No One Left Behind: The Lt. Comdr. Michael Scott Speicher Story

Rating:
Summary: Still good, but a little sensationalized
Review: Amy Waters Yarsinske must first be commended for her six-part series in The Virginian-Pilot that lead to the reclassification of Michael Scott Speicher, the Persian Gulf War's first casualty, as "Missing-Captured." Those articles eventually formed the basis for the astonishing "No One Left Behind," a chronicle of a military tragedy and an unbroken chain of mistakes.

"No One Left Behind" works on many levels. The beginning of the book is a detailed look at the opening stages of the first Persian Gulf War. The middle of the book deals with the fascinating forensics that went into investigating and re-constructing what really happened to Capt. Speicher when he was shot down. The final portion of the book dives into the murky world of military intelligence.

Mrs. Yarsinske has crafted a very detailed account of every false step in the Speicher mystery, which makes for an engaging story as readers associate with the people who fought the military bureaucracy and continued investigating the Speicher mystery.

This story's achillies heel lies in its deviation from the accepted facts regarding the mystery. Mrs. Yarsinske tries so hard to establish an element of coverup and conspiracy that some of her unconventional theories end up clashing with each other. For instance, she actually tells two different versions of her "friendly fire" theory in the opening chapters, and eventually refutes one of them during the middle third.

Overall, "No One Left Behind" is a gripping and detailed story about an aviator left behind enemy lines, and still a book that reads as if its a novel. It's a commendable piece of journalism, but readers should balance the author's account with alternate press accounts of what really happened to Capt. Michael Scott Speicher on January 16, 1991.

Rating:
Summary: No one Left Behind?
Review: The book is an investigation about the fate of a US Navy pilot name Scott Speicher. He was the very first pilot to be shot down over Iraq On January 17, 1991 (the day Operation Desert Storm began). He was the only one shot down that night. He was presumed dead. But two years later the discovery of the wreckage and lots of evidence (the ejection seat and canopy found far away from the crash site) proved that he survived the crash. Plus more shocking evidence that he may be held captive. If that is true. Then Scott Speicher may or still be the Longest held American POW in American History beating Vietnam Veteran Jim Thompson's record (he was held for 9 years in Vietnam)

As this book shows, this is truly a great tragedy that could have been easily avoided

(see "Glory Denied" another great but sad book for more info on Thompson's experience).

Rating:
Summary: A shocking story
Review: This book tells the story of missing airman Scott Speicher. The author believes that the pilot is alive in Iraqi captivity, and in her own way she takes us behind closed doors.

What happened to Speicher? Based on facts obtained in her own studies, she gives us her opinion about what happened and is still going on. She indicates that certain US officials are as much to blame as Saddam Hussein for Speicher's plight, and that is frightening.

At the same time it is interesting to learn how Speicher's family and friends reacted to his disapearance. It is touching to read fragments from Scott's last letter to his wife; the letter he had left behind in case something should happen to him. At the same time his friends' desciptions of him as a 'good man' really make you wish that he's alive and soon will be able to come home to a better life.

I find the last chapter especially shocking. It made me lie awake and think long after I should have been asleep.

Rating:
Summary: No One Left Behind: The Lt. Comdr. Scott Speicher Story
Review: This is a masterfully crafted story of the bittersweet story of a Navy pilot lost in the first Gulf War only to become a hot-button story in the second Gulf War action. Today, the American military reports Special Forces assets inside Iraq to help locate this pilot, brought back to the living largely through the work of this author and her meticulous research of his case. The book is brilliantly written narrative nonfiction.

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: Would the United States knowingly leave one of their own behind during the First Gulf Conflict? Amy Waters Yarsinke, the author, seems to think yes, they would.

We start with the facts; Michael Scott Speicher was flying a plave that was shot down over Iraq during the early stages of the Gulf War Conflict. After that, we are presented with evidence (from Iraqis )backing up the theory that he was killed and a whole slew of evidence he survived and, indeed, was still alive in the late 1990's.

Perhaps now that Saddam Hussein's regime has fallen and Abu Graib prison in in the hands of the Allies, Warsinke's claims may not be so readily believable however there is strong circumstancial evidence that Speicher survived the crash and fell into the hands of the Iraqis.

An interesting book firmly pushing the 'He's alive' theory. Maybe he is.