The Good Soldiers
Overview
It was the last-chance moment of the war.
In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. It became known as ‘the surge’. ‘Many listening tonight will ask why this effort will succeed when previous operations to secure Baghdad did not. Well, here are the differences’, he told a sceptical nation. Among those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the battalion nicknamed the Rangers. About to head to a vicious area of Baghdad, they decided the difference would be them.
Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home forever changed.
What is the true story of the surge? And was it really a success? Those are the questions that the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines. He was with Battalion 2-16 in Baghdad almost every gruelling step of the way.
Combining the action of Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down with the literary brio of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, The Good Soldiers is an unforgettable work of reportage. And in telling the story of these good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, Finkel has also produced an eternal tale — not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Paperback
- 210mm x 135mm
- 304 pages
- 9781921844461
- AUD$29.99
- 29 August 2011
Categories
Awards
- Winner of the null Cornelius Ryan award for best nonfiction book on international affairs, Overseas Press Club Awards
- Winner of the 2010 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize (by Nieman Foundation and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism for nonfiction writing that exemplifies literary grace and commitment to serious research)
- Winner of the null Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism (awarded by The New York Public Library)
- null Included in:
- 2009 The New York Times, Top 10 Books of
- 2009 The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani’s Top 10 Books of
- 2009 New York Times Book Review, 100 Notable Books of
- 2009 Publishers Weekly Best Books of
- 2009 Amazon.com, Best of : Editors’ Picks
- 2009 Kirkus Reviews, The Best Books of
- null Boston Globe Annual Holiday Book Guide 'Simply the best nonfiction'
- 2009 Chicago Tribune, Our Favorite Nonfiction of
- Commended for the 2009 Baltimore Sun Book Recommendations (Ron Smith)
- 2009 Leigh Sales' Top 5 Non-Fiction Books
- null Army Times Best Military Books of the Decade
- null Arizona Republic, Notable Books of ‘09
- 2009 The Christian Science Monitor, Best Books of : Nonfiction
- 2009 Kansas City Star, The Top 100 Books of
- 2009 The Plain Dealer, 20 Best Books of /Book Gift Suggestions
- 2009 Publishers Lunch, The Best of the Best of
- 2009 Slate, The Best Reads of
- null The Week, Books of the Year
- 2009 The WETA Book Studio, Top 10 Books of
Praise
‘Finkel brilliantly captures the terrors of ordinary men enduring extraordinary circumstances ... ferociously reported, darkly humorous and spellbinding ... Finkel has made art out of a defining moment in history.’
‘It is Mr. Finkel’s accomplishment in this harrowing book that he not only depicts what the Iraq war is like for the soldiers of the 2-16 — 14 of whom die — but also the incalculable ways in which the war bends (or in some cases warps) the remaining arc of their lives. He captures the sense of comradeship the men develop among themselves. And he also captures the difficulty many of the soldiers feel in trying to adapt to ordinary life back home in the States, and the larger disconnect they continue to feel between the war that politicians and generals discussed and the war that they knew firsthand.’
About the Author
David Finkel is the author of The Good Soldiers, the bestselling, critically acclaimed account of the US ‘surge’ during the Iraq War and a New York Times Best Book of the Year.
An editor and writer for The Washington Post, Finkel has reported from Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and across the United States, and has covered wars in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
Among Finkel’s honours are a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 and a MacArthur Foundation ‘genius’ grant in 2012. He lives in the Washington, DC, area.
