I just finished (well finished listening) to this book and pleased for having done so. Beyond the obvious patriotic elements of the book there were a few things that stood out as a first-hand look at the Iraq War.The first was the unit itself. The Fighting 69th had been a part of every major conflict since the Civil War until Vietnam. By the time of September 2001, the unit had transformed itself to a loose band of misfits who could barely muster for a parade, to a slightly less loose band of misfits who could barely muster for a parade. Security duty at West Point, and duty at Ground Zero moves the unit closer to its deployment, but not fully. From there they train in the states, and ship to Iraq. They serve with distinction the blood soaked town of Toji to Route Irish in Baghdad making a lasting mark on the Iraq War. By the end of their tour of duty, the 69th was ranked by Army Brass as one of the best in country. In a sense, the Fighting 69th is a feasible comparison to the Dirty Dozen of Hollywood. It provides a interesting perspective which is the book's hook. Flynn well documents the struggle of Colonel Jeff Slack to prepare the unit. This was particularly eye opening when you consider the lack of simple competency the unity processed before the war, to where it ended the war.
