Rating: 
Summary: Taut, tense, frightening and finally inspiring.
Review: David Zucchino has written a timeless account of the armored strikes that effectively captured Baghdad. Called "thunder runs," the idea was to thrust an armoured column into Baghdad with such force and violence that tyhe enemy could not resist and would know that the Americans could go where they want, when they wanted.
The first Thunder Run was through the suburbs of Baghdad to the main airport. Zucchino does a superlative job of describing the mishaps, mistakes, lost opportunities and fear attendant to any military operation. One can only marvel at the courage and resourcefulness of the men assigned this task.
The second Thunder Run was to be to the center of Baghdad just to broadcast to the Iraqis that, indeed, American forces could drive right into the heart of the government center, sweeping aside any opposition.
The commander of the operation felt it could go further: that the armored column could not only penetrate to the heart of Baghdad - but stay there as well. This would, it was argued, end the war.
Zucchino distinguishes himself as one of the finest narrators of war in this generation. His descriptions of the frantic Iraqi counter-attacks, the confusion, the almost random nature of death in combat run right to the heart.
Happily, Zuchhino leave politics at the doorstep. He describes combat, not the polemics and politics of this particular war. I am certain that I will be re-reading Thunder Run: the detail is just too vast to grasp in a single reading.
Jerry
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic account of the battle for Baghdad!
Review: Absolutely one of the best books of modern warfare! It equals if not exceeds the drama of Black Hawk Down. My mouth dropped open a few times reading of the actions some of the soldiers undertook during combat. Incredible, this book grabs you from the very start and makes it very hard to put down. No political opinions are expressed. It is combat up close and personal. I for one thought the Thunder Runs were cake walks. This book tells just how ill-informed the world was of the U.S. Army's Battle for Baghdad. I can't recommend this book enough. It is OUTSTANDING!!!Also recommend:
"The March Up: Taking Baghdad With The 1st Marine Division"
"Storm on the Horizon : Khafji--The Battle that Changed the Course of the Gulf War"
Rating: 
Summary: A well researched history of the "Thunder Runs".
Review: An overall well done history of the "Thunder Runs" to demonstrate to the press, the Hussein Regime, and the world that the US was in Baghdad, and in Baghdad to stay. A gripping account of the mismatch in quality and quantity of forces, underscored with accounts of the gory details of combat. This history shows overwhelmingly, that modern armor forces are matchless in dominating a low-tech enemy with poor local command and coordination. The toughness of the heavy US MBTs as well as the IFVs comes through in this book as cited in numerous examples. The overall toughness and adaptability of the US troops comes through as the overriding factor however. Using their skills and teamwork, the American soldier not only penetrated into the depths of the Hussein Palace complex, they then fought numerous battles to preserve logistical lines of contact, sometimes in thin skinned ammo trucks and fuel tankers in a hot battle zone, and then fought through the debilitating loss of the Brigade command post to an SSM to persevere against thousands of Ba'athists and Syrian mercenaries in making a claim to Baghdad's symbols of power. In summation, a well researched book, written in clear pose, with a little bit of dry objectivity thrown in, a recommended read for amateur theorists and military enthusiasts.
Rating:
Summary: 3rd ID TF 1-64 Mom Appreciates the Details of Thunder Run
Review: David Zucchino pulls the veil back and educates us regarding the true, brutal actions that the 3rd ID endured during the invasion. The TV reports painted a rather benign sense that invading Baghdad was rather easy. Zucchino sets the record straight. I had some sleepless nights after reading this account knowing what my son and all of those in the 3rd ID experienced.
Mary Ward, mom of a soldier
"Letters Home"
www.marehaven.com
Rating:
Summary: How Bagdad was Captured
Review: For many of us watching TV, it seemed that Baghdad fell without a fight. While there were embedded journalists on the thunder run of April 5 and the occupation of central Baghdad on April 7, they did not begin to capture the complexity of the operation, the ferocity of the fighting, or the bravery of the soldiers. This is a well researched, superbly written and balanced narrative of a great military operation. The book demonstrates that the military has learned that in order to succeed in battle it needs to delegate decisions to commanders in the field. However, it also depicts the intelligence, professionalism and compassion of the higher echelons. Zucchino describes the horror that battle entails however, he does not judge. The book is based primarily on interviews with participants on both sides of the conflict. The author engages you by developing their character rather than just relaying their accounts.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book on modern warfare
Review: If you thought, like I did, that the US military's removal of Saddam Hussein from power was a matter of just rolling tanks into Baghdad and watching Iraqis flee, you need to read this book! Not only is it a riveting account of an intense military strike that probably saved hundreds of American lives in avoiding a long, drawn-out siege of Baghdad, it captures with remarkable clarity the sense (and brutality) of modern warfare. The precision and technological advances of the American military machine are quite apparent in this book, and that part of it is amazing. But in the end, it still comes back to people, and the fact that the American military commanders let the leaders on the ground make critical decisions in this battle is what won the day. It also does an excellent job of explaining the thought processes of many of the soldiers. Some admitted to feelings of fear, others to guilt over killing, but in the end all were professionals who were there to do their jobs. Zucchino recognizes that this is a compelling story, and he does a masterful job of telling it like the professional reporter he is. He lets the facts of the battle tell the story, and doesn't let political bias or superfluous emotion get in the way. For anyone interested in modern military warfare, this is quite simply a MUST READ. You won't be able to put it down. When is the movie?
Rating:
Summary: A Full Blown Thunder Storm
Review: In my opinion this is one of the best combat books I have read. I would rank it up there with Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers Once. The book is just a thrill ride. The actions starts on page one and just does not let up. I do not know what surprised me more, the raw excitement the author conveys or the fact that such a violent running battle took place. The author does a great job of combining the action with the back ground of the men involved and their equipment. He keeps the story rolling even when there would naturally be a slow down in the action. The author covers the first armored "thunder runs" into Baghdad during the recent war. He was an embedded reporter and judging from the book he had one heck of a ride.
The author found the perfect balance between the action and describing the interesting details that make the story memorable. How the tanks operate, what the soldiers and Iraqi's were wearing, the effects of the ammunition had on buildings or people. It all came together to produce an excellent telling of this part of the story, but also just how violent and fast paced modern warfare is. I kept asking myself why I had not heard about this battle in more detail before reading the book. How could this much violence not have made it to the TV news? About the only gripe I would have with the book is that the author did not include any pictures. Ok I know this is a minor issues, but it would had added just that much more to an already excellent book. If you are interested in combat, modern warfare and the Iraqi war then this book really is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Thunder Run is the soldiers' story told by a soldier's son.
Review: It is a feat for a media person to touch the emotions this old soldier and at the same time inform and move the uninitiated. David Zucchino has managed to accomplish both with his poignant and compassionate view of this historic engagement through the eyes of those who fought the battle and reported on it.
A must read!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Looking at the news media, most give the impression U.S. forces simply walked into Baghdad, ending the war. This book tells the true story. It wasn't a cake walk. The Thunder Runs (the first on April 5), and most importantly the second on April 7, involved extensive and prolonged engagements. The battles were fierce and intense. Other reviewers have provided a good accounting of the core of the book, so I will provide some information on the sourcing. Although written in novel form, the author, David Zucchino, provides information on the extensive sourcing used for the book. Zucchino, while also an embedded reporter, interviewed over 100 of the participants, establishing first hand accounts of the action. To that he added reviews of combat histories of the units, notes and journals of soldiers, logs, radio conversations, photos, videos. He was also able to interview Iraqi officers and Iraqi civilians, providing a rare and insightful glimpse on what it was like on the other side. He avoids page by page sourcing (which would bog down the narrative), but does provide notes on sources at the back of the book. The end result is a beautiful narrative that in its own right would be a masterful fiction novel, until you realize it is non-fiction. It really happened! Tells the true story. Well written. Well sourced. Highly recommended. Five Stars
Rating:
Summary: Thunder Run Book Review
Review: One of the most surprising moves by the United States military in Operation Iraqi Freedom was the quick inception and execution of the two "thunder runs" into Baghdad as they were quickly dubbed (a Vietnam-era term) on April 5 and 7, 2003. The surprise, as author David Zucchino informs in his new book Thunder Run, was that the idea was implemented nearly spur of the moment, and that the soldiers on both sides of the conflict had no idea it was coming. The military had planned to besiege Baghdad, surrounding the city with the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) while cordoning off sections of the city piece by piece via air assaults from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Everyone thought and planned the siege would be a lengthy and potentially very bloody process, including the Iraqis - they had correctly discerned the American strategy and had prepared well for it. Once the coalition reached Baghdad, commanders decided that a military demonstration into, instead of in front of, the city was in order. The highways into the city were practically unobstructed; the route chosen was a pure concrete and asphalt highway that arced from the southern to western ends of the city, ending with Saddam Airport, which was already in 3rd Infantry Division hands. The intention of the first run was to be the first of many, a risky armored thrust into enemy-held urban territory where tanks were supposedly wholly vulnerable. The second would quickly follow-up the apparent success of the first, two days later - and this time the Americans had come to stay. Mr. Zucchino writes the physical and emotional peaks and troughs of combat in a powerful yet readable way. Occasionally he falls into the trap of using too much military jargon and slang when repeatedly mentioning terms - the continuing use of "twenty-five Mike Mike" to describe twenty-five millimeter rounds for instance can be jarring, especially when it is not consistent. As an embedded reporter, however, the influences on his writing gauged against his experiences in the war is hard to measure. What Thunder Run is not is a personal memoir or first-person retelling of how the thunder runs unfolded. This is a blow-by-blow, practically minute-by-minute white-knuckle experience of hectic, frantic firefights on Baghdad highways, bridges, exchanges, and palaces - and serves much more as a tactical oral history than a memoir by a journalist. Occasionally the reader could possibly wonder if the Army troops really could hold out against such heavy resistance. Then, as the author recounts the disorganization of the opposing forces, one is forced to wonder what would have happened if they had been more organized. Much of the story about the two thunder runs is unknown to the public, with perhaps the exception of the fighting at Objective Curly on April 7 (video documented by NBC) and the incident the next day with the Palestine Hotel. The latter incident, involving 3rd Infantry Abrams tanks, is a prime example of how the situation was so muddled and confused, and how the people who knew least about the war were the ones fighting it. Mr. Zucchino deftly explains the situation, the fighting on the bridge, frequent direct and indirect enemy fire, and how none of the soldiers below brigade level even knew what the Palestine Hotel was, let alone whom it housed. It was a tragic incident and probably avoidable, but, in war, tragic incidents happen. Mr. Zucchino not only takes the accounts of American soldiers and officers, he interviewed a bevy of journalists, but Iraqi civilians and military representatives as well. Of course, the bulk of the account tilts toward the U.S. point of view, which can be understandable as many of the Iraqi or foreign (Syrian) fighters died - many needlessly, even haphazardly - during the two thunder runs. The inside covers of Thunder Run and the few pages contain maps of the south-central area of Iraq, covering the 3rd Infantry Division's march up to Baghdad, highlighting several points along the way. The maps show the paths of the thunder runs, as well as the objectives and other infamous landmarks and visual cues of the area. Specific maps of the objective areas or the terrain around the Jumhuriya Bridge are not given. The back of the books contains a list of combat awards and interviewees. Disappointingly, there is no index, and no photographs (except for the front and rear dust jacket). David Zucchino, who edited both the serialized versions of Blackhawk Down and Killing Pablo for Mark Bowden, has written a tremendously compelling tale of what arguably was a prime turning point in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Historians and contemporary writers should not ignore it in the growing field of writing emerging from the war.
|
