House to House

An Epic Memoir of War

By: Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, John Bruning

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

This is the personal side of battle, where emotion, courage, and strength are stretched to the limits.

In one of the most compelling combat narratives ever written, Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, an Army infantry platoon leader in Iraq, gives a teeth-rattling, first-hand account of 11 straight days of heavy house-to-house fighting during the climactic second battle of Fallujah. His actions in the firefight, which included killing five insurgents in hand-to-hand combat, earned Bellavia the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and New York State's highest military honor, the Conspicuous Service Cross. He has been nominated for the Medal of Honor and for the Army's second-highest combat medal, the Distinguished Service Cross.

©2007 David Bellavia (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"[W]ill satisfy readers who like their testosterone undiluted...a precise, hour-by-hour account of the fighting, featuring repeated heroic feats and brave sacrifice from Americans." ( Publishers Weekly)

Honest, Gut-Wrenching Story of Feet on the Ground

Okay, this hit hard . . . our son is in the army, he's an NCO, just like Staff Sergeant Bellavia . . . he was in Iraq fighting this same nasty war during the height of the surge, watching his "brothers" die everyday . . . but he's not an infantryman, he's a mechanic . . . and he cleaned their body parts and blood from the vehicles and sent the recovered vehicles back out only to see them returned blown up again . . . he came back with survivors guilt . . . then his younger brother deployed to Iraq, his baby brother, the sensitive one in the family, he left his newborn son to go to a war he didn't understand . . . what he DID understand was the brotherhood, and they fought for each other, to keep one another alive, just like SSG Bellavia . . . our youngest son wasn't an infantryman either, he was a small arms repairman, but in the heat of war, soldiers do what needs to be done . . . like going out on the Tigris River to repair a water pump out in the open and being shot at . . .something that we didn't learn about until years later . . . These soldiers keep a trunk full of memories, like slow-motion movies, stuffed down inside them, that seldom surface. The fact that SSG Bellavia has chosen to share this very personal account of his time in Iraq, is a sacrifice. It is appreciated and valued by this army mom and wife of a retired Sergeant Major. There's no political correctness here, just raw truth. You can't go wrong listening to it. You didn't see or hear this on the news. This is the real deal. Thank you, SSG Bellavia.

Loved it

What a great story and the read did a wonderful job injecting the emotion of the story

An Intense Dramatic First Person Perspective of the battle for Fallujah

This is a powerful story of service, bravery and love of your fellow man. It’s evident that each key stroke was made with the passion Staff Sgt. Bellavia felt for the men who reported to him and of those he looked up to.

Incredible

Not since Audie Murphy’s To Hell And Back has a memoir of war held my attention so completely. The accounts of battle I told straightforward and hold nothing back! A new favorite for me!

Fallujah Hell

A classic account of the Iraq war. It is very difficult to comprehend what they went through.

Powerful Read

This story is absolutely incredible. Couldn't recommend more, the most moving modern war story I've read.

Incredible Story

This book is a story of TRUE American heroes . Great listen . Had me engrossed until the very last word !

Incredibly intense

SSG Bellavia's account and incredibly descriptive and vivid recollection of his experiences in Iraq was intense and gut wrenching. Better than any movie I've ever seen. I could picture every bit of the landscape and the battles. Grateful for his service and that he chose to share his story!

Amazing performance of an even better memoir

I read the book almost 10 years ago before my first deployment to Iraq, then again before I went to Afghanistan a couple of years later. Each time I read the book I was utterly impressed with David Bellavia’s actions in combat, his growth as a leader, his descriptions of the internal struggles that we go through between being soldiers or parents and spouses, and finally, his search for closure.

I picked up the audiobook when it was announced that SSG Bellavia would be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The narrator, Ray Porter, presents a flawless performance, filled with emotion. On this third “read” through of House to House, it truly came alive and I wholeheartedly recommend the audio version of this memoir. Truly, a great job, Ray Porter.

Please, get this book, get other books on Iraq and Afghanistan. Listen to the stories of our war and help us to never forget the sacrifices of our generation.

Great book

This is a great book, great story great performance… the performance is what really makes it .. it feels like your there, the story is unbelievable the style of writing is utterly fantastic!