No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Falluja (West)

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Falluja

by Bing West

The first book I read by Bing West was The March Up. It was excellent, if somewhat dry. This book is head and shoulders above West’s previous book. In No True Glory, West gives a detailed, week-by-week account of the on-again, off-again US response to the Iraqi insurgency in the city of Fallujah. He does an excellent job of presenting both the high-level strategic considerations (and blunders) of the US and Iraqi governments and the nitty-gritty, house-by-house fighting that ensued.
West doesn’t pull any punches. He clearly identifies the critical US mistakes (including the decision not to “finish the fight” with the insurgents in April 2004), and he names names. Paul Bremer and John Abizaid don’t come off looking good by West’s descriptions. By the same token, he does a fantastic job of portraying the life of a Marine infantryman in the First Marine Division. I don’t think most Americans realized how brutal the fighting in Fallujah during the second assault was– or the degree to which the battle was poorly reported, or misreported, by the US media.
In reading this, I gained a new appreciation for the valor, dedication, and perseverance of the US Marine Corps. I highly recommend this book to everyone– including (or perhaps especially) people who normally avoid military history. Whether you support this war or not; whether you support President Bush or not; Americans should understand the sacrifices that our Marines have made on their behalf.