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The March Up: Taking Baghdad with the 1st Marine Division | 
 enlarge | Authors: Ray L. Smith, Bing West
Publisher: Bantam
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $1.00
You Save: $23.95 (96%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 677792
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 055380376X
Dewey Decimal Number: 956.70443
EAN: 9780553803761
ASIN: 055380376X
Publication Date: September 9, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
With unprecedented access and previously unreported detail, here is a first hand 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
 Don't waste your time on this. March 20, 2008
Read "Ambush Alley" by Tim Pritchard instead. A book that is chosen by the U.S. Marine Corps heritage foundation for the General Green Award is probably not a very objective book.
 Bearably Lopsided January 25, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Certainly interesting, if a bit hard to follow at times between the military jargon, trying to visualize the streets and the compass directions, and trying to visualize just how many soldiers and vehicles make up "RCT-1" or "battalion 3/1." Still, most descriptions paint a vivid scene, and you can't deny that the story moves right along as inexorably as the Marines. This book has a bit of a pro-American bent; easy enough to adjust for as you're reading, but at times it seems like an action movie (was the battle really that lopsided? was the Iraqis' aim really that poor?). I spent a good deal of the book trying to figure out why West & Smith were there -- they seemed a bit of a cross between embedded press, not-quite-civilians, military consultants, and two ex-marines who just had to see what the fuss was about in Baghdad. It was odd -- they seemed to have free rein to drive where they wanted (unlike embedded journalists), yet didn't appear to be exactly active military either. It was hard to tell whether they, themselves, were armed or not. Ultimately, that distracted me from the real story. So read it. It's lopsided, but bearably so, and it's engaging.
A little "truth" August 3, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I served with Suicide Charley, 1/7, and knew many of the people in this book. I just want to say that "Answitz", as he's referred to in this book, was full of B/S. He was never in Spetz Natz. We think his Russian accent was a lie too. He was a compulsive liar, and we realized this has he gradually topped each lie he told with an even more out rageous lie. But this is no discredit to the writers of the book. We believed him at first too.
 . July 1, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have been spending the past few years intently ignoring news stories covering the events in the Middle East, not that I was not interested, but because I grew tired of body counts non-stop stories of suicide bombers and monday morning quarterbacks criticizing every action of our troops. Not saying that I believe our troops are infallible, but wishing that there was some good reported too. This book makes up for weeks of missed news stories, shows the good and the bad from the stand point of two people who understand how the military works from prior first hand experience. The result was an eye-opening book, that while a bit of a technical read, held my attention through the whole book.
Well, I'm just not sure June 2, 2006
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
My brother served with the 1st Marine Div, so I couldn't wait to read their story. But I was surprised at how uncritical this still fascinating book actually was. It reads like propaganda, like a USMC recruiting magazine. ... USMC great and perfect, Iraqis bad and useless! ... Welllll?????
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