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It’s so refreshing to read a real account. The unknown, the urgent decisions that had to be made under difficult circumstances. Thank you for this opportunity.

slax64

Oohrah!! The best account of the war to date!!!!

Commenté aux États-Unis le 15 septembre 2003

There was so much "smoke and mirrors" and misinformation during the war that you didn't know quite what to believe. Having TV correspondents embedded with various Marine units was unique and somewhat informative, but that does not compare to the accout written so definitively in "The March Up". This is a highly interesting day-to-day, battle-to-battle reporting of the situations and dangers encountered by the 1st Marine Division. You feel like you are riding along with them, with blow-by-blow descriptions of what it was like to actually be there. The action and descisions made by these brave Marine Officers and their units are unparalleled and we have them (and all others who fought and continue to fight) to thank for ridding the world of a very evil regime.
With this book being written by the father of a Marine and a former Marine, there are no punches pulled - a factual, riveting page-turner. As the sister of a Marine company commander featured in this book, I sincerely thank Mr. West and General Smith for their wonderful account of the events on the march to Baghdad. Well done gentlemen!

11 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

raquel-catherine duenas

Authentic, entertaining, well written.

Commenté aux États-Unis le 3 juin 2020

Love this book! The author writes a first hand account of the war in Irak. He’s a brilliant writer, as well as a veteran.

Une personne a trouvé cela utile

Charles Vasey

Anabasis

Commenté au Royaume-Uni le 21 avril 2008

This is a competent record, from the point of view of two ex-US Marines riding with the USMC units, of the advance on Baghdad. The viewpoint is that strange mixture of "on high" and "closeup". The two authors report their own adventures close up and those of the RCTs at a distance. This mixed view gives something close to the confusion that must have been felt by the soldiers. Although the conventional Iraqi forces are in big trouble the small bands of soldiers and Fedayeen are perfectly willing to close up with their AK47s and die bravely. Sometimes they can even injure ther foes.

Given what came afterwards this period was the "happy time" for US Forces, believing in their liberation and not suffering the feared WMD attacks. I thought the book caught the spirit of the time. Aware that the First Gulf War had overestimated Iraqi forces but always mindful of Mogadishu the American forces moved (as most armies do) in that confusion that a new war brings.

West and Smith are aware of civilian casualties and not afraid to upbraid trigger-happy troops, but the sheer confusion of a campaign which is almost an unbroken series of meeting engagements makes one amazed that there were not more.

The comparison with the army later led by Xenophon seems an unneccesary addition to what is a decent piece of reporting.

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B. T. Larkin

A Great Book If You Recognize What It Is

Commenté aux États-Unis le 31 mai 2004

This is a very good book for what it is -- the first campaign narrative and proproganda for a general. Hopefully there will be more books in the future with real research and more even-handedness. This book is not intended as research and is clearly a propaganda piece for General Mattis who gave them carte-blanche to roam his division. As such, the book could be titled "How to Launch Your Campaign for Commandant".
With that said, the combat and writing experience of the authors combined with their proximity to the battles involved produces some strong insights that are not likely to be found in other books. In terms of an analysis of tactics, I thought the book was very strong. It is a lot more insightful than all the embedded journalism stories that reported the excitement but could make very little sense of the battles. For that reason I highly recommend "The March Up" as a campaign narrative.

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