American Soldier

by Tommy Franks, Malcolm McConnell

To America, he was a hero. To his troops, he was a soldier. Now hear his story. Each new era in American history has given rise to a military leader who defines the nation’s proudest traditions―of leadership and honor, of vision and commitment and courage in the face of any challenge. From Washington and U.S. Grant to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Norman Schwarzkopf, these men have captured the nation’s imagination, and entered the small pantheon of

Genres: Biography, Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction, Autobiography, War, Memoir

590 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A biography of an American Hero. The story of Tommy Franks, Army Soldier, General, Texan, Patriot. An interesting life story written and read by the man himself. If you are curious about Gulf War 2 and the invasion and conquering of Saddam Hussein's Iraq this should give you an in depth look at the strategies and decisions of that military campaign.

Yes, some Americans- especially liberals- scream their scorn as to why we invaded Iraq. They expound on their anti-war sentiments... Why did we have to depose Saddam? He wasn't hurting anybody. Really? He slaughtered his own people with both bullets, hangings and the use of chemical weapons... he gassed his own citizens JUST LIKE HITLER DID. The wimps who said stay out of WW2 spawned wimpy children and these children said let Saddam do what he wants to his people.

Franks gives an unclassified review of the strategies and tactics employed by our brave soldiers to wipe the stain of Saddam's brutal dictatorship off the face of the earth. As with every war and armed conflict, the aftermath and the struggle and fighting for control and power was brutal and still is in 2023 both in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Biden's haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan and the quick takeover by the brutal Taliban is an embarrassment to the USA as it should be. The planning OR LACK OF wasted the gains achieved by both of military and state department. Biden and his military/state advisors should be ashamed and all should be fired.

[Cordell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book. I enjoyed this explanation of the lead up to the invasion of AFG and Iraq. At least from his point of view and in the way he tells it, the lead up to war jumped through all the right hoops before actually committing. I think if you read this book your takeaway would be that it was inevitable unless you are all bluff.

A couple of other observations. One, he was clearly a good general and officer but he suffers from something that all of us suffer from and that is relying on his own experiences and believing they work for everyone.

For example it is next to impossible for an enlisted soldier to enlist and move into the officer corp as he did. To apply for OCS (Officer Candidate School) as an enlisted man, you now have to have completed your B.S. Degree prior to application. And you have to have your commission completed before age 26. (Try to finish a 4-year degree in 6 years while serving on active duty and deploying to the field every 3 months.) In his day your could apply for OCS with 2 years of college, or less with a waiver, then complete your degree within 10 years of commissioning, and there was not age limitation on application only on what age you were for what grade, but that could be waived. I know because I worked at 6th U.S. Army’s Officer board for 3 years as the changes were being made. So he spent much of his senior years thinking that all those young men have the same shot I had. Not so.

And he makes a lot of similar assumptions that are mentioned in the book about how it is for the enlisted, assumptions based on his experiences from 20+ years prior to the new reality. I retired as a Master Sergeant with almost 26 years and he clearly sees things through rose-colored glasses when it comes to the enlisted men.

Second the book was interesting even though the only real part of it I expected to read about and enjoy was his take on the war. He had an interesting life and the story reads well.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting, very easy read. Franks is very earthy, lacing his talk with profanity and seeming like a parade ground master sergeant; you certainly can't confuse him for an intellectual, more of an innovator.He attended high school with Laura Bush and served in Vietnam. he later became head of the Third Army. Most of it covers Franks' tenure as the commander of CENTCOM during the start of both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In these invasions, Franks repudiated the Powell doctrine with speed and precision firepower.The book also provides an important review of the facts regarding WMD in Iraq. Most Americans have apparently concluded that WMD were just a hoax cooked up by the Bush administration to justify the invasion. Franks addresses this issue straight up.
Very interesting because it is nearly impossible for an enlisted grunt to move up as high as he did. Definitely check this out.

[Jeff Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely, unequivocally, superb!

How many times have you heard in recent times, in the political spectrum that the men, Generals, making the decisions that send our young men and women into the line of fire, have no idea what it’s like at the front? They sit back and give orders while they remain in the safe confines of their headquarters. This might have been true during Vietnam. Thank you LBJ and Robert MacNamara. But not during General Franks watch.
When I started reading, I flashed back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Lucian Truscott and others. All of these men had very humble beginnings and one helluva a work ethic. Tommy Franks would have been right with these men if born in that era. Luckily for us, he wasn’t. He joined up ’64 and was baptized under fire in Vietnam. He, like his predecessors never took his rank as a sign of privilege, he took it as a learning opportunity, and learn he did.
Many forget how corrupt and horrible the military was after Vietnam. Drugs infested all the organizations and respect for officers was lacking at best. It took men like Franks to rebuild and re-discipline the army. Was it easy? Hell no. But he would be laying the ground work for future fighters and leaders. It would first bear fruit in Desert Storm and then Anaconda and Iraqi Freedom.
You will be amazed at the cast of individuals he surrounded himself with and had the honor of serving with. Almost every one of these men earned their stripes in Vietnam, on the front lines, Grenada or Desert storm.
Now, how many think the higher the rank, the less paperwork and planning goes with the job? If you’re a title X, possibly, but if you’re a Major General putting together one of the greatest coalition forces the planet has ever seen, there aren’t enough hours in a day. Couldn’t help but think of Eisenhower and Operation Overlord. The parallels are striking!
Like all men in the military, there is one animal they’d rather not deal with unless they are disgruntled or retired and looking for their fifteen minutes of fame. You guessed correctly-the Press. He didn’t care for the press and was always amazed at how bias their reporting was even when they were embedded with the coalition forces. He would give the press all they needed to know without jeopardizing lives. If they didn’t get it right, he could care less. His job was to fight as swiftly, efficiently and with the least amount of loss to life as possible. Cozying up to the press wasn’t in his job description. To this day, we are still plagued with the same slanted media, only much worse. Enough of that.
After 9/11, Franks didn’t take a day off until the invasion of Iraq. A normal work day for he and his staff was sixteen hours, seven days a week. I was floored when I read this. But when you understand the direction he wanted the military to take and Washington, it was a monumental task. His focus, learned in Vietnam and Germany, was integrated co-ordination between all branches of the service. He tired of the mucking about of each branch fighting for itself and their importance. He convinced them, for the United States military to succeed, it was a joint team effort. If they work together, everyone will get credit. What a novel idea. Washington’s role would be policy and diplomacy. Let the generals do the fighting.
How he achieves this is a great blueprint for any medium to large company that is having organizational problems.
I could write another two pages on what a great story this is, but that is not the purpose of a review. It’s to entice new readers to give it a try.


The only part I didn’t like was the epilogue, but I didn’t deduct any stars because all of the material before this was outstanding. It wasn’t well organized and too jumpy. It came across as a bit rushed in order to meet a publishing deadline.

In every sense of the word, Mr. General Tommy Franks is an American and a Soldier!

Five Stars!

[Grahambo · Rating 1 out of 5]

You commanded two major theater war invasions and this was the best you could do? A two bit memoir that could have been written by a high schooler? Weak. At least you capitalized on your fame before the money ran out.

[Donovan Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a well written book. General Franks allows the reader to join in his journey from a Texas kid to a 4 Star General in charge of a theater of battle most will never fully comprehend. The strength of the book has to be how the General continues to build life lessons from great people throughout his life. Some of the people he learned from he didn't necessary agree with but he wasn't so blind as to dismiss what he could learn from and build upon.
His father's statement, "make 'em a hand" has stuck with me from the moment I read that line. Having worked in the cotton fields as a boy myself and not always being a good worker, I remember what a good hand looked like and strive now, and the young Franks did, to become one.
The insight General Franks shared along the way regarding various wars and how to seek for peace and how to aim for peace even when war seems inevitable was outstanding. His ability to troubleshoot and the practical way he wrote on 3x5 cards each day gave insight into his thought process.
I know there are many people who would not read this simply because they disagree with General Franks and others but that would be short sighted. Take the time to dig through this tome. It is long. It is detailed. But it can bring people back to a center where opposites ends of the spectrim can hopefully communicate.

[Peter Goggins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pros: great insight into the huge volumes of work to plan the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Correlates well with other accounts I’ve read, at least regarding the latter. Was nice to read about those awkward years between Vietnam and the fall of the USSR, where the entire army had to be rebuilt and remoralized.

The cons: this aged like milk left in a hot car. Filled with boomerisms, at least in the first half. There are billboard advertisements longer than the time spent addressing the huge, gaping flaws in the reasoning and follow-up regarding the second invasion of Iraq. Almost everything that the author recommended to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan after that was implemented poorly and cheaply. And like all autobiographies, the entire thing seems to be a means to cement the authors perspective and legacy, having rolled off the presses merely a year after the invasion.

[George William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rated 4.7
To America, he was a hero. To his troops, he was a soldier. Each new era in American history has given rise to a military leader who defines the nation’s proudest traditions―of leadership and honor, of vision and commitment and courage in the face of any challenge. From Washington and U.S. Grant to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Norman Schwarzkopf, these men have captured the nation’s imagination, and entered the small pantheon of American heroes. Written with amazing detail of such a difficult job.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Thomas Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story, is about the life of the United States Army General, Tommy Franks, and how he ascended from the rank of Second Lieutenant all the way up to being the Commander In Chief of the United States Central Command. As an autobiography, Tommy Ray Franks is the main character in this book. However, many of the significant characters include, Cathryn Jane Carley Franks, General Norman Schwarzkopf, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Crown Prince Abdullah II of Saudi Arabia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, and Sheik Mohammed Bin Zayed, Military Chief of Staff of the United Arab Emirates, as well as many others. The story, American Soldier, covers Tommy Franks' military career, beginning as a second Lieutenant in the Vietnam War, to being a Brigadier General in the Persian Gulf War, and on to being a four star general and Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command in the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. As a commander, Franks faced many problems during his military career, such as trying to be popular with his troops, while at the same time, trying to stay within the limits of Army regulations. As a general officer, Franks has visited many countries in order to keep up support for the ongoing War on Terror. My favorite character, is Tommy Franks.

I couldn't really relate to the characters in the story. I mean, the achievements that I have made, pale in comparison to the achievements of Tommy Franks. It's no small thing to be given command of the United States Central Command.

I believe this is an extraordinary book. I believe this, because, like the recently published Autobiography, American Sniper, written by Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, it combines the sense of duty to God, Country and Family that many Americans feel. They also give detailed stories around true American heroes and their accomplishments. I don't really know if I did have one favorite part in this story, in my opinion, the entire book is a masterpiece. What Franks did really well, was being able to achieve so much, with very little resources at his disposal.

I would recommend this novel to another person. I would recommend it because I believe that a lot of people do need to read this and understand that our freedoms, that so many of us take for granted everyday, do not come cheap. We are free because of brave men and women like Tommy Franks and Chris Kyle who answered their country's call, and fought so that we could wake up each day being able to live our lives freely, and safely. I believe that most everyone, especially those who are planning to join the military, would love this book.

[Relstuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting to read about how the attack in Afganistan and Iraq was planned and executed. Includes behind the scenes discssions with the President and Rumsfeld during and after 9/11. Also interesting to note the differences in how we have changed the way our military command structure works with CENTCOM commanding all services in a geographical area rather than the different branches of the services controlling their assets as we did in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. It seems like the practice works well here. Interesting to note that after commanding CENTCOM Gen Franks turned down the chief of the Army job becasue he was only interested in a warfighting position.

His experiences in Vietnam as a young artillary officer was a high point of the book as he was in the thick of the fighting on many occaisions. It is somewhat comforting to see commanders sending people to die that have experienced combat themselves and know the price and how to count the cost.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good autobiography on a respectable man and his rise in the Army. But as importantly, it reminded me what we have forgotten or overlooked: that during the 1990's Sadam Hussein was an increasingly flagrant and belligerent international menace, and high-ranking people--including then-President Clinton--were beginning to draw up plans for his ouster, by invasion if necessary. All this a few years before 9/11.

[Brent McGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story of a man who found his way in the Army. Close to getting kicked out of college and no idea what to do in life, he joins the Army.
With astonishing drive and intelligence now unleashed he transformed much of what the military thinks and does.
The epilogue on middle east affairs isn't necessary, but he feels very strongly about that part of the world. And, really, I don't know many other thinkers who could do better.
Overall, this is a very inspiring book.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many good insights into the lead-up and the initial conduct of Operation Enduring Freedom. But better than that is the history of the person himself - especially since the actual information regarding the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are not available for independent validation.

[Joy]

"reading" this by listening to an audio book downloaded on iTunes. I'm only about 15 minutes into a 6 hour narrative, but so far it's been very good...

[Polarbearandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh... this book was not what i had hope for, although the section on 9/11 and afganistan were really interesting.

[David Dallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book I have ever read about a true born military leader.

[Maureen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must say...I actually like the movie better than the book. The book had a lot of stuff on guns...that I was not interested in, but I loved the story.

[Robert Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories of Special Forces from Iraq to Afghanistan (and also Vietnam)

[Lynnette Goebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the thickness of this book, I enjoyed reading it. I often became quite involved in the story and read for longer than I intended. The first half was mostly about Tim Franks life. How he became the man, the soldier that he is. An interesting tidbit was that he also grew up in Midland, Texas which years later made a difference in working with President George W Bush. His story was often very human with personal relationships and not just details.

I appreciated learning the deeper truths behind 9/11 and the reactions to it. Hearing from the people who were in the action and reaction, much of what I had heard from the media was shown false. Hearing how the military planned the reaction to Al-Quaid a and the Taliban in Afghanistan was impressive. Reading how Operation Iraqi Freedom was planned and executed was amazing. I've always been impressed with our military - now I know why. Well worth the read.

I love learning the history of our country. This is a great book to read about current (or in my lifetime) history. The information was carefully checked against classified documents.

[Kevin Hanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great memoir by a modern day soldier. I enjoyed his story, and the anecdotes. I finished with a great respect and appreciation for those who wage war in my behalf in today's world. Man am I glad I do not have to do this.

He did a great job of explaining the complexities of his role in the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. He explained in great detail the expectations placed on him by Pres Bush and Def. Sec. Rumsfeld, the American and foreign press, the foreign coalition forces, the American people, etc. How his head did not explode from getting ripped in so many directions, I'll never know. Also, I greatly respected the extent that he (and all our military) went through to avoid civilian casualties, and wage the war only on those combatants who intended us harm.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that this is a good book. It is not, however, an excellent book. Maybe this is a characteristic of all auto-biographies (I tend to read biographies), but GEN Franks paints his actions as pretty much brilliant. Yes, he does give credit to his subordinates, but he also fails to acknowledge a number of his own failings (mainly by not mentioning them or glossing over them - he does not blame others for his mistakes).

I would recommend reading other books that describe the Second Gulf War before reading this book. While the majority of the book is about the rest of his life, you will want to have a more balanced outlook on the planning that led up to the war, as well as the attempts to rebuild the country following the war.

[Alex Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm having a hard time thinking of a memoir that could have aged this poorly. Even with a writing partner, it comes across like the lovechild between a country music video and a commentary segment on Fox News. There is no shred of humility beyond the superficial "Aww shucks" country boy affect to be found here about initiating and then vastly underestimating the duration and consequence of America's biggest geopolitical blunder since Vietnam. Was he solely responsible? Of course not. Does this book sound hubristic and tone-deaf in hindsight? Oh yeah. If anything, what's useful here is for leaders and pundits of all stripes to learn that the arc of history is indeed long and the wisest course to ensure you stay on the right side of history is humility, even in apparent victory.

[James Pritchert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent pure and simple. I was amazed at all of the similarities between us and I immediately formed a bond with the author. It appears that in our youth, we booth took similar paths to the Army and of course he succeeded enormously while I turned a patriotic but more mediocre performance. That notwithstanding, I highly enjoyed the story of his life and how he went about orchestrating the overthrow of Sadam Hussein. This story include some wonderful insights into General Franks personal life and clarifies some points about his public life. I can highly recommend this book to anyone.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tight well-written first person telling of history and the war on terror. Tommy Franks is a well-spoken storyteller and a level-headed leader. I was impressed with his openness, his opinions of others he's worked with, not all of them flattering, and his ability to assess a situation quickly and calmly. I am glad I was listening to the abridged version of this audiobook because by about CD number 5, I was worn out with war. I listened to at least 2/3 of the book, but by then, I was done and needed something lighter. This is a heavy duty deep dive into war stories, strategy, and the men and women who serve. My heart and soul is grateful for them and even more so now.

[Luke Koran · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the “4 star” - General Tommy Franks and forever the commander who successfully and rapidly defeated the Afghanistan and Iraqi regimes of terror in the early 2000s. You couldn’t ask for a better patriot to tell the tale of the early stages of the Global War on Terror, especially since Tommy’s narrative style is so down-to-earth, at least for an Army lifer. Your reception of the second half of this book may come down to your intimate knowledge of Operation Enduring [and Iraqi] Freedom, as well as how each prolonged war and occupation makes you feel deep down. But for being published in 2004, and by the military commander-in-chief, you can’t ask for a much better book.

[Paul Quick · Rating 3 out of 5]

excellent book to learn army lingua. The first part of the book is quite different than the next part i.e. almost like two different authors. I liked the first 250 pages where he is more personal and the reader gets insight into who is. Definite 4-star book at that point. In the second part he is more detahed from speaking about his growth as a individual and more talking about his job. However, two of the chapters about Operation Iraqi Freedom to gain insight into his strategic approach and the operation results. Worth reading for the military enthusiast but does not provide much insight into his psyche in the second half of his life.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part 1 Deep Roots and Part 2 Professional Soldier where good because not only did he talk about his life but he also was reflective on his life about some of the choices he made. Part 3 Commander In Chief and Part 4 A Revolution in Warfare were good but there was little reflecting during those times. The majority of those sections where just straight forward what happened during the war. I was interesting to see the war as he saw it happened but I wanted more reflecting on the decisions he made just like in Parts 1 and 2. Also, the amount of praising he does for the administration is a bit much at times. The book was a decent read but it could have been better.

[Ibrahim Abo yousef · Rating 4 out of 5]

سيرة حياة توم فرانكس وهو قائد القوات المركزية ،، ذكر فيه تسلسل احداث حياته ، وكان هو في منصبه حين اعلان الحرب على طالبان افغانستان والعراق ،،
وجهة نظري للكاتب نقل لوجهة نظر السياسة الأمريكية العامة العلنية بدون ذكر وجهة النظر الأخرى على سبيل القطع ، ما يستفاد من هذا الكتاب فن القيادة وطريقة التعامل العسكرية مع المرؤوسين الأجتهاد والتفاني في العمل حتماً ،، لكل مجتهدٍ نصيب ،، المنطقة التي عاش بها تكساس والجامعة التي التحق بها ( يال) لها دور في تولي اعلى المناصب فهم مصنع لقادة الولايات المتحدة ،
في النهاية هذا الكتاب يعتبر كتاب سيرة ذاتية لشخص تبوأ اعلى المناصب العسكرية في عالمنا.

[TENN2ARIZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

"American Soldier" is a pleasing and interesting read about Gen. Tommy Franks. I think he is a bit shy on data to justify the Iraq war, but then he is a military man responding to orders above; the issue of accountability lies with his SecDef (Rumsfeld), VP (Cheney, and President (Bush, G.). He also only lightly hints at the problems that developed with Bremer and the CPA. He does paint a good picture of the multiple organizations and professionals needed to mount large enforcement efforts. Thus, it would be a basic reading for the current SecDef and his ilk.