The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family

Author - Martha Raddatz ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Berkley Trade was reviewed on 8-Dec-2008.

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1) Paperback Book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Berkley Trade. I fought in this battle, I treated and remember many of the dead and wounded men described in this book. I kept a written memory of my feelings and memories from April 4th that I jotted down in the days afterward. Unfortunately, "The Long Road Home" is no Blackhawk Down and Martha Raddatz isn´t the caliber of writer and especially not researcher that Mark Bowden (author of BHD) was. It seemed that Ms. Raddatz was more interested in telling a story and projecting some very general philosophies and cliched lessons learned from American war. In the same style of Band of Brothers, or other Stephen Ambrose classics (which were VERY well researched), however theres was a different generation, fighting for far different reasons. Rather than telling THE story, following the factual timeline, interviewing more participants and other units involved. Much of her initial research, I have to assume, was taken after interviews with the Commanders and senior leadership, some of whom had almost no involvement in this battle. They told their story first, and the book reads like they may want it to be read. I wonder if Custer had lived, would he tell a similar tale.

This clearly became the framework for her story and a positive, "it´s just war" message permeates the entire book. She is critical of almost none of the planning or decisions made. Her interviews with the junior Officers and NCOs do not reflect any opinion they have, merely the sacrifices they made, and their recollections of the extreme violence, fear, and emotions they felt.

She took very little time to try to understand what happened, why it happened, or what should have happened, instead merely echoing some worn out ideals of American war and applying the civilian paintbrush. It´s often said that history is written by the victor, in this case history was written by the first persons to mug the reporter with their rank.

She does not do justice to April 4th. This book felt cobbled together, as if the prologue and epilogue were written, pictures were inserted midbook, and the HYPOTHESIS and CONCLUSIONS were drawn before she ever conducted interviews and research.

When writing a true story, you are supposed to interview, with an open mind, and seek out facts and truth. Martha Raddatz just wasn´t asking the right questions.

This is sad to me, as this is a story that still needs to be told, in print or in movie. I suspect that one day this will become a movie, my hope is that when it does the story will be told accurately and the philosophical and moral questions (and answers) will be unique to the war WE fought in.

Dan¤

2) Paperback Book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Berkley Trade. I found this book to be very interesting. It is true that it is mindful of Black Hawk Down. At times it needed a strong stomach but I found it an enjoyable read.¤

3) Paperback Book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Berkley Trade. I have just finnished reading The Long Road Home and must commend Martha Raddatz on her brilliant book. I have been a friend of the Weibleys(Trysha)for years and decided that it was past due for me to read. It was not political or opinionated in any way, it was factual and desctiptive like nothing I have ever read.Since There is one part of this book where Seth gets out to clean a windshild..knowing him the way I do, I HAD to laugh through the tears. It was just soooo something he would do.
Thank you for writing this amazing book for the world to read. It is integral to all Americans to know what REALLY happend that day. I know that the Weibleys apreciate it as do I and all that I will be passing this on to.¤

4) Paperback Book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Berkley Trade. I saw Martha Raddatz speak at the Pritzker Military Library last week (June 2008) and bought the book there on the spot. I have read it straight through in a couple of days and wish that every American would read this book or one with a similar story. It seems that Iraq has become background noise in light of the energy crisis and the country´s economic woes.

It´s easy to forget that we are at war and that American servicemen are losing their lives. This book brings that reality home. It´s not a fun read - it´s a distinctly uncomfortable and sometimes depressing one. But reading stories like this might go some ways towards breaking through this desensitization we seem to have as a country when it comes to the war in Iraq.

I think that the portions of the book written from the view of the soldiers are solid and really brought me into the action of that awful battle. I won´t ever know what it is like to be a soldier who engages in battle and is wounded or sees friends wounded or, worse, killed in action. But this book at least makes me really think about it and gives a good description of how these soldiers felt.

On the other hand, I did not think that the parts of the book written from the perspective of the families was as strong. I am not sure if this is the result of Ms. Raddatz respecting the wives of the killed soldiers and not interviewing them directly or just because her passion lies with the stories that these men have to tell more than with the stories of their families. Either way, it made the book feel a little unbalanced to me.

All that being said, I think that this book is important. The story that it tells is important not only because the battle it details was a turning point in the war but because it reminds us that our fellow countrymen are going through unspeakable things. This war remains relevant and I applaud the efforts of Ms. Raddatz and others like her for fighting to keep it in the media.¤

5) Paperback Book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Berkley Trade. Excellent read about the war in Iraq. I bought this book after I found parts contained action my son was involved in. Found my son´s name and picture of truck he was in. He was trying to save Cindy Sheenan´s son Casey. He was ambushed also and was hit in his foot. They lost eight good soliders that day. I hope they make a movie someday. My son is a IV and he was shot on 4-4-4 in Sadr City Iraq. He now has PTSD and is divorced from the woman he loves. Where is Cindy Sheenan now?¤

6) Paperback Book The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family by Berkley Trade. From ABC White House correspondent Martha Raddatz, the story of a brutal forty-eight-hour firefight that conveys in harrowing detail the effects of war not just on the soldiers but also on the families waiting back at home.

In April 2004, soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division were on a routine patrol in Sadr City, Iraq, when they came under surprise attack. Over the course of the next forty-eight hours, 8 Americans would be killed and more than 70 wounded. Back home, as news of the attack began filtering in, the families of these same men, neighbors in Fort Hood, Texas, feared the worst. In time, some of the women in their circle would receive "the call"-the notification that a husband or brother had been killed in action. So the families banded together in anticipation of the heartbreak that was certain to come.

The firefight in Sadr City marked the beginning of the Iraqi insurgency, and Martha Raddatz has written perhaps the most riveting account of hand-to-hand combat to emerge from the war in Iraq. This intimate portrait of the close-knit community of families Stateside-the unsung heroes of the military -distinguishes The Long Road Home from other stories of modern warfare, showing the horror, terror, bravery, and fortitude not just of the soldiers who were wounded and killed but also of the wives and children whose lives now are forever changed.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 5-Jan-2009, , 920-010-690-910-500-GYB-S4B-OUB-08B-8

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