Generation Kill

---

---

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-11-23 rating:
A solid war book
Sometimes, Press is "embedded" in a five stars hotel (200 miles and more from frontline) and write "true stories" on the basis of which was them "confided" by a friend of the uncle of the wife of a brother of a eye witness of the facts. Not in this case. A solid war book, made of sweat (from heat and fatigue), tears, blood. If you liked Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down is a good book, make of true stories with the eye of a real witness. Not a fiction, flamboyant history of heroes, but a "real battleworld" depiction.

---

review by: date: 2008-09-08 rating:
Generation Inept
After watching the mini series on DVD I ordered this book with no small amount of trepidation, the actual series was fantastic, I was totally enthralled by the characters and the often life threatening situations they found themselves in, so when I ordered the book I hoped it would live up to the series... It did and them some, the level of detail, the realism you could almost taste the ineptitude of the Marine commanders, I found it incredulous that even in a war as hi-Tec as the one portrayed they were forced to endure some officers who were blatantly mad, this is a book I would strongly recommend to anyone with an interest in the American marines or warfare in general, it's one thing to be killed by the enemy it's entirely another to be killed by your own commander because he's an idiot.

---

review by: date: 2008-03-03 rating:
Solid reportage but the same old tune.
Evan Wright embeds with the lightly-equipped (and Humvee mounted) First Recon whose job is to lead the US invasion to Baghdad. The men are the usual mixture of saints and sinners (often at the same time) for whom the USMC feels a vocation. They are shooting civilians one moment and trying to save them the next. Wright is excellent at sketching the boredom of soldiering, the sudden jag of combat, and the long recovery from the combat high. If there is a villain in the piece of non-judgemental reporting it is the officers a number of whom (disguised by nicknames)are roundly criticised by the men and by the author. First Recon is an elite formation and its performance makes for an interesting contrast with "Ambush Alley".

---

review by: date: 2007-11-26 rating:
An Inside look at 1st Recon
A journalist embedded with a marine reconnaissance platoon during the invasion of Iraq in 2003 explains how this generation of soldiers differs from their predecessors. Describes cases of collateral damage and the deaths of comrades as American troops entered Baghdad. As others have pointed out he gets most of it right, but seems to want to spin that all officers are dumb and marines are angry. This spin he places on these two points are not the norm. This book contains violence and very strong language.


review by: apressello date: 2006-11-16 rating:
A new classic
Rolling Stone contributing editor Evan Wright gets himself embedded --riding in the lead Humvee -- with Bravo Company of the US Marines' First Recon Batallion as they smash their way from the Kuwait border to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The result is probably the best war reporting we're likely to see from that phase of the conflict.

Some of the things that set this book apart is Wright's proximity to the fighting - recklessly close - in addition to his use of First Recon's unofficial nicknames for certain officers, which allows Wright to expose their misjudgements or downright incompetence in some cases.

The battle plan is to put the doctrine of "maneuver warfare" into practice, with First Recon leading the charge straight into and through enemy positions, destroying any resistance and then moving on without bothering to secure the area. The idea is to move quickly and wrong foot the defending forces and in this the plan is a stunning success.

Not that the Marines of First Recon have any idea what the plan is. Wright chronicles a story of chronic equipment failures, constantly changing orders and stimulant-fueled extreme violence. Just make sure you're clean shaven when you enter Bagdhad. There is no plan for what happens after that.

A good compliment to this book is "The March Up" by Bing West and Major General Ray L. Smith, which tells the story of the entire 1st Marine Division's invasion of Iraq and capture of Baghdad from the point of view of a senior career Marine officer.

Keep in mind that both of these books are about the invasion of Iraq. There are hints of the coming chaos of the occupation, but both books end with the capture of Baghdad. Highly recommended.

---

Similar products

Homicide:
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 4
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 5
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 3
The Wire: Complete HBO Season 2

---

Similar categories

Books . Subjects . History . General
Books . Subjects . History . Military History . Wars, Battles & Campaigns . General AAS
Books . Subjects . History . Military History . General AAS
Books . Subjects . History . Countries & Regions . Asia . 1946-Present
Books . Subjects . History . Countries & Regions . Asia . General AAS
Books . Subjects . History . General AAS
Books . Subjects . Society, Politics & Philosophy . Warfare & Defence . War & Defence Operations . General AAS
Books . Subjects . Society, Politics & Philosophy . Warfare & Defence . General AAS
Books . Refinements . Language (feature_browse-bin) . English
Books . Refinements . Format (binding_browse-bin) . Paperback
Books . Refinements . Font Size (format_browse-bin) . Regular Size

---