Rating: 
Summary: All Over But The Healing
Review: Rick Bragg says that he often writes about people who step in front of a moving train. That analogy certainly works for his just released book about Jessica Lynch. I can think of no writer more qualified to tell Jessica's story than Bragg. He is a first class journalist, having won the Pulitzer, and comes from a region of the country, rural Alabama, not unlike the West Virginia where Lynch grew up. (Since I grew up in rural East Tennessee, I'll take the temerity to make that judgment.)Although Bragg had to have written this book quickly, it does not suffer from haste or sloppy writing. Bragg doesn't waste words-- and while I miss his humor, I understand that what he is about here is serious business. His account of the ambush of the now famous ill-fated convoy from the 507th Maintenance Company captures the immediacy and horror of battle. It's as good writing about the awfulness of war as you'll read. The narrative is slim. That's as it should be. The event in Lynch's life that the world wants to know about is her capture and what happened to her while she was a POW. There is little of that information available and we may know now most of what we'll ever know. Bragg also discusses Lynch's growing up in West Virginia as well as her immediate and extended families. Her appeal is obvious: she is hardly more than a teenager, blonde, green-eyed, fragile and, from everything Bragg says, honest. She is our daugher, sister, cousin, and rightly or wrongly, hers is the face the public most associates with the American soldier in Iraq. Jessica Lynch does not consider herself a hero. (I'm reminded that Senator John McCain, another famous American POW, said that there was nothing heroic about getting captured by the enemy.) Bragg discusses the initial sainthood bestowed on her by the government and media and the later disillusionment in some circles because she didn't immediately disown the hype and inaccurate information that was fed to the hungry public. They expect this from a twenty year old who has had many of her bones broken and crushed, was suffering from malnutrition (it is the consensus of everybody involved that she would have died shortly if she had not been rescued by U. S. forces) and in her own words "cannot go to the bathroom." As one of her neighbors said, "She was courageous to do what she done in the first place. . . I couldn't have done it. . . How was she going to set the record straight from days of surgery and fleeting consciousness?" If she is not a hero-- does it matter-- she comes across as a decent, brave young woman. Her best friend was Lori, a Native American, whom Bragg pays tribute to, along with Lynch's other comrades who died in that awful massacre. The Lynch family, along with the Palestine community, are decent, salt-of-the-earth types as well. I bet I could identify most of those dishes the women brought in as the family awaited news of their "baby."
Lots of potato salad and banana pudding. It was heartening to read that Mr. Lynch, Jessica's dad, said that you cannot hate a whole country, particularly since Iraqi doctors apparently gave their own blood to help keep Jessica alive and an Iraqi civilian--Mohammed Odeh-al-Rehaief risked his own life to save hers. Whatever your feelings are about the rightness and wrongness of the U. S.'s invasion of Iraq, you have to feel empathy for this young woman. Her words "I am an American soldier too" have the ring of poetry and will be long remembered after she has had a chance to get on with her life.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a good read
Review: A nice person I'm sure but what a shame to make such a fuss about a soldier who couldn't even fire back because her gun had jammed. Not a good advertisement for a soldier. I feel sorry that she has put herself out in the public eye so that she can be judged. Not a well written book. Certainly not Bragg's best.
Rating: 
Summary: An American Hero--for honesty!
Review: I'm giving this book high marks not so much for the story interest, but for the former private's honesty. Here is a person who could easily have been corrupted into following the fictitious story of her plight that was presented by the government, military, and the media. Of course, this is not a book for analyzing these issues of propaganda. That will have to be done in other types of books. I have to wonder if some readers will have a negative reaction to Lynch's story because she tells the truth as she knows it. I can't say that she was a military hero since I believe that such a title should be dispensed to those who have acted above and beyond. Gratefully, she does not try to place that title upon herself. However, I do believe that she is a hero for her honesty.
Rating:
Summary: More Media Monopoly War Hype
Review: Thankfully, this media-created book is bombing. After two days, and after an initial printing of 500,000 copies, it's only #31 on Amazon and #22 on Barnes & Noble. That, in spite of having 14.9 million people watching the NBC Sunday night phoney docudrama, and wall-to-wall guest appearances on the usual media promotion shows. Hopefully, the several hundred thousand unsold copies of Rick Bragg's latest adventure in creative non-fiction will serve a better purpose being recycled than they would have cluttering up folks' bookshelves and brains. The best reviews of this book that I've seen are on stormfront.org.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: This was a fast, but enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping
Review: This is a gripping story - a must read. Many heroes died along side Jessica Lynch in the terrible battle in Nasiriyah. And while Jessica Lynch is not a war hero in the conventional sense she displayed heroic will to serve her country, be a good soldier, and to overcome dangers and challenges with dignity.
Rating:
Summary: Great American Story
Review: Who would have thought that a 19 year old girl from a small town would ever become the symbol of hope for the nation. That is exactly what happened with Jessi Lynch. Her story is one that has left a lasting image in my head. Her book has shown anyone can do anything. She has truly inspired me, and her words fill my heart everytime I think about the horror that she went through. This book has given me the belief that if Jessi Lynch can survive her ordeal I can make the best out of every day at home with my faimly. She does not want to be called a hero, but she is an inspiration. Jessi could have agreed with the hype and the media stories, but she took the high road and told the truth about the captivity. She is and will always be a true american inspriation.
Rating:
Summary: The real story is about the rescuers--and it's not told here
Review: Jessica Lynch doesn't have very much to say, and even with Rick Bragg's help, doesn't say it terribly well. Hers is clearly a passive story of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you're interested in the kind of guys who came to her rescue, however, read "NONE BRAVER--US Air Force Pararescuemen in the War on Terrorism." It's filled with action stories about real American heroes. Despite what you heard Diane Sawyer say, it was an Air Force PJ who got to Jessica first, who ripped the American Flag off his uniform and put it in her hands, and "packaged" her to be evacuated from the Iraqi hospital. When one of our people needs rescuing, odds are it's the Air Force PJs who do it. They are true, selfless heroes, living by the motto, "These things we do that others may live." NONE BRAVER is the story of their missions in the War on Terrorism. And on Amazon.com, it's a ***** book!
Rating:
Summary: Kudos to Jessica Lynch
Review: Kudos to Jessica Lynch for having the bravery and stamina to survive Iraq and the subsequent media crush. Sitting down with Diane Sawyer or Katie Couric should earn anyone a purple heart. Lynch's story, with Rick Bragg's assistance,is now enshrined as pure Yankee American myth; she's our generation's Betsy Ross, a modern female version of Sergeant York. But in terms of understanding the Iraq war and its effect on the human psyche under fire, I have turned to other books, namely Embedded:The Media at War in Iraq, by Bill Katovsky and Timothy Carlson. Included in their fascinating oral history of 60 reporters on the frontlines are a dozen in-depth interviews with WOMEN reporters whose bravery in combat conditions should be applauded.
Rating:
Summary: Not Braggs best, not much of a story
Review: A weak story and not Bragg's best writing. There are many better things to do than read this book.
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