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    In The Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq
    In The Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq
    In The Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    In The Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq

    Written by Rick Atkinson

    Narrated by Rick Atkinson

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    For soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division, the road to Baghdad began with a midnight flight out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in late February 2003. For Rick Atkinson, who would spend nearly two months covering the division for The Washington Post, the war in Iraq provided a unique opportunity to observe today's U.S. Army in combat.
    Granted complete access to the commanders and troops of the 101st, Atkinson saw their war from the preparations in Kuwait through the occupation of Baghdad. As the war unfolded, he witnessed the division's struggles to overcome a murderous attack by one of its own soldiers, a disastrous Apache helicopter raid, and fierce resistance from guerrilla diehards in Najaf, Karbala, and Hilla.
    At the center of Atkinson's drama stands the compelling figure of Major General David H. Petraeus, described by one comrade as "the most competitive man on the planet." Atkinson observes Petraeus as he teaches, goads, and leads his troops and subordinate commanders in several intense battles. All around Petraeus, we watch the men and women of a storied division grapple with the challenges of waging war in an unspeakably harsh environment. But even as the military wins an overwhelming victory, we also see portents of the battles that would haunt the occupation in the long months ahead.
    In the Company of Soldiers is a dramatic, utterly fresh view of the modern American soldier in action from the premier military historian of his generation.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 1, 2004
    ISBN9780743539319
    In The Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of Combat in Iraq
    Author

    Rick Atkinson

    Rick Atkinson was a staff writer and senior editor at The Washington Post for twenty years. He is the bestselling author of the Liberation Trilogy, which includes An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light, as well as The British Are Coming, The Long Gray Line, In the Company of Soldiers, and Crusade. His many awards include Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and history. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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    Reviews for In The Company of Soldiers

    3.5/5

    100 ratings6 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Note like others wrote, the Book is following a General and their Staff, and not like the title suggests Soldiers.
    • 4/5
      He makes the details interesting.
    • 4/5
      In my humble opinion Rick Atkinsons book is in the same league as Max Hastings' 'Going to wars'
      This account is vivid and I felt enlightened in many levels after reading it.
    • 4/5
      This book is exceedingly well written, by a Pulitzer Prize winning author. I love books that send me to the dictionary to look up words. It's a straightforward account of a journalist embedded with General Petraeus during the Iraq war. Fascinating, both for those who've never been to war and those who have. For me, this wasn't a book I couldn't put down. It's not a novel; it's an account of what happened, and a very good one. It brings new understanding of the problems and logistics encountered during war. If you sit home watching the war on TV and ask yourself why this and why that, why is this taking so long or why didn't they do that, you need to read this book. If you've been a soldier, this account is from a different perspective and will also give you insight.
    • 2/5
      The book called: In The Company Of Soldiers, was however very interesting. It had very cool facts about how they survived through out the night, and even what they eat and drink. However, the reason i had dropped this book was because it was way above my reading level. Another reason why i had dropped: In The Company Of Soldiers was because it got very confusing at times. The reason why i chose this book was because i had read other books from the author (Rick Atkinson) and were a very good read for me. Another reason why i had chose the book to read was because i love reading about the army and combat fighting. If you like reading combat fighting books with facts about the army, then you might like this book. Also, you do however, need a very good higher type of reading level. Another reason why you really have to get into this book to like it is if you understand chronicle books. That however, is another reason why i had to drop this book because i do not read those types of books and i do however get really confused at times on how they jump from people to people.
    • 3/5
      I agree with the reviewer who said this is more aptly titled, "In the Company of Generals," though I would add "and Colonels." Unlike Thunder Run or The March Up, few battles are narrated from the perspective of the soldier actually doing the fighting. This is not a criticism of the book, just a notice to the prospective reader. What Atkinson does well is write about the Commanders of the 101st Airborne, and their travels, travels, and accomplishments from preparing for war through the Gulf War itself.The sheer logistical nightmare of preparing for a war thousands of miles from one's base is captured in the big picture and through anecdotes, such as the vigorous disagreement about whether to tape or paint helicopter blades to protect them from the sand. After heated discussion and much agonizing, it was discovered there was no tape. Paint would have to suffice. By spending time with the Commanding General of the 101, as well as his logistics and other officers, Atkinson does an excellent job of conveying the size of the logistical challenge faced by the 101st (and, no doubt, other U.S. divisions) and the magnitude of the accomplishment in meeting it.As the war itself unfolds, Atkinson does a decent job of helping us understand how the 101st' mission changes to meet the realities of combat. The reader may be (as I was) distracted by continuous petty attacks on President Bush, Secretary Rumsfeld, and even Fox News. They are so ancillary to his point that they serve no purpose other to offend, or at the very least distract. Though Atkinson may try to place them in a bigger context, it's pretty transparent he is searching for his own voice among the facts at his disposal (like when he singles out a negative comment written in a bathroom stall about President Bush as somehow representative of troop morale and opinions on the war).Overall, an excellent discussion about preparing for war, a good discussion of the 101st' role in that war as seen from its Commanders, but distracting and petty political potshots taken throughout.