Rating: 
Summary: Opportunity missed....
Review: I had hoped that this book would give me a "fly on the wall" outside-in look at the lives of troops in Iraq. I hoped that I would be able to see the war through their eyes. Sadly, Mr Zinsmeister's right wing political and social opinions aflict most of his book, to the extent that it reads more as a piece of propaganda than a piece of objective journalism. He pontificates at length to the reader on a variety of subjects before we even get to the Iraq War. If you like Fox News, being spoon-fed your world politics in good guy and bad guy pieces, you'll love this book - for everybody else, I suggest you look elsewhere.
As a Brit, I was surprised to find almost no mention of our troops involvement and casualties, in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and elsewhere. In fact, to read Mr Zinsmeister, you would think the US is the only county who can be bothered, going it alone with these various wars, just like Mr Kerry accused George Bush of not so long ago.....
For the record, I am not a liberal, support our troops, didn't go to an Ivy League College, and am an Army veteran.
Rating: 
Summary: The Truth
Review: I just returned from Iraq with the unit featured in this book (2d Brigade Combat Team 82d Airborne Divsion). I was there from Kuwait City to Baghdad and back. Zinsmeister's account of the events which unfolded during that month he was with us were right on. I read the book in Baghdad seven months after the battle discussed in "Boots on the Ground" and it took me right back to As Samawah. If you want to read about what really happened during the liberation of Iraq, Read this and turn off CNN (they don't leave their hotels)
Rating: 
Summary: Rushed to press
Review: I returned this book after a quick skim because it doesn't add anything more than what first appeared in the AE article. I too, was there; from TAA Champion "all the way" to Ar Ramadi. Other attention to detail nits: the author didn't fix some of the misspellings of names that first appeared in the article, plus the photo on the FRONT jacket is even reversed.
Save yourself the coin, if you want an adequate overview of what we did in phase II and phase III ops, read the magazine article.
Rating:
Summary: Some good stuff - but light.
Review: I think the best thing about this book is that the author took a sincere effort to detail both the diversity of not only the Army as a whole - but also the sheer complexity of the soldiers that serve with the 82nd Airborne.After serving for 5 years with the 3/325 - it always struck me how so many different people could be drawn from so many disparate backgrounds and still work so *well* together. If Zinmeister's book does one thing well - it captures this aspect of life as a paratrooper. There are other Gulf-War 2.0 books out there that are better - but I enjoyed the authors sincere respect for the men - and his obvious desire to relate to them on an individual basis. So many writers focus on the command staff - and forget the rank and file that give the All American's their color, strength, and tenacity. There are times where you get the feeling that the author is being a bit of a tool for the conservative, republican mindset - but it comes and goes. A *longer* book might have allowed him to develop things a little more - but a longer book would have required and longer war - and I think we're all going to be happy when we don't have to deal with *that*
Rating:
Summary: I was there
Review: I'm squad leader assigned to Company D 3-325. I was there all the the way from Camp Champion, through the prep for the jump in the airport and the last minute scrub. My Anti-Armor platoon was attached to A troop 1-17 Cav for the move to Talil and to A 2-325 for the push into Samawah proper. I was shot through the left hand while we were trying to seize the bridges over the Euphrates.
This book does my men a great justice. I kept a journal out there and this book mirrors my experiences. I'm extremely thankful that our story has been told, and heard. All the men who were there and who still patrol Bagdahd are MY heros. I've never served with a finer group of paratroopers than my platoon. This book serves as a journal for all the men of 2nd Brigade.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been a classic.
Review: I've broken down my review into three parts the good, the bad and the ugly. The good is the middle of the book. When Zinsmeister is in the thick of things describing the soldiers, their stories or the day's action, the book shines. The bad is the beginning of the book where he leads us up to his deployment with the troops - it moves slowly and adds nothing. And the Ugly. During the last half of the book he goes off on how negatively the media is portraying the events in Iraq. He makes some very valid, salient points but they become clouded in his own opinions. This book could have been a classic if Zinsmeister would have written solely about the soldier's lives and their experiences. Sandwiched in between this roller coaster of a book is the story of a bunch of brave individuals doing a job that needed to be done. A very quick read.Wait for paperback.
Rating:
Summary: brings battles to life
Review: If you like a blunt, funny, no-nonsense, what-you-see-is-what-you-get storyteller with a colorful knack for bringing real people and real events to life, you will love this book. It's true, the author doesn't follow the academic convention of "on the one hand/on the other hand" bloodless neutrality. He is extremely clear, crisp, and at times opinionated. But the story rings so true. It's very specific, detailed, alive. Rings much truer than the "everything's a mess" journalism we're getting so much of from Iraq as I write this. We heard the same carping during the Balkan war, and during Afghanistan, and early in this Iraq war, until the tanks shocked the critics by rolling into Baghdad. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, this cynical, negative reporting has not held up well, and I don¹t think today's gloom and doom will either. I expect this book, which is written much more in the American can-do spirit, will look much more prescient and accurate a few more years from now. My Congressman, a Democrat, Vietnam veteran, and Armed Services committee member named Jim Marshall, just returned from a fact finding trip to Iraq and wrote a story in the Atlanta paper just after I finished reading Boots on the Ground. It really supports Zinmeister¹s observations. Rep. Marshall says inaccurate negative reporting, forcing Iraqi events into the "Vietnam" storyline, is damping success and costing American lives. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9-22-03, p 11A). His last sentence: "We need a credible Baghdad Bob to undo the harm done by our media. I'm afraid it is killing our troops." For me, this book was that credible alternative.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping Tale of Soldier Stories
Review: If your looking for a high-level review of the strategy or tactics of the Iraq War -- look elsewhere. This is not the "General's War" (an excellent book on the 1st Gulf War but told exclusively from the highest levels). If you're interested in a gripping tale of how individual soldiers fought the war and their day-to-day experiences (at least for the 1st month of the war)... this is definitely your book. Excellent reporting by Zinsmeister. I literally finished the book cover-to-cover in a single day. You'll clearly get an appreciation for the sacrifice, hardships, and professionalism of the soldiers who are defending our freedoms!
Rating:
Summary: Gripping Tale of Soldier Stories
Review: If your looking for a high-level review of the strategy or tactics of the Iraq War -- look elsewhere. This is not the "General's War" (an excellent book on the 1st Gulf War but told exclusively from the highest levels). If you're interested in a gripping tale of how individual soldiers fought the war and their day-to-day experiences (at least for the 1st month of the war)... this is definitely your book. Excellent reporting by Zinsmeister. I literally finished the book cover-to-cover in a single day. You'll clearly get an appreciation for the sacrifice, hardships, and professionalism of the soldiers who are defending our freedoms!
Rating:
Summary: The first classic from the Second Gulf War
Review: In his book "Boots on the Ground" the author chronicles his journey from the time he was informed that we would be an imbedded reporter, through thirty days of the campaign, to his eventual homecoming. During this journey Zinsmeister details a lot of the sights and sounds of a combat unit in action, but more importantly when they are off the line. In this respect this book gives the reader a genuine feel for what goes on in a combat unit. Finally, he give a cogent aregument that the reporting of the news from Iraq was biased and self-serving by a number of embedded journalist, and by a few who feld they did not need to be close to the action to render their "expert" opinion. This section only reinforces what Bernie Goldberg wrote in "Biased". In all, this was a well written book that deseves attention by the public at large as it represents the first rough draft of history. If the book has any shortcomings it would be in the area of its length. I assume the the author had considerably more material than he used; I would have preferred he used it as the subject warrents expanded coverage.
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