My War: Killing Time in Iraq

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Fear & Loathing in the US Army. A self-proclaimed Hunter S. Thompson fan, as well as a once-aimless GenX-er, Colby Buzzell makes his own loathing of many things obvious from the get-go. The fear comes later, and is most vividly expressed nearly 200 pages into this memoir of the Iraq war. Here's his delayed reaction after being in one of the most hard-fought and fierce fire-fight he'd ever encountered on the streets of Mosul -

"I was smoking like a chimney, one right after another. My nerves were completely shot and I was emotionally drained and I noticed that my hands were still kinda shaking ... I was thinking how lucky I was to be alive. I've never experienced anything like the fear I show more felt today ..."

Stryker machine-gunner Buzzell is a curious character in his own story. Intelectually curious, he is a voracious reader of good books, yet he seems to find little to like in this world. Possessed of a wicked and ironically sly sense of humor, he uses it repeatedly to jab at our country's leaders, the war, politics, the media - just about everything, in fact, including himself. I found myself liking the guy in spite of myself. He made me laugh and he made me wince in recognition. His narrative, with its casual attitude towards porno, "spank" mags and masturbation among the troops, brought to mind Tony Swofford's book about the first Gulf war, JARHEAD - although Buzzell himself dismisses that book scornfully, and that first "war" as well. It was also very like Johnny Rico's fine memoir of the current war in Afghanistan, BLOOD MAKES THE GRASS GROW GREENER. It also flashed me back to my own war, the Cold War. Soldiers are the same, regardless of the setting or the era, it would seem. Nothing much changes. Buzzell's choice of a title for his memoir-cum-blog, MY WAR, is certainly not unique. It is the third military memoir I have read with this title. The others were both WWII memories from journalist Andy Rooney and artist Tracy Sugarman, both fine books. And so is this one. The army tried to call Buzzell back to active duty in 2008, but he was found to be unfit for service - PTSD. The physical, mental and emotional casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan continue to mount and multiply, and the ends to these wars are still not clearly in sight. Perhaps books like Buzzell's will help speed their resolutions. I hope so. show less

One of many first-person accounts of the current War. These books have their place in presenting the raw material of history; unlike previous wars stretching back to ancient times, today’s war is documented in detail and with immediacy unknown previously. There is no need to sit around and wait for Thucydides to jot down what happened anymore, as real soldiers blog in real time about what is going on. The down side of course is Thucydides, by virtue of time and intellect, had a helluva lot more to say in his book than guys like Colby do in theirs. This is however, not a cheap shot at Colby, or any others working in the blog/memoir/instant history genre (clears throat). They are honest about presenting what they saw, in words they show more used, and the reader benefits from the perspective. In Colby’s case, the book offers a realistic view of the slow motion process of deciding to join the military (no parades, no recruitment posters, a series of dead end jobs and suburban boredom), followed by one person’s vision of combat and Iraq in the second phase of the War, around 2004. show less

A good story of how a lonely, disenfranchised youth from San Fransisco becomes a soldier in the US Army. The story is Colby Buzzell's first hand account from teenager to a US Army Spc. The story is slow in the begining, but is necessary as you learn more and more about the author. The author discusses his interests that make for a very funny yet insightful read. The invasion and occupation of Iraq are chronicled through the eyes of a grunt and the story that is told is vivid and extremely interesting to anyone seeking a soldiers opinion and overall mood during the war.

An interesting look at the current Iraq catastrophe from the point of a view of a machine gunner in a Stryker brigade. Buzzell takes his readers from the time right before he enlisted through boot camp and the various levels of training to his being sent to Iraq--the subsequent setting up of his own blogsite there--the harrassment by at least some of his superiors immediate or otherwise that culminates as that site becomes more and more popular--to his final honorable discharge when his term is up. The portraits of his fellow soldiers are very striking and well done--a kind of assortment of metalheads, rap lovers and punk rockers working together wheeling around the streets of Mosul looking for insurgents and sometimes finding them. On show more base--we learn a grunt can legally purchase Cuban cigars there--though no alcohol--we see them fighting off boredom listening to music, playing video games, fooling around with digital cameras, standing in long lines to call loved ones at home or to go on-line, smoking endless amounts of cigarettes and perusing porn magazines. Occasionally they even smuggle a little booze on base. Buzzell's--as a representative of the skateboarding punk rock world--prose is decidedly anti-PC--as are many of his observations. It might be called proudly profane. His descriptions of Iraqi's tend to be sympathetic--though there is no mistaking that a rather wide divide exists between the worldview of an American soldier and that of an Iraqi citizen. The main battle scene taken from the book he gleans from his own website was written on the spot and gives a palpable sense of chaos and his own fear. I'd like to particularly note that he tore up his election ballot when he found out that Ralph Nader wasn't on the California ticket. Go Colby. In any case I found this book entertaining despite the serious subject matter--much of the reason can be attributed to Colby's laconic and oftentimes sardonic outlook on life. It is at times even a very funny book. I would recommend it. show less

Recommended for anyone who wants to know what it's *really* like for a soldier in Iraq. The writing is a little rough, which is actually a positive in this book, because it lends the feeling of listening to a friend telling a story (instead of a writer writing a story).

Having picked up a used copy of this one from a charity stall, I hadn't intended to read it immediately but got sucked in and finished it ahead of the other two or three books I was half way though. I won't say that I couldn't put it down but I didkeep picking it up.

The book has three particularly appealing elements. The first is the description of the trajectory of military life. This fairly reflects my own experience as a (more or less) peacetime conscript of long periods of total boredom followed by short bursts of insanity.

The second element is the way it reflects the American attitude to the Iraq war. Buzzell is there on the spot and trying to find out what for himself what it is all about but the only Iraqis he can talk to are the show more interpreters risking their lives to help the US forces. All credit to him for the insight he gains given this handicap.

The third, and most interesting aspect of the book is the insight into Buzzell himself. He comes (one presumes) from a middle class family but has opted out of the materialist ethic to become a punk rock fan and skater so when he gets onto the army the surprise is more how well he fits in than the fact that he gets into trouble for his blog. Fascinating.

A random thought after finishing the book is what light this throws on Vietnam where one has the impression that things were even tougher than in Iraq. In any case, I've just ordered a copy of his later book, "Lost in America". Let's see what he did for an encore... show less

The war in Iraq as told by a skater-dude who kept a blog during his deployment.

Very real. Funny in a lot of places. Refreshingly non-PC.

You get the feeling that if you met the author, he wouldn't bore you to death with the type of inane chit-chat you usually hear at parties.