While debate swirls about the Iraq war, Chris Coppola's memoir gives readers an unseen and unheard slice of the US's role in Iraq. This pediactric surgeon recounts his two deployments to Iraq. He writes about the day-to-day challenges of providing medical care in a makeshift environment, and paints a vivid picture of the families of his patients. Yet the real value of this book -- and the intriguing premise, too -- is that there is even a role in the US miliary for pediatricians and pediatric surgeons. The US military provides medical care for its troops and for local citizens alike, and therefore Coppola's skills are needed to treat young Iraqis injured as bystanders in this conflict.

Coppola's writing is fresh and fast-paced, and his stories provide just the right level of detail for non-medical readers. This memoir was a welcomed addition to my bookshelves. ( )

This book turned out to be just what I hoped it would be. It is well written and tells its story without much filler. It lets the reader experience what war time is really like. Dr Coppola served his country without taking the credit he deserves. That is perhaps the only downside to this book. ( )

Dr. Coppola writes of his experience serving 2 tours of duty in Iraq at the Balad Air Base in 2005 and 2007 to 2008.

His shares a first hand account of being a military surgeon through his experiences plus insight into the emotions. His struggle to have to leave his family and practice behind. The sleepless nights even when he was not on duty. The numb feeling the surgeons would be engulfed in especially when there were high number of casualties arriving at the hospital. Then the changes to the base, hospital and equipment upon returning.

History isn't my favorite subject when it only involves facts and dates. With the Iraqi war going on as I read the book, it made the war more personal and real for me. Thank you Dr Coppola and the many other service personnel for serving our country! ( )

In this memoir of two tours of duty in Iraq, Dr. Chris Coppola, pediatric surgeon and now Lieutenant Colonel in the US Air Force, recounts his days as a trauma surgeon on the military base of Balad, Iraq.

No matter one's views on US policy in Iraq, one cannot help but walk away from this book with both respect for our incredible armed forces operating in grueling circumstances and horror at the state of everyday life for Iraqi civilians.

The medical miracles Coppola and other surgeons and nurses at the military hospital performed every day belie the fact that the miracles occur in tents and military shipping containers not state-of-the-art emergency rooms. The wounds are violent and horrific and almost beyond imagination and yet the surgeons and nurses care for the patients with unflagging energy, even when sleep is as elusive as a rainstorm in the dessert.

This book should appeal to fans of military history, current events and medicine. I hope, though, that this book gets picked up by a larger audience because it is important to recognize the heroism of our armed forces and the doctors and nurses who support them. It is equally important to understand the toll this war is taking on civilians in Iraq.

My only criticism would be the editing of this book. New characters are introduced in a somewhat confusing manner and Coppola's narration is a bit uneven. That being said, the roughness of some of the narrative serves as a vehicle for the soul numbing weight of what we are asking of our military. Even remembering it to record it for posterity may be asking too much. ( )

What a great book! This tells the story of a military pediatric surgeon in war. There are a lot of conflicts with leaving home and doing the right thing for the patients who need him.
Very interesting perspective to read. ( )