Rating: 
Summary: Journalistic Tripe
Review: Let's call a spade a spade: Zinsmeister has never carried a rifle in his life, and his account reflects this fact. Enough said.
Rating: 
Summary: Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd Airborne in the B
Review: My son is with the 82nd ABN group that took As Samawah, albeit not the group the author was embedded with. This was about the only way we have been able to find out what it was like there day to day. If you take out the first chapter and the last, the book is a winner. I agree with the prior review that says the author needs to lose the platitudes, but he did a great job of capturing what it was like over a short time period for our Red, White and Blue Falcons of the 325th. Always forward!
Rating: 
Summary: Loved the book!
Review: Oh, how I LOVED this book! Zinsmeister makes me so grateful to be an American! He lists blessings that we Americans have that I never thought to be appreciative of. Knowing our military are at the same time so extremely capable as well as being compassionate makes me feel secure in here the Land of the Free.
Rating:
Summary: A "Fair and Balanced" Look at the Troops
Review: OK, OK, my title gave it away: I think the war in Iraq was the right thing to do. The author, an embedded journalist, writes in very clear and simple language about the hardships that our troops faced in the successful liberation of Iraq. They were fantastic, and the author agrees.
This book has taken some hits as being "biased," "incomplete," "one-sided," etc., and those criticisms are true. The author supports our troops and their mission 100% and he wears that on his sleeve. So if you agree with Michael Moore and believe that Saddam Hussein was lovable teddy bear of a man minding his own business in the paradise on the Euphrates when that evil Satan incarnate George Bush unilaterally attacked him after lying to the American people about him, save your money and time and do not buy this book. If you believe otherwise, you will not be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: The author does the 82nd proud with this book. This book is a tribute to the men that fought in the Iraq War with the 82nd. The only reason why it did not get the full 5 Stars in my review was how he placed the 82nd at the top of America's Fighting Forces. At the beginning of the book he stated as fact that the 82nd can deploy faster than a Marine Expeditionary Unit which was probably based more on the 82nd Troopers boasts than reality. It is a known fact that MEU's deploy quicker being that they are usually in the region on ships for that one reason. Another insinuation that the author made was that the Marines suffered heavier losses in Nasirya perhaps because of their lack of training in urban warfare. Also pointing out the lack of casualties of troopers in Samawah was due to their superior training. In fact the Battle at Nasirya was a lot fiercer than Samawah by everyones account of the war. I believe that the author fell in love with the 82nd, which was fine, but that should not cause him to put in print accusations and boasts without checking facts. I do however love his portrayal of the media and their lack of respect towards the military.
Rating:
Summary: Airborne all the way.
Review: The author Karl Zinsmeister describes his thirty days in March and April, 2003 fighting with the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division on the invasion of Iraq. Zinsmeister was an embedded journalist reporting for several magazines and papers. He describes his experiences during these thirty days. The U.S. Army is indeed a unique institution, and the author had unfettered access to the rank and file as well as the command of this division.
The author is of the conservative persuasion and makes this known throughout the book. He lambasts the liberal media, as well as the liberals in Canada and Europe for opposing the war. Since I think like him, I agree with what he had to say, but in some readers opinions, this might not be the best objectivity in available war books. Whatever his views, Zinsmeister makes it known that the Army used all resources to keep civilian casualities and collateral damage at a minimum. This is reassuring, since the media tend to focus on the negative in a conflict like this.
This is a very readable book. At a little over 200 pages, this is a short read on one journalist's perspective of the war.
Rating:
Summary: Could Have Been Better
Review: The author works very hard at giving the reader a feel for the action, an "I was there" impression of actual combat and what was going on in his book. Unfortunately, I don't think his prose is much better than mine in too many cases. :( I sometimes that the feeling he had some auto style or theasaurus turned on to phrase his ideas. Quite frankly I think he is in desperate need of an editor if this is to go to a 2nd edition. I was also a bit turned off by some of his conservative ranting, but the liberals turn me off with their ranting too. I think he also maybe rushed this book a bit too quickly and needed a peer review. There were some factual errors regarding the 1991 Gulf War, usually numerical in nature, although these might be linked to a conservative viewpoint. Example: I believe he used a 100+ casualty figure for that bunker that had the civilians in it and was hit by mistake in 1991. I believe the correct total is more like 400+. He also gets off on a rant about the treasures looted from the museum that doesn't seem to jibe with the actual quotations of the director, etc. extensively quoted elsewhere. I think he does take a correct view of the library and some of the other damage (from fires and such). On the whole I'd call this average, although the "color," i.e., "I was there," might make it worth while. I think there are some better choices.
Rating:
Summary: It Ain't Blackhawk Down
Review: The definitive book of the Iraq War (at least the first part of the conflict) has yet to be written. Boots on The Ground is interesting but lacks the character depth and riveting narrative of a book like Blackhawk Down. It's an enjoyable book for the insight it provides into the daily activities of soldiers who were there. Unfortunately, it doesn't stick with any specific group of soldiers for very long and tends to fall back on generalizations. If you want a general overview of our soldiers and their time in Iraq this is the book. Otherwise, keep waiting for that definitive work.
Rating:
Summary: Personal and moving
Review: The moment I began to read this incredible story that Karl Zinsmeister has written, I was attached. The story is vivid and personal which involves the reader to a point where they can't put the book down. This journalist ate, slept, and drilled with the soldiers. Their struggles were, in turn, his struggles. Their triumphs were his triumphs. I think this is what makes the book so interesting and heartfelt. It wasn't written by a TV newscaster who was only involved in the military camp life. It wasn't written by a reporter who lingered in the rear lines. Karl Zinsmeister was willing to risk his life (and did a few times) to give Americans the true story of what's going on in Iraq, from the point of view of someone who really appreciates our county's military. By the end of the book I felt so proud to be an American. I felt grateful that I wake up free every morning. I felt grateful for journalists such as Karl Zinsmeister who are willing and able to give such a powerful and moving account of an important event in our nation's history. This is a must-read story of freedom that will give you a new appreciation for all the men and women who are willing to fight evil so that we can live free, everyday.
Rating: 
Summary: story is weak
Review: this book explains nothing for the tactics involved and why certain objectives needed to be met. book is weak in story with only a third of the book covering the war.
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