strategy and tactics of the field brass, and a true feeling of what the grunts were going through. North was in Vietnam and occasionally brings in comparisons of that.

The DVD is just a really nice added bonus--as are the color photos in the middle.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historically accurate!, December 27, 2003

By 

Ski family (Stafford, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom (With DVD) (Hardcover)

I served with the Marines in this Operation and can say from personal experience that this book is 100% dead on accurate. A great account of the war from a great American!