Within hours of 9/11, America's war on terrorism fell to those like the 23 Marines of the First Recon Battalion, the first generation dispatched into open-ended combat since Vietnam. They were a new breed of American warrior unrecognizable to their forebears-soldiers raised on hip hop, Internet porn, Marilyn Manson, video games and The Real World, a band of born-again Christians, dopers, Buddhists, and New Agers who gleaned their precepts from kung fu movies and Oprah Winfrey. Cocky, brave, headstrong, wary, and mostly unprepared for the physical, emotional, and moral horrors ahead, the "First Suicide Battalion" would spearhead the blitzkrieg on Iraq, and fight against the hardest resistance Saddam had to offer.
Generation Kill is the funny, frightening, and profane firsthand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the randomness, brutality, and camaraderie of a new American war.
From Publishers Weekly
Wright rode into Iraq on March 20, 2003, with a platoon of First Reconnaissance Battalion Marines—the Marine Corps' special operations unit whose motto is "Swift, Silent, Deadly." These highly trained and highly motivated First Recon Marines were the leading unit of the American-led invasion force. Wright wrote about that experience in a three-part series in Rolling Stone that was hailed for its evocative, accurate war reporting. This book, a greatly expanded version of that series, matches its accomplishment. Wright is a perceptive reporter and a facile writer. His account is a personality-driven, readable and insightful look at the Iraq War's first month from the Marine grunt's point of view. It jibes with other firsthand reports of the first phase of the Iraqi invasion (including David Zucchino's Thunder Run), showing the unsettling combination of feeble and vicious resistance put up by the Iraqi army, the Fedayeen militiamen and their Syrian allies against American forces bulldozing through towns and cities and into Baghdad. Wright paints compelling portraits of a handful of Marines, most of whom are young, street-smart and dedicated to the business of killing the enemy. As he shows them, the Marines' main problem was trying to sort out civilians from enemy fighters. Wright does not shy away from detailing what happened when the fog of war resulted in the deaths and maimings of innocent Iraqi men, women and children. Nor does he hesitate to describe intimately the few instances in which Marines were killed and wounded. Fortunately, Wright is not exposing the strengths and weaknesses of a new generation of American fighting men, as the misleadingly hyped-up title and subtitle indicate. Instead, he presents a vivid, well-drawn picture of those fighters in action on the front lines in the blitzkrieg-like opening round of the Iraq War.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com
Straight from the depths of embeddedness comes Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War (Putnam, $24.95), Evan Wright's group portrait of a Marine Corps platoon that fought in Iraq last year. In Wright's view, this sample of the front line of the American military "would be virtually unrecognizable to their forebears in 'The Greatest Generation.' . . . These young men represent what is more or less America's first generation of disposable children. More than half of the guys in the platoon come from broken homes and were raised by absentee, single, working parents. Many are on more intimate terms with video games, reality TV shows and Internet porn than they are with their own parents. Before the 'War on Terrorism' began, not a whole lot was expected of this generation other than the hope that those in it would squeak through high school without pulling too many more mass shootings in the manner of Columbine." Near the end of Wright's stay, one member of the platoon concluded, "War doesn't change anything. . . . This place was [expletive] before we came, and it's [expletive] now. I personally don't believe we 'liberated' the Iraqis. Time will tell." And yet this same naysayer, Wright reports, has since signed up for another mission.
Soldiers of Misfortune
Copyright 2004, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Evan Wright is a reporter for Rolling Stone.
《钱钟书评说七十年》:七十年的钱钟书“评说”,材料浩如烟海,考虑到《钱钟书评说七十年》的统一性,这里仅仅是选择、汇编了直
论鲁迅文学世界的个体思想呈现 内容简介 在中国文学传统里,自古多有社会本位文学,而匮乏个体本位文学,特别是积极的个体本位文学。鲁迅作为中国历史上*伟大的个体本位...
厉秋,一个看似温和却有主见的新好男人;君离尘,一个唯我独尊但命运乖舛的宰相。原本八竿子打不著的两人,却因为一场车祸事故而
大人気小説家・榎田尤利が「エロティック」をテーマに、3P、SM、●●●●など、いろんなHなシチュエーションを描く【エロ特化】初
钢管混凝土结构-理论与实践(第二版) 内容简介 本书通过列举一些典型的工程实例,介绍了钢管混凝土在实际工程中的应用概况,旨在帮助读者具体地了解这种结构的特点和可...
HumansofNewYorkmeetsPornforWomeninthiscollectionofcandidphotos,clevercaptions,an...
《向左走‧向右走》是幾米以藝術家心靈寫出的城市人心情故事。他細細觀察城市生活的外觀與城市人的內心,以豐富的想像力,編織「他
论诗 本书特色 这是一套给年轻读者编选的民国人文社会科学方面的学术、文化普及读物。她着眼于将民国那些虽经岁月沉浮,仍不掩其辉的人文社会科学学术、文化普及图书汇而...
呼兰河传 内容简介 本书创作于1942年,正是抗日战争*艰苦的阶段,这使远在香港的萧红更加怀念自己的故乡和童年,于是,她以自己的家乡与童年生活为原型,创作了这部...
身为一个恶魔,凶凶坏坏的才最像样,可飞波,却乖巧又友善,这让爸爸妈妈发愁,让老师同学讨厌。一天,被赶出学校的飞波碰到了小
小说课 本书特色 毕飞宇,1964年生于江苏兴化。1987年毕业于扬州师范学院中文系,同年赴南京任教。1998年入江苏省作家协会。20世纪80年代后期开始小说创...
当代国际诗坛-4 内容简介 本书是当代国际诗坛选集之第四辑。全书共分“第二届‘中坤国际诗歌奖’专辑”、“天空与星座”、“帕米尔之声”和“国际诗坛动态”四个栏目。...
唐代关中本土文学群体研究 本书特色 《唐代关中本土文学群体研究》着重对唐代关中本土文学群体蔚兴及其构成的内在理路与外部环境进行互动分析,对其与关中地域文化、唐代...
欲读书结 内容简介 欲读书者,处于未读书、不读书之狼狈处境而粉饰之谓也。犹清代曾剃头国藩手下大将战太平军,不说“屡战屡败”而说“屡败屡战”。思书而不可读,便成“...
《InDesign CS6数字化版面设计:设计+制作+印刷+商业模版(第2版)》内容简介:本书主要讲解如何使用InDesign进行数字化版式设计与
全国首届中国山水画展览作品集 内容简介 为了展示近几年来我国山水画创作的成绩,由中国美术家协会委托安徽省美术家协会,承办了全国首届山水画展。经过近一年的筹备,在...
萤火虫快乐语文第一辑:看图作文一级棒 本书特色 这套书的一个共通特点是期待进行语文学习的操作性训练,为的是训练语文思维,提升语文能力;其中一些语文学习方式...
记忆术 内容简介 凭借六次世界记忆大赛冠军的超凡技能,多米尼克?奥布赖恩在《记忆术》一书中详细的阐述了已经被证明和非常实际可用的全部技能,以此来帮助改善你的记忆...
在这本书中,斯台芬·茨威格从世界文坛上选择了三个作家作为他研究的对象。他们是意大利作家卡萨诺瓦、法国作家司汤达和俄国作家
姐姐名叫橡子,妹妹名叫果子。一场飞来横祸,夺取了姐妹俩挚爱的双亲。两人无奈转由性格乖僻的爷爷代为照料,在此过程中学到了很