No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah

I served in the Marines in the early 1990s, and worked for some of the individuals described in this book, including Col John Toolan and Maj Gen James Mattis. This book does a terrific job on many levels, but one of the best things is to get a close-up description of these key individuals under the stress of combat. Toolan comes across as a guy who is always up front with his Marines, level headed, decisive. Mattis is a officer who embodies the fighting spirit of the Marines under his command. In West's previous book, The March Up, the signature moment for Mattis is when a group of Marines attack past his humvee, which is out front. One of the Marines stops, breathing heavily. Mattis offers him some water from his hummer. The Marine clasps Mattis on the shoulder, and says, "thanks man." In this book, Mattis' signature moment may be when he is late to a meeting of other generals due to his detour to help fight an ambush with the two light armored vehicles that he is travelling in. That's General Mattis. This book is superbly written and researched. It presents a balanced and incisive view of the operation in and around Fallujah during OIF2. Along with The March Up, West has established himself as the premiere chronicler of Marine Operations in Operation Iraqi Freedom I and II. Taken together with his previous works (The Village and The Pepperdogs), his body of work covers over 3 decades, and may end where it started -- in Small Wars types of operations in a counterinsurgency.

Not only does this book give you a grunt-eye view of the battles and fighting in the streets, it gives you that feeling of what the decision makers are going through as these young men fight and die for a higher calling. I had yet to read a book that gave me the real story of how it is going and what we are doing. Mr. West has used his experiences as both a Marine and high government official to inform the reader of what is happening and why. A true hallmark of a well written book is that regardless of what side of this war you are on, this book would inform, enlighten and most importantly educate one on the facts. What I knew in my heart but this book confirmed was the gross distortions not only the Arab viewers of Al J and Al A see but the even sadder distortions that millions of viewers of the BBC saw as these brave young men fought in Fallujah. If just one British person that thinks the Marines slaughtered the innocents in Fallujah reads this book he will realize the distortion he has been subjected too. Every person in any Coalition government that is involved with Iraq should read this book.

The First and Second Battles of Fallujah, in April and October, 2004, represented the largest sustained US military engagement since the Battle of Hue over thirty years earlier in Vietnam. But just as the battles represented a landmark in terms of US military involvement in Iraq, the political and strategic landscape of the US position in the country was dramatically altered as a result of the campaign. No True Glory is a great overview of the battles and I would highly recommend it. No True Glory provides a searing description of the fighting that destroyed that city, as well as an insightful and critical overview of the political and military decision- making that affected the outcome, and whose repercussions and lessons define Iraq today more than any other episode in the war. The book outlines how The White House, senior generals and ambassadors ordered, then stopped, then re-ordered the attack upon Fallujah in April 2004, finally refusing to let the Marines finish the job at all. This occurred despite evidence that the Marines were close to clearing out the city. (Indeed, in less publicized battles in nearby Ramadi, the Marines had closed out an equally entrenched revolt. The major difference in Fallujah was international press coverage). Result: Fallujah became the stronghold of the insurgency and the Marines had to face a more entrenched and confident foe in October 2004. Fallujah provided a blueprint to the insurgents in the use of international political opinion to change the course of US military action. The book also gives a clear insight into the challenges the US faces in pacifying the Sunni triangle, given the entrenched rebellion and the Sunni's fear of giving up control of Iraq. It sheds some light on the difficulties in getting the Sunnis to cooperate in the political process as played out in the recent constitutional drama. Finally, the book highlights the intensity of the house-to-house and hand-to-hand fighting in Fallujah, which was equal to engagements going back to World War II. The Sunni insurgency, with some combatants jumping out of taxi cabs to join fights, only to melt away upon disengagement, offers a classic guerilla style war, with high walled compounds taking the place of the jungles and mountains typically associated with these campaigns. The Marines, when set loose, overwhelmed the opposition in a manner which caused the insurgency to permanently switch tactics from fixed position defenses to a more brutal manner of roadside and car bombing. No True Glory is not only a great look at the battles, but a great primer on the issues the US continue to face in Iraq.

the description of the fighting in this book is incredible. It's hard to believe our troops were in some cases fighting hand-to-hand...this day in age! I thought that the time of the bayonet was over. One can only admire the soldiers who weathered such vicious urban combat. an important book.

The author did a great job depicting the two battles for Fallujah. And, the books actual support of the men and women in the Armed Forces as warrors instead of victims is great. It would be easy to get into politics, suffice it to say he makes clear that giving Zarqawi a safehaven and base to launch attacks for many months was a major mistake and it was up to the US marines to fix the mistakes made by politicians and civilians leaders. I would recommend No True Glory to anyone, the best part of the book is it makes clear that the soldiers fighting in Iraq are as much the greatest generation of warrors as those that fought in WW2.