The Fighters

by C.J. Chivers

“A classic of war reporting...The author’s stories give heart-rending meaning to the lives and deaths of these men and women, even if policymakers generally have not.” —The New York Times

Pulitzer Prize winner C.J. Chivers’s unvarnished account of modern combat, told through the eyes of the fighters who have waged America’s longest wars.

More than 2.7 million Americans have served in Afghanistan or Iraq since September 11, 2001. C.J. Chivers reported from both wars from their beginnings. The Fighters vividly conveys the physical and emotional experience of war as lived by six a fighter pilot, a corpsman, a scout helicopter pilot, a grunt, an infantry officer, and a Special Forces sergeant.

Chivers captures their courage, commitment, sense of purpose, and ultimately their suffering, frustration, and moral confusion as new enemies arise and invasions give way to counterinsurgency duties for which American forces were often not prepared.

The Fighters is a tour de force, a portrait of modern warfare that parts from slogans to do for American troops what Stephen Ambrose did for the G.I.s of World War II and Michael Herr for the grunts in Vietnam. Told with the empathy and understanding of an author who is himself an infantry veteran, The Fighters presents the long arc of two wars.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Military Fiction, War, Military History, Middle East, Politics

401 pages, ebook

First published August 14, 2018

About the author

A former Marine Corps infantry officer, C.J. Chivers is a senior writer at The New York Times. He contributes to the Foreign and Investigative desks and frequently posts on the At War blog, writing on war, tactics, human rights, politics, crime and the arms trade from Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia, Georgia, Chechnya and elsewhere on a wide range of assignments.

In addition to writing, he shoots video and, occasionally, photographs. He served as Moscow correspondent from June 2004 through 2007, and was the paper's Moscow bureau chief in 2007 and 2008. He has also covered war zones or conflicts in the Palestinian territories, Israel and Central Asia. From 1999 until 2001 he covered crime and law enforcement in New York City, working in a three-reporter bureau inside the police headquarters in Lower Manhattan. While in this bureau, he covered the attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Before joining The Times, Chivers was a staff writer at The Providence Journal in Rhode Island from 1995 until 1999, covering crime and politics, and was a contributor to several magazines, writing on wildlife, natural history and conservation. He remains a contributor to Esquire and Field & Stream.

From 1988 until 1994, Chivers was an officer in the United States Marine Corps, serving in the Persian Gulf War and performing peacekeeping duties as a company commander during the Los Angeles riots. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 1994.

In 1996, Chivers received the Livingston Award for International Journalism for a series on the collapse of commercial fishing in the North Atlantic. Two of his stories in The Times from Afghanistan were cited in the award of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2002. In 2007, his reconstruction for Esquire of the terrorist siege of a public school in Beslan, Russia, won the Michael Kelly Award and National Magazine Award for Reporting. He was also part of The Times's team that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2009, for coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan. His combat reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan, with that of his colleague Dexter Filkins and the photographer Tyler Hicks, with whom he often works, was selected in 2010 by New York University as one of the Top Ten Works of Journalism of the Decade.

His book of history and conflict, "The Gun," mixes years or archival research, battlefield reportage and investigative reporting in Europe, Russia, the United States and Africa to document the origins, spread and effects of the world's most abundant firearm. Told through battlefield reconstructions and character sketches that trace an evolution in technology and in war, it will be published by Simon & Schuster in October, 2010.

Chivers was born in Binghamton, N.Y. He graduated with a B.A. cum laude in English from Cornell University in January 1988 and was the 1995 valedictorian of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He also graduated from several military schools, including the United States Army's Ranger Course. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife and their five children.

Articles, essays, blog posts, photographs and video reports by C.J. Chivers can be found on the websites of The New York Times, Esquire, and the At War blog, or on www.cjchivers.com.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of modern war experiences by modern day heroes. I believe that people willing to risk their lives for a country that are mostly ungrateful for the sacrifices made by the men and women of their armed forces are heroes, and the author does a good job telling their stories from their backgrounds into their service and experiences fighting a modern war against a deadly enemy that feels nothing for other human beings. The book is about those on the frontline of the service from privates to captains who does the hard work and does not dwell on the politics of what they do, but just do the job at hand, which is fighting. Very readable and a real tribute to these Fighters.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize. This book is a bit different in that it discusses the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq from the viewpoint of the privates to captains who fought the battles. Chivers said “he set out to chronicle the long arc and human experience of combat for American troops since 2001, and in a way that bridged the very large gap between official statements and what the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq really have been.”

I found the book most interesting in that it was about people not policy. The book is well written and researched. The book points out the failings of the wars. The stories of the men were often inspiring and heart rendering; be prepared for a few tears. This book should be a must-read for everyone. Chivers is a former Marine Corp infantry officer and is now a journalist.

I read this as an audiobook downloaded from Audible. The book is almost fourteen hours. Scott Brick does an excellent job narrating the book. Brick is a well-known narrator. In 2017 he was elected into the Narrators Hall of Fame. He has won many narrating awards.

[Mikey B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very engaging and visceral book about ordinary soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. The author examines in detail the lives of four soldiers who went over there – and also their families and fellow soldiers in arms.

We come away with a very vivid picture of what these young men underwent in those devastated regions. They come back home (and in one case he came back in a body bag) and have a very changed outlook on themselves and their country. Their first allegiance is to their comrades in arms – not to their country, not to the aspirations of politicians and generals espousing lofty causes, and certainly not to the peoples in the countries they are occupying.

Most were enthusiastic to join – and some were already career soldiers – and were eager to contribute to the cause after 9/11.

It is one thing to want revenge for the vicious attacks of September 11/2001. It is quite another thing to go into those countries and make a war – a war with no end-game. Iraq is now fraught with sectarian divides and Afghanistan, which had already been undergoing warfare for over twenty years, with first the Soviet Union and then within from various tribal and warlord factions. Afghanistan has been a shatter zone since the British attempted to subdue it over one hundred and fifty years ago. The politicians and generals told the soldiers that they would be welcomed and that they would instill democratic values. They quickly found out otherwise.

As described graphically they were in areas where they were despised and unwanted. The longer the occupation, the more they became hated. At best the American soldiers disdained and distrusted those they were allegedly helping. They did not speak the language and were unfamiliar with the culture and customs. The author projects this to us as we follow the soldiers as they step outside of their fortress perimeter to patrol and “try” to engage with the “enemy”. They become the hunted. They feel the enemy lurking and studying there every move – and learning the best time to strike. The war is everywhere. There is no front-line.

They witness their fellow soldiers being slain, some become disfigured. One pilot no longer wants to bomb targets when he feels there will be innocent causalities.

All suffer some forms of PTSD. When they leave the combat zone they fail to see, aside from their friendships, what they have accomplished in the strange lands they have occupied. They book give us a grim reality of a soldiers’ experience.

This was graffiti in a government center in Ramadi, Iraq

America is not at war.
The Marine Corps is at war;
America is at the mall.

The closing sentence in the epilogue –

How many lives had these wars wrecked?

[Brett C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was absolutely honest, powerful, and graphic. The various stories are intense accounts from combat action in Afghanistan and Iraq. They include different functions from the different branches: a Navy Corpsman (with a Marine Infantry unit), an infantry officer, a US Army Green Beret NCO, a scout helicopter pilot, and a couple more.

Each story flowed chronologically from the beginning of the war on terror to the mid-2010's. The epilogue gave closure to the stories. The entire book was a fast moving barrage of violence, human emotion, and the will to survive. I would recommend this to anyone interested in real accounts during our time in Afghanistan and Iraq. Thanks!

[Steven Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recently, C. J. Chivers appeared on Book TV/C-SPAN and describes how he went about writing his new book, THE FIGHTERS: AMERICANS IN COMBAT IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ. After 9/11 the US military mission was to root out and defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Chivers, a New York Times investigative correspondent argues that the mission was accomplished in a few weeks, but after seventeen years, we as a nation still find ourselves supporting the governments in Kabul and Baghdad with thousands of troops. During those seventeen years over 2.7 million soldiers fought in Afghanistan and Iraq with over 3,000 deaths and 10,000 wounded. Based on our present circumstances in both countries it is important to understand the experiences of American forces and gain insights into their lives before, during, and after their service. Chivers engages this task and the result is a powerful book that should be the standard in trying to explain what has happened to the American military and their soldiers during the last seventeen years.

Chivers’ approach is broad based. He relies on interviews of the combatants and narrows it down to six to eight individuals. They were chosen to represent as many areas as possible; he has chosen soldiers from different phases of the wars discussed; he focuses on the different enemies the US was confronted with; he explores different regions in the combat areas; the characters represent career soldiers from before 9/11, and those who joined because of the attack at the World Trade Center. Further, he explores the individual MOS of each character, how each soldier readjusted to civilian life, and their views about the wars before, during, and after their involvement. By using this approach Chivers can dig down and engage the human emotions involved, how combat affected his characters, and how the wars affected their families.

Chivers’ research rests on numerous interviews conducted over a six-year period, diaries maintained by the participants, newspaper accounts, and other primary materials that were available. The author concludes that the men and women who fought represent only 1% of our country. The American people do not know that 1%, and most do not know anyone that knows them. This is important because that being the case the war does not touch most of us, therefore when decisions were made to fight the public debate was minimal. Perhaps if we had a draft and more people had “skin in the game” the public would be more involved, and it would not be so easy to engage in warfare. Chivers’ goal is an effort to remedy this situation “in part through demystification.” In doing so he rejects the views of senior officers. “It channels those who did the bulk of the fighting with an unapologetic belief that the voices of combatants of the lower and middle rank are more valuable, and more likely to be candid and rooted in battlefield experience, than those of the generals and admirals who order them to action—and often try to speak for them too.” Chivers is correct when he states that the history of warfare can be summed up with “too much general and not enough sergeant.”

Chivers offers a critical indictment of American decision making and policies that led to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the errors that have ensued during the wars themselves. The lies, political machinations, career enhancing decisions, and general stupidity of what has occurred over the last seventeen years is on full display. The author presents six major characters, across numerous military fields in making his arguments. Chivers begins with Lieutenant Layne McDowell, a combat pilot; he goes on to include Sergeant First Class Leo Kryzewski, a Special Forces team navigator; Hospital Corpsman Dustin E. Kirby; Chief Warrant Officer Michael Sebonic, a helicopter commander; Specialist Robert Soto, an eighteen year old radio operator in an infantry unit; and Lieutenant Jarrod Neff, an infantry unit commander. Chivers allows the reader to get to know each character in a personal way, that when things go wrong they feel the pain that each soldier experiences. Chivers describes numerous ambushes, mortar attacks, IED explosions, rocket attacks, remote explosions, suicide bombs, and how soldiers tried to cope, especially the after effects. In effect, Chivers describes the “rawness of combat” and war itself and the difficulties endured by those who served.

Perhaps the most poignant description in the book is when Petty Officer Dustin “Doc” Kirby spoke with the father of a soldier whose life he had saved, Chivers writes “The voice on the other end was breaking. Bob Smith was talking through tears. He pushed on. ‘My son would not be alive if not for you…. And if I am breathing, you will have a father in Ohio.’ Kirby’s guilt began to lift.”

The military bureaucracy, “chicken shit” attitudes by higher ups, and poor decision-making where things that soldiers had to deal with daily to survive. For those in combat it came down to the battlefield’s baseline mentality: “They looked after themselves, platoon by platoon, squad by squad, truck crew by truck crew, each marine having the others back, and staying wide of the higher ups.” If one theme dominants Chivers’ narrative it is that each soldier saw his fellow soldier as a brother to be treated and cared for as they would wish to be treated and cared for themselves.

All of these points are encapsulated in the description of Operation Mostar in one of the most dangerous areas of Helmand province as part of the 2010 troop surge in Afghanistan. Lt. Jarrod Neff must prove himself as a unit commander to his Marines having been transferred from an intelligence unit. Neff’s experiences point out the number of important issues related to the war. After spending billions on training an Afghan National Army, at the time of the surge they remained poorly trained, not trustworthy to the point many were suspected of being Taliban spies, and though they were to take the lead in certain operations, the Marines refused to allow it. Chivers description of Marine training, readiness and peoperational planning provides a human element in contemplating the violence and death American soldiers were about to deal with. As Chivers takes the reader through the assault on Marja one can only imagine how our troops can cope with what is happening around them. The most devastating aspect of the fighting was an errant American bomb that blew up a civilian house resulting in numerous casualties with body parts strewn all around. What made it worse is that the house contained women and children. It would fall to Neff’s men to clean up and complete a “body death assessment.” Chivers points out, that to this day the military has refused to release the investigative report about the incident.

Chivers has written a masterful work that describes the atmosphere that exists in combat and what life was like for those soldiers who returned home. After reading this book the reader will become angry because of government policies, incompetence, and blindness when it came to American involvement in carrying out these two wars. The book should now be considered the standard for anyone who wants to vicariously live the life of an American soldier today and understand where US policy went wrong.

[Donna Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chivers is a senior editor at The New York Times, and has won the Pulitzer for journalism. This meaty but readable book is the culmination of his years covering the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not the creation of a man parked in a library behind his laptop; he has personally gone to Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, and Libya, and has either accompanied the people he writes about or retraced their footsteps. He covers the lives of six servicemen in the lower and middle ranks of the armed forces, and so he primarily uses eye witness reporting and interviews, in addition to American military data. I read it free courtesy of Net Galley and Simon and Schuster in exchange for my honest review. The Fighters will most likely be regarded in future years as the go-to book for those that want to know more about this war and the people whose lives were changed by it—including many of those whose homeland is or has been part of the war zone.

Chivers sees a tremendous amount of waste and foolhardy disregard for human lives on the part of the Pentagon, and he makes an undeniable case for it. After reading it I came away convinced that he did not begin his project with an axe to grind and seek out the particular facts that would support the reality he wanted to present, but rather that over the many years since the towers fell in 2001, the things that he has seen and heard all point remorselessly toward the same conclusion. In point of fact, there are two places in my reading notes where I marked, without hyperbole, the similarity between the true information provided here and what I might expect to read in The Onion.

Take, for example, the Afghan allies that are integrated into U.S. forces. The U.S. provides them with guns, but as far as anyone can see, it is strictly for the purpose of the Pentagon’s public relations campaign. Afghan soldiers in U.S. units don’t fire those guns. They hold them. They don’t aim; they don’t look at whoever is giving instructions nor at the translator. (They sure as fuck don’t salute.) In a protracted firefight, an American will eventually run out of ammunition and trade their empty weapon for one of those they hold, if the Afghan has not disappeared and taken the gun with him. And at night, the night watch exists in large part to ensure that if the Afghan soldiers choose to make themselves scarce overnight, they won’t take a bunch of munitions along with them and hand them off to the Taliban.

But since the American public is increasingly impatient with the duration of and loss incurred by this war, those guys have to be kept around like untrustworthy mascots in order to maintain the illusion that Afghan forces will be taking the place of U.S. troops soon. Timelines get pushed back, but nothing significantly changes. The drums beat on.

Thoughtless and ham-handed decisions by the top brass increase the resentment of civilians that live near the bases, people living in miserable poverty, sometimes directly across the street, with expensive machinery and plenitude of supplies the locals will probably never have. Meanwhile, troops are sent into circumstances that are bound to be fatal and also fail in their military objectives.

It makes you want to sit down and cry.

However, most of the narrative is not carnage and defeat. Who would read it if it were? Chivers instead does a fine job of painting the individual lives of the Americans he follows, and so most of the story reads almost like good fiction, and rather than being swathed in constant despair or endless statistics, I was instead deeply absorbed. Who knew it would be so interesting?

Those that are curious about the war in the Middle East, the first U.S. war in generations to see reporters banned from providing live footage or photographing flag-covered caskets sent home, could hardly find better material to read. This is on-the-ground coverage at its finest. If you want to read just one book about the U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, this should be it.

[Peter Martuneac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure what to say about this book. As a combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan, this book spoke to me on several levels. I could see in my mind the scenes described, I could hear the sounds described, the jargon used, I could feel the emotions of young infantry Marines under fire. I could do all this because I have personally seen, heard, and felt these things.

I had to stop reading several times because the accounts given hit too close to home and were overwhelming. Twice I broke down and cried. It’s a powerful, moving collection of stories.

If you’re a combat veteran, I tentatively recommend this book. But only if you feel up to the task. I think it goes without saying that there will be triggers in this book. And even if you’ve never set foot on a battlefield, this book is so well written you won’t be able to help being carried off to the deserts of Iraq and the poppy fields of Afghanistan.

5 heart wrenching stars, and a bravo to Mr. Chivers.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This account of on the ground fighters in the US military in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq deeply impressed me. It was factual, at times a bit dry, but still very readable and surprisingly objective. And then at times it's like a hit in the gut. There were moments where I had to put the book down and calm myself.

I'm not one to cry at movies, the only two times I was really bawling was when watching "The Road to Guantanamo", "12 years a slave" and the Danish movie "A War"("Krigen"). There's something about realistic depictions of the horror of war and physical torture that get me in a way that emotional dramas just can't. Reading The Fighters reminded me of watching these movies, especially "A War". Humanizing war and soldiers, depicting the horrors they go through without justifying anything, is an amazing feat.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chivers focuses his narrative on the lives of fighters ( I’m so glad he didn’t use the word warrior)he met while reporting on the Middle East for the past two decades. We slip into and out of their lives during this endless period of war. His introduction is as elegant a denunciation of America’s prosecution of war as has been written yet, a damning indictment of American political and military leadership.

We meet a : Naval aviator, Green Beret, two Navy corpsman, Army helo pilot, Marine Lt, and Army infantry NCO. Some are lifers and others are there to do their part. Some will die, some will be grievously wounded, others will survive unscathed. We’ll meet a mother who confronts the President over what his decision did to her son.

Be ready to shed some tears. Life is unfair. We’ve been at war for seventeen years with no end in sight, yet “the fighters” and a new generation of fighters continue to step forward to serve.

Chivers tells their stories with a fervor but this is not hagiography. It is a stark glimpse into the harsh and unforgiving reality of war, one that too few Americans have any comprehension of because “they are at the mall.”

I had resisted reading this book because I’ve read too many like it. This one is different.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more reviews and bookish thoughts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

The Fighters by C.J. Chivers is a non-fiction book offering unnerving accounts of soldiers on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Chivers is a Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times journalist and former Marine Corps infantry officer.

This book is a riveting read which tells of the harsh truths, challenges and pains of fighting two wars in distant countries, away from home. If you like your “alternate facts”, or happy stories this book is not for you. But if you’d like to read what US soldiers are going through, face some ugly truths and difficult facts this is it.

The author tells real stories of real soldiers that have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, some are new to the military and others are veterans of other conflicts. Their stories are told from a humane point of view and takes into account the human factor and the toll fighting takes on one’s self and one’s family.

The book is told from a third person perspective, but we read the background on each of them and see them as individuals, not just soldiers who are small cogs in a big machine who have opinions on what they do, why they do it, and suffer the consequences along with hundreds of thousands of others.

Mr. Chivers’ does some analysis, not much but some, in the course of the book. His analysis is reasonable and based on facts, you or I might agree or disagree with some of them, but that is what reasonable people do. The author does not make up facts, but makes reasonable assumptions and tries to stay as objective as possible.

The book is very real and raw, it makes several points – some on geopolitical matters which I do not know enough to comment on, but others on local level. One of the main points is how the US, as a whole, needs to treat our veterans better, especially those that are suffering from physical and/or mental wounds. Coming home broken is not a weakness, but one does need strength and support, as well as no social stigma, to ask for help when needed.

If you feel inclined, please support the Wounded Warrior Project, or any other of the fantastic organizations that were set up to help these veterans.

[Joseph Stieb · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the absolute best books I have read on soldiers' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. Chivers follows 5 or 6 "main characters" through campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan starting in 2001. He really lets the soldiers' lives and perspectives come through with minimal editorial comment, and the stories are harrowing and moving, especially those of Mike Slebodnik and Dustin Kirby. Sadly, what emerges as a subtext of the book is the futility of these wars as well as the American public's general removal from the burden of service. The epigraph at the start of the book says it all. Graffitied on the toilet wall of the town center in Ramadi, someone wrote: "America is not at war. The Marine Corps is at war. America is at the mall."

[Elmwoodblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

America is not at war.
The Marine Corps is at war;
America is at the mall.

--handwritten note on the wall of the government
center in Ramadi, Iraq, in January 2007


C.J.Chivers has written a factual 'The Things They Carried' for a new generation, a book that is not always easy to read. Times of relative calm, almost tedium, explode into action; violence gives way to caring, guilt, regret; honor and courage are immediate and costly, in the fire teams on the ground and the small cockpits in the air. As in any war, perhaps in anything society does, much of the hard work and sacrifice falls on the small players in the scope of history. Chivers tells their stories here, in wrenching detail, wounds and all.

In the preface, Chivers quotes retired Marine Corps General John F. Kelly speak of the very few Americans who have volunteered to put on the uniform in the modern age, calling these men and women "the best 1 percent this country produces." Chivers lets us hear their voices, see their lives during war and in its aftermath. Maybe the other 99 percent, after sitting with these stories, can better understand the cost of wars fought in our names, even if they personally know no one in uniform, even if they are at the mall.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fighters honors the soldiers who try to see through the fog of war every day: the medical corpsman who has to triage a roadside bomb and the helicopter instructor pilot who takes his students through their first missions. They may not be directly connected to ‘why’ of the missions, but they certain are there for their fellow solders. This is a much needed text. Much needed because not enough has been documented about the last 17 years of war. And Chibers gives us a near-complete look, not at the directors, but the grunts with their hands on the triggers and the responsibilities on their shoulders. I commend Chivers’s dedication to expose the report on the challenges of these and all the soldiers.

Full review can be found here: http://paulspicks.blog/2018/07/01/the...

All my reviews can by found on my blog: https://paulspicks.blog

[Wine of Ages · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke my heart. The amount of pressure and pain in all forms, emotionally, physically, spiritually that our good men have gone through is unimaginable.

While I was out partying and enjoying my youth my future husband was over seas living a life I that even if explained and told about I would never fully understand. A lot of our men have come back broken, broken in places that can’t be seen. Some trying to get help and other feelings as nothing or no one can help them.

I’ve always felt grateful and proud for what my husband and all the other men and woman have done so that I can stand here today free. And this book, so wonderfully and throughly written has deepened that feeling.

[Grouchy Historian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different spin on the typical book of soldiers at war like Band of Brothers. Follows Americans through multiple combat tours spanning several years and both Iraq and Afghanistan. Show the real cost that over a decade of war had on these warriors.

[Gary Detrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the beginning, I did not know if I was going to become engaged in reading this or not. I was wrong as I found that it started drawing me in. The events unfold chronologically as the wars progress. Chivers does a great job revisiting most of the books main characters as their eventful stories unfold during the progression of the wars.
Again, I found myself dumfounded by some of the decisions the top brass make as we put our soldiers lives in danger, as some of the characters do also. As I've spoken with different veteran's through the years, I find that this is a reoccurring thought amonst many of them.
This book lays reality on the table as these soldiers try and balance their home and war lives. A discouraging, painful and heartfelt read at times due to the real life events. Chivers bring his interviews with these soldiers and their families to life. Well researched and documented with those whom were actually involved. This is a good eye-opener for those whom want to learn about our modern warfare tactics and decisions.

[Mari Romancegirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband is a veteran and he served in Desert Storm and Iraq Freedom. I found this book very informative. I am frustrated every day in which the VA Administration cares for our veterans, and this book confirms how inept they continue to be.

Our veterans deserve better.

[Oliver Matheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"On one matter there can be no argument. The foreign policies that sent these men and women abroad, with an emphasis on military activity and visions of reordering foreign nations and cultures, did not succeed. It is beyond honest dispute that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq failed to achieve what their organizers promised, no matter the party in power or the officers in command."

C.J. Chivers does not mince words when it comes to the continued failure of the US Army's involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that does not stop him from detailing the countless instances of bravery that have occurred over the past 17 years, and that's what makes this such a necessary read. Chivers paints a complete picture all from the stories of the people who lived it, and I believe everyone will be better off if they read this book.

[Marshall Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that should be read by every senior government official and every military flag officer. While reading this book I was listening to a podcast on Fat Leonard, the Malaysian businessman who corrupted so many Navy officers. Just as all of those senior Navy officers, who took large bribes and used prostitutes, skated serious punishment, no senior flag officers who formulated military policy in Iraq and Afghanistan were punished for their disastrous mistakes and miscalculations.

[Julia Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to try to understand at least a small part of what life is like for the men and women fighting in today's wars. Chivers reports with a straight-forward style that allows the soldiers to have the spotlight. He doesn't need to embellish because the stories themselves are so deeply moving.
Anyone who talks about respecting the troops would do well to think about what these troops have really been through.

[Mike Prewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

3/3 great books about history. This one was the most interesting and realistic because war is real and it affects every person serving. This was an intimate look at real heroes serving and their stories. There were some very disturbing and graphic stories that I barely couldn't read. It was rough. This was an emotional searing experience to read. Highly recommend it if you're a history buff.

[Chaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent writing on a very tough to read topic. But the care given to this subject was excellent. Whether you are for, against, or indifferent to our forever wars, this is a must-read, and one you will not regret.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - heartbreaking, depressing, inspiring, with poignant prose. I’m happy this book exists, and appreciate its singular focus on the people who have fought these wars. I appreciate the hard but simple questions it so clearly illuminates.

The chapter on the Korengal was very well done.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chivers is a brilliant writer and this is a brutally honest book about the actual experiences of soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. The commitment, the conflicted feelings of motivation and purpose, the impossibility of the roles they were assigned to, etc.

[Sean Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Fighters" is an essential read to understand how those who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq experienced those wars. Chivers is not concerned with the big picture politics or the clear ineptitude at the top. He wants readers to get to know and try to understand those who served in the wars that marked the early 2000s that most seem to already have forgotten.

Chivers follows half a dozen individuals from a pilot in the earliest days of the Afghanistan bombing campaign to a navy corpsman grievously injured by a sniper's bullet to the face. Chivers tells why they enlisted, how they felt about why they were there and their efforts to do their best at what they had been asked to do.

"The Fighters" isn't going to give you a play-by-play of the leadership failures that characterized the Bush presidency, but it will give you a human view of how those failures impacted the Americans tasked with enacting those decisions.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A powerful book. Sometimes you can sense the politics of the author. However it still illustrates the true brotherhood of soldiers from all the services. It’s been said that there’s no stronger bond than that of men who have faced death in battle. This book serves to prove that true.

[Izzy Telecky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the men and women in this book for your service

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Powerful and personal- but acknowledge the caution of reading emotional accounts of recent history.

[Medusa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Five stars to these fighters. 2.5 for the book, which may be searing if you’ve not already read extensively about the realities of combat, particularly in the GWOT. for me it veers pretty close to a god squad / gott mit uns point of view that I find wearisome, false, and troubling.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book written by interviews by the author of the subjects of the book or by the author’s presence with the soldiers or pilots on missions.

It covers the reasons why they joined and how they each dealt with combat, mistakes made, being injured (both seen and unseen injuries) and how they each came to realize the wars went on too long and ceased being a war against Al Qaeda and the toll it took on the locals, them, the region and the world.

I highly recommend this book it is one of the best books dealing with all aspects of the war and war in general.