If you only have time to read one book right now, make sure it's What Was Asked of Us: An Oral History of the Iraq War by the Soldiers Who Fought It. Author and investigative reporter Trish Wood worked with Iraqi War veterans for more than two years compiling in-depth interviews for this emtionally powerful book. In the introduction, Bobby Muller (a marine infantry officer in the Vietnam War and cofounder of Veterans for America) clearly states that this book is not politically motivated, but "a simple recounting of experiences that are very personal" to soldiers who served in Iraq (XVI).
As the book jacket states: "They tell us about their lives and careers, their families back home, their days and nights, the Iraqis they've encountered, the fear and the courage, and the challenges of fighting a war when the enemy is everywhere and nowhere at once."
What Was Asked of Us is a book everyone should read.
(Vairo Library DS79.76.W47 2006)