American Heroes: In the Fight Against Radical Islam (War Stories)

by Oliver North

book data

28 ratings, 4.14 average rating, 9 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		39%
4		42%
3		10%
2		7%
1		0%

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published

May 1st 2008 by B&H Books

binding

Hardcover, 288 pages

isbn

0805447113 (isbn13: 9780805447118)

description

In American Heroes, New York Times best-selling author Oliver North addresses issues of global terrorism and jihad (holy war undertaken as a sacred du...more

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02/24/09

Allison rated it:

Read in March, 2009

"Their stories provide a somewhat different perspective than that offered by the mainstream media." This would be the theme of the book. A very postive (sometimes overly so) book based on Ollie North's experience being an embedded journalist. If I had to guess, I'd say he was hanging out with mostly Marines. Lots of pictures.

There are a few endings to stories I would have liked to know (what caused the crash of Dash Two on 3/21/03, what happened to the 11 yr old Iraqi ...more "Their stories provide a somewhat different perspective than that offered by the mainstream media." This would be the theme of the book. A very postive (sometimes overly so) book based on Ollie North's experience being an embedded journalist. If I had to guess, I'd say he was hanging out with mostly Marines. Lots of pictures.

There are a few endings to stories I would have liked to know (what caused the crash of Dash Two on 3/21/03, what happened to the 11 yr old Iraqi girl burned in a stove fire that we were able to treat)

The glossary of Military acronyms is 4 pages long. What is the deal with the military and acronyms?? They can't just say Protective Gear, it has to be Mission-Oriented Protective Posture or MOPP. Not Car Bomb, but Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Devise or VBIED.

A good quote: "Americans don't fight for gold or oil or colonial conquest; we fight for an idea - liberty."
And a good quip: "The French have always been there when they needed us."
And some philosophy: "We love death - the Americans love life - that is the difference between us." Osama Bin Laden

Some interesting things I learned:
70% of Afgan registered voters showed up for their 1st election. In USA congressional elections, fewer than 45% of those eligible vote. 58% of registered Iraqis voted in the first election, 62% in the second election and 70% in the third.

It took 4 years for Germany and 7 years for Japan to assemble sovereign governments after WWII and there are 11 years in between our Declaration of Independance and the ratification of our Constitution.

The Iraqi January 2005 election marked the first time in the entire 5,000 year history of Mesopotamia that every man and woman, regardless of tribe, religion, or ethnic origin, was allowed to cast a ballot.

The main Terrorists in Iraq now are not Iraqis. They are fedayeen (paramilitary fighers from all over the Islamic world, mainly Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Moracco, Yemen & Jordan). And Iranian technology is showing up frequently in IEDs.

Altogether great antidote to the mainstream media's coverage of Iraq.(less)

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04/11/09

Marcie rated it:

Oliver North's latest job is hosting a show on Fox called War Stories, interviewing WWII soldiers and capturing their stories, until 9/11 happens. Then he and his crew are sent 9 times to Iraq, to cover today's soldiers, war as we know it today. He is embedded, just like any other journalist covering the events, given the same parameters of operation, which reminds me...the Pentagon approved way too many journalists, wish I had the book in front of me so I could share the exact shocking number. ...more Oliver North's latest job is hosting a show on Fox called War Stories, interviewing WWII soldiers and capturing their stories, until 9/11 happens. Then he and his crew are sent 9 times to Iraq, to cover today's soldiers, war as we know it today. He is embedded, just like any other journalist covering the events, given the same parameters of operation, which reminds me...the Pentagon approved way too many journalists, wish I had the book in front of me so I could share the exact shocking number.

Sometimes the book reads very patriotic, rah-rah, over-the-top. Other times not, as North expends a lot of effort to provide facts and statistics to the readers, and remove himself from the analysis. Actually, I love it when he cannot remove his own experience and perspective from the action. An example: he is embedded with a helicopter unit whose job is to evacuate casualties. Obviously he's flying low into hot zones to get the injured out. He is given a headset, but not allowed to speak or be an active participant as a journalist...however, at one point, he yells out "RPG! 3 o'clock! Incoming!" The pilot pulls up, almost going vertical to dodge it, lands in an intersection where 10 soldiers are loaded in less than 4 minutes, and the pilot, calmly as ever, says "how much longer, this is a pretty sporty LZ." North ponders this adjective for the hottest LZ he's ever been in!

Those soldiers entering the helicopter...I teared up many times reading their stories, obviously. I am so glad I read this hard-to-read book, though, for many reasons. It reminded me of things I had forgotten. Time is our true enemy, as it makes us forget things. I had forgotten how Saddam Hussein was playing all those head games with the UN, bribing other countries to vote certain ways, only allowing "inspectors" to see certain areas at certain times. I had forgotten how Bush responded in critical times. Half my friends despise him, the other half adore him. But the truth is, he was an AWESOME war president. I WANT a president that the rest of the world hates. This is a good thing, people.

North carefully chronicles all the events that led us to each action. Osama bin Laden claims credit for 9/11 at the same time that Afghanistan says we can have access to him IF we can prove that he had something to do with it. WTF? Baghdad Bob is on tv yelling "Americans in Baghdad? Never!" while North is filming a captain of a tank division saying "tell him to stay there for 10 minutes and I'll come in and get him." I enjoyed reading about all the different countries over there and their exact "assistance" given to us to get troops in on the ground.

If I hadn't read this book, I wouldn't have seen the picture of the young Marine who lost his legs due to one of those chicken shit IEDs. He's wearing a t-shirt that says "Marine for Sale. 40% off. Some assembly required." He's now in law school, going to be a courtoom warrior. I wouldn't know about the Silver Star female soldier who cleared a trench, leaving 27 dead when she was done. Can you believe her name was Hester? (smile)

And North successfully puts the whole thing in perspective for me, when he writes: "Muslim women do not vote for their sons to be suicide bombers." YES. We may not have meant to be where we are now, but this is the deal. We have started a crazy experiment (there has never been democracy in thousands of years in Mesopotamia! what are we doing?). We have planted a seed of thought that threatens every societal structure, every ruling class, every male for that matter, in every country over there. And every country wants to stomp it out before it spreads and threatens their way of life. My brain says "get out now."

But there were those tens of thousands of Muslim women who stood in line all day to vote in their first free election...200 were killed with a car bomb, they did not step out of line. They are really sending their daughters to school that we set up.

The women are the key to the success of Iraq. The women are the key to future survival for the entire planet. The women are the key to progress and peace. WOMEN do not VOTE for their sons to be suicide bombers. I read recently that 4000 Iraqi women ran for offices in the last election.(less)

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06/20/09

Atalie added it (review of isbn 1423355024)

boringgg i only read sum of it.

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02/17/09

Jonathan Barlow rated it:

Read in March, 2009

We will see... Broadening my range of thought so will let you know at the end of it. So far not impressed with where I think it might be going.

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07/21/08

Clay rated it:

This is the true story of the War against Radical Islam. This book is for anyone who truly supports the troops because it tells their story. It is also a must read for anyone who wants to understand the war we are in. It is a war that won't end even if we quit and go home from Iraq.

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05/31/08

Philip rated it:

(review of isbn 1423355024)

bookshelves: autobiographical, history

Read in April, 2008

I had the pleasure of meeting the author and he is a charming man. I liked the honest realistic assessment of the threat to us all by fundamentalism of any kind. Here is also support for those doing their duty, no matter what you think of the justification of this war.

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09/21/08

Rhonda Anderson rated it:

Read in October, 2008

My husband stole this book from me, so I am no longer reading it! I was only a few chapters in, and I guess it was okay. I have a hard time reading war stuff, for obvious reasons.

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