The Good Soldiers

By: David Finkel

Narrated by: Mark Boyett

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

It was the last-chance moment of the war. In January 2007, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it "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 skeptical 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.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter David Finkel was with them in Bagdad almost every grueling step of the way. What was the true story of the surge? Was it really a success? Those are the questions he grapples with in his remarkable report from the front lines.

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, David Finkel has also produced an eternal tale - not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.

©2009 Dave Finkel (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

100 Notable Books of 2009 (The New York Times)

Best Books of 2009 (Publishers Weekly)

Best Nonfiction of 2009 (The Boston Globe)

Best Reads of 2009 (Slate.com)

Best Books of 2009: Nonfiction (Christian Science Monitor)

"Finkel's keen firsthand reportage, its grit and impact only heightened by the literary polish of his prose, gives us one of the best accounts yet of the American experience in Iraq." ( Publishers Weekly)

"A superb account of the burdens soldiers bear." ( Kirkus Reviews)

This book is amazing, but brutal

The journalist writing this book is awesome at putting this story together. A lot of the reviews talk about the repetiveness, but that was an effect the author was using to drive home particular points. I loved it and thought it was well used and totally appropriate. The narrator for this book was perfect as well. I've had good audiobooks with terrible narrators that made the listen unbearable. Not so with this book.

The subject matter is hard to digest at times. The author spares nothing and the stories he tells of the American soldiers and the Iraqi civilians caught in the crossfire is heartbreaking. The people and places are real. You can google the KIA and read their tributes in the Washington Post. It makes the war very real. We all should be paying attention whats going on in the Middle East and supporting our troops no matter how we feel about the war. This book brings that home.

Not for the Fainthearted!

A searing account of the trials, wounds, and frustrations of a battalion of combat infantry soldiers posted to a dangerous region of Baghdad during the 2007 "surge." The writing is riveting: direct, factual and first-hand. The author was "embedded" with the soldiers for eight months of their 15 month tour of duty. He describes in vivid detail the injuries (14 were killed) suffered by the soldiers from hidden roadside explosives, a menace these troops faced every day. You will take from this book an unforgettable appreciation of the combat horrors our troops face in Iraq and Afghanistan. We all owe them a monumental debt of gratitude for the dangers they face and the wounds so many of them and their families have endured.
My only criticism of the book is that its focus on the frustrations, injuries and deaths suffered by these soldiers appears calculated to lead to a foreordained conclusion that the whole deployment was pointless and that the Iraqis they were trying to help were hopeless, incompetent, or hostile. There is an "Oh, by the way" tone to the relatively few mentions of the successes that were achieved during the surge: much reduced death rates among coalition troops, improved security in much of Baghdad; even functioning gas stations in the battalion's own area.
The book clearly illustrates the hard choices we face in dealing with the violent extremists in the Middle East. They are brutal and without conscience or good sense in inflicting terror, torture and destruction on any (including their neighbors) whom they see in their way. Our military response is at best a stopgap: it is necessary for self defense, but it does not build the personal ties or trust and goodwill we need in order to build lasting peace and security.

A real war story

If your looking for RAMBO or some other type of movie-ish type book. This ain’t it. Very jeering,raw and gritty. Definitely worth your time.

Enlightening

This book gave me for the first time in my life a clear understanding of war. The effect war has on the soldiers, their families and the interpreters who risk their lives to assist. The description of the wounded soldiers , the hospitals and rehabilitation center was just so informative. I wish our countries leaders would think about the devastating effects on all who participate before committing our military forces to such horrendous circumstances.

Good insight into war on the ground

What made the experience of listening to The Good Soldiers the most enjoyable?

Excellent writing by the author. Also read well by the narrator. Because it is an "on the ground" narrative, there is little perspective on the overall war effort and the motivation to launch "the surge". Despite this, the futility of the "war to win hearts and minds" came through the writing clearly. I am searching for the book which explains why such a noble-sounding initiative didn't work.

What did you like best about this story?

Information about the Iraq War in 2008

Have you listened to any of Mark Boyett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Who said it would be easy?

Excellent

An excellent book! Drives home how much our soldiers sacrifice. Narrator puts listener with them.

Good read

This is an excellent book that vividly describes the horrors of combat. The author does a good job balancing the violence and politics of war. I thoroughly enjoyed how the author captured the point of view from all levels of leadership from field grade officers down to brand new privates. The book is a little repetitive. I understood the point of the repetition; to drive in specific points or to simply demonstrate the monotony of a deployment.

Some Football Players Need to Read This

The stress, stench, and unimaginable horrors described on these pages gives a new understanding to the whys of PTSD. I had to listen to this in small doses -- the vision of "Bob" will be a lasting one in my mind's eye. Perhaps this should be required reading for American football players and others who choose to spit in the face of America. Stellar reporting; excellent narration.

Sobering and Surreal

very moving narrative, focused only on the soldiers and nothing else. some might say any story about Iraq should include the people, the fact that only few are represented here speaks volume of the alienated nature of war. The writer highlights the death and the pain soldiers encountered with little mention of any achievement. The book is good to understand the pain and the sufferings soldiers endured and nothing morem

Heart Breaking

Very well written by a journalist embedded with a battalion of US soldiers participating in the Surge in Iraq.
There is very little analysis in the book - it is primarily a third-person perspective of what the soldiers went through during their tour.
The effects of the war on the soldiers is heart-breakingly difficult to listen to at times. It's a wonder how anyone could go through these experiences without long-term mental stress.
A solid book for those both in favour of and against the war in Iraq.