THE MARCH UP
Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division
Major General Ray L. Smith, USMC, and "Bing" West
NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(Bantam, 2003). 289 pp.
From Publishers Weekly: This very readable eyewitness history of the 1st
Marine Division in the recent Iraq War was penned by two very qualified
observers: both West and Smith served in Vietnam as Marines; Smith also served
in Granada and Beruit, while West (The Village; The Pepperdogs) is a former
Assistant Secretary of Defense. Unsurprisingly, their account of Marines
advancing from Kuwait to Baghdad-and thereby ending up farther from the sea than
any Marines in history-is far from anti-military. Perhaps more unexpectedly,
though, they present their campaign history warts and all. The portrait of the
division owes its breadth to interviews from several hundred sources, not all of
whom survived. Two stand out: Shane Ferkovich, whose squad prevented sabotage of
an oil-pumping station in the beginning of the march and helped take down
Saddam's statue at the end; and General Mattis, the division commander and chief
juggler of conflicting demands. An exceptional selection of photographs and
better maps than most books to date on the war add to this account's appeal.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist:
Although the political wisdom of the war to remove the regime of Saddam Hussein
remains a subject for debate, the brilliance of the military campaign to topple
him must be acknowledged. Smith is a veteran of conflicts in Vietnam, Lebanon,
and Grenada. West, also a Vietnam veteran, was assistant secretary of defense
during the Reagan administration. They were embedded with the First Marine
Division, which spearheaded the 1,184-kilometer march from Kuwait to Baghdad.
This is a gritty, insider's... read more
Book Description: WITH
UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS AND PREVIOUSLY UNREPORTED DETAIL, HERE IS A FIRSTHAND
ACCOUNT OF THE 22-DAY MARCH TO BAGHDAD THAT TAKES YOU BEHIND THE SCENES AND TO
THE FRONT LINE….
No one reporting on the war in Iraq had the unique
battlefield clearance afforded the authors of this dramatic eyewitness account.
Unlike embedded journalists confined to a single unit, West and Smith acquired a
captured yellow SUV and joined with whatever unit was leading the assault every
day of the fight. The result is a report of what really happened from the heart
of the action unlike anything you’ll read anywhere else.
“While we will
move swiftly and aggressively against those who resist, we will treat all others
with decency, demonstrating chivalry and soldierly compassion for people who
have endured a lifetime under Saddam’s oppression.”—Major General J.N. Mattis,
1st Marine Division, Commanding
Here is the story that can be told only
by those who actually witnessed the action of the famed 1st Marine Division’s
march on Baghdad, from the shaky beginning of U.S. operations in southern Iraq
to the capture of U.S. prisoners, the misreported “fierce Iraqi resistance,” and
the aggressive assaults that led to a quick and decisive victory.
With
over a half century of military and combat experience between them, bestselling
author F. J. “Bing” West and Major General Ray L. Smith, USMC (Ret.), combine
expert military analysis with dramatic battlefield reporting. They bring the
reader on a march that ended in victory—but was shadowed by second-guessing,
unexpected reversals, and the threat of catastrophe.
With access to
three-star generals in the command centers and to privates in the field, the
authors reveal how the strategic plan played out in battle, showing what went
well and what failed, and detailing power struggles for military and political
control never reported. The result is destined to become the definitive account
of ground warfare in Iraq.
~~~ Hardcover OUT OF PRINT.
$24.95
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