Road to Baghdad: Behind Enemy Lines: The Adventures of an American Soldier in the Gulf War (Hardcover)

by Martin Stanton (Author) "FIVE MONTHS LATER I got off the plane in Riyadh..." (more)
Key Phrases: satellite sign, hostage group, defensive belt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait City, Colonel Noble (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
When Stanton (Somalia on $5 a Day), a U.S. Army major serving as an advisor in Saudi Arabia, took a mini-vacation to Kuwait in the summer of 1990, he found himself caught in the Iraqi invasion. He chronicles his adventures in this informative, balanced and often witty Gulf War memoir. Watching the tanks roll in from his room at the Kuwait Sheraton, Stanton offered intelligence reports to U.S. forces (and dined next to Iraqi colonels and generals when the hotel became Iraqi headquarters) before being arrested two days later. As a hostage, he and a group of fifteen others (British, French, German and Japanese, all memorably portrayed) were taken to several strategic-target detention centers; along the way, Stanton encountered a wide range of Iraqis and developed a deep-seated animosity toward Saddam Hussein and a low opinion of the Iraqi army. Released in December 1990, he flew home to Florida to see his family and marry his Canadian fiancee; in January he returned to the Gulf: "After twelve years as an officer in the army, I was going to war." Stanton adds something to our knowledge of almost every subject he covers: his narrative of the Battle of Khafji (often overlooked because it was primarily a Saudi affair) is enlightening, as are his portrayals of Iraq in wartime and the modernization of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Readers also learn, for example, that Saudi soldiers limit their training because they cannot leave their families unprotected by a male relative, and that the hostages (all male) could intimidate the Iraqis by threatening to take off their clothes. Stanton's keen eye and ready humor make this a standout in the field.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* The recent war in Iraq has made the 1990 Gulf War timely again. This book, from the author of Somalia on $5 a Day, tackles the subject from a unique point of view. In 1988 Stanton, assigned to Fort Irwin, California, missed out on a promotion. His assignment was up the next summer, and he needed a job. So he signed on as a brigade advisor in Saudi Arabia. In 1990 he was planning to spend a long, relaxing weekend in Kuwait City--and found himself in the middle of the Iraqi invasion. It was a rare strategic advantage for the U.S., having one of its own smack-dab in the middle of things, and Stanton used his position to send back intelligence reports--until he was caught and shipped off to Iraq, where he spent four months as a "human shield." Sent to weapons factories, refineries, power plants, and other areas Hussein didn't want destroyed, Stanton saw the war from a perspective few other people did. His book is full of things most readers never heard, saw, or suspected. It's a completely mesmerizing, always surprising insider's account of a war we all thought we knew fairly well. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Presidio Press; 1st edition (May 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891418059
• ISBN-13: 978-0891418054
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,459,544 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, timely and true, May 30, 2003

By	Ralph H. Peters (Washington, D.C. area) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Truth really can be stranger than fiction--and better reading, as well. Colonel Stanton's very impressive, highly readable memoir of his extraordinary adventures prior to and during the first Gulf War is a remarkable book--both for its ability to capture the inventive nature and casual courage of our finest military officers and for its ability to tell a thrilling personal story in a way that is neither bragging (too often a fault with first-person accounts) or pretentious. Stanton has the gift of telling a story straight and letting events speak for themselves. His experiences when stranded in Kuwait City during the opening phase of Iraq's invasion--when he kept an open line to U.S. authorities for days and reported directly from the Iraqi headquarters in his hotel--might have made a fine story in themselves, while revealing much about the Iraqi military's hidden weaknesses. His follow-on adventures as a prisoner-of-not-quite-war, absolutely true and corroborated, are better than the stuff of classic adventure novels. And he made it back to friendly lines in time to fight Desert Storm. This is a splendid military tale, well-told, of adventures that rival the great old military narratives from the Middle East, whether of Gordon Pasha, Lawrence or Wingate. And it's enormous fun to read, while making it very clear how we were able to defeat the Iraqis so handily. As this review is written, Colonel Stanton, whom I am privileged to have met as a consequence of my own military service, has served on the ground in our second Iraq war and is now in Baghdad, working on the reconstruction of Iraq. He's a soldier's soldier--and a superb storyteller. This book could not be more timely. The next time you feel the impulse to pick up a fictional thriller, skip it and read Stanton's book. It's more exciting--and it's true. Destined to become a modern military classic!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Hand Account of a Unique Experience, July 18, 2003

By	J. Good "Cav Trooper" (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Marty Stanton has the ability to spin a fascinating story. Before the first Gulf War, he was assigned to a one of a kind military organization, quite unlike anything which most career soldiers will ever experience. The opportunities that assignment gave him for travel and interaction with the locals, lead to a unique perspective on that period of history. Coupling his rare view of events with his sense of humor, he has used his gift for writing to produce an accurate account of events which is fun and easy to read. Most soldiers never have the opportunity to find themselves in the sort of situations that Stanton writes about. Using plain language that takes you along with him on the adventure of a lifetime, this book is a must for anyone going on an assignment as a military advisor or observer. A good read for anyone interested in history, the military, or life in the Middle East.

5.0 out of 5 stars OutStanding, July 5, 2006

By	B.G. Puller (Newark, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Road to Baghdad: Behind Enemy Lines: The Adventures of an American Soldier in the Gulf War (Mass Market Paperback)

Captain Micheal Stanton is captured in Kuwait during the first Gulf War. He is Saddam's guest for many months. It's quite surprising that this happend and the small attention it got on from the media.