In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat - Softcover

Much of Atkinson's focus falls on the division's leader, the hugely competitive and charismatic Major General David Petraeus, who seems to guide his troops through Iraq by sheer force of will. Atkinson devotes most of his time to the senior commanders, but the loss of the GI perspective, while disappointing, is outweighed by Atkinson's access to the minds of the brass who must navigate an Iraq whose citizens were not nearly as happy as military planners had hoped and who offered resistance in ways other than what the Americans had prepared for.

While plenty has been written about the American military effort in Iraq, Atkinson's perspective, combined with a direct, economical writing style, allows him to present sides to the war not often seen or considered: long periods of waiting punctuated with mad scrambles to apply gas masks, fretting over how to pack all necessary supplies into tiny kits, dealing with dust storms that can ground state of the art attack helicopters, and reading the irreverent yet shrewdly observant graffiti left by American soldiers. In the Company of Soldiers lionises the American military officers but it neither condemns nor offers unqualified praise to the US effort in Iraq. Indeed, the disturbing omens of chaos hinted at soon after the invasion began in the spring of 2003 would come into sharper relief when the book was published a year later. --John Moe, Amazon.com

"A beautifully written and memorable account of combat from the top down and bottom up as the 101st Airborne commanders and frontline grunts battle their way to Baghdad...A must read." --Tom Brokaw

"A perceptive, exciting and engaging book. The battle scenes are heart-pounding narratives." --The Washington Post Book World

"A fascinating first-hand account." --The Economist

"An engaging and accurate view of life on the ground during the Iraq war. It likely will be the Embedded Book to Read." --Chicago Tribune

"An exceptional achievement...With a skill rarely seen in the genre of military narratives, Atkinson tells a compelling story about the war and the modern American military that fought it." --The Indianapolis Star

"Atkinson's deep knowledge of the U.S. military, combined with his reporting skills and fluid writing, have yielded, as expected, a superb book about the fall of Iraq." --The Denver Post