Search Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »
My library | Help | Advanced Book Search | Web History | Sign in

Books

The War I Always Wanted:

The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War : a Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq
Front Cover
15 Reviews
Zenith Imprint, 2007 - History - 254 pages

Growing up in the shadows of the giant B-52 Stratofortresses that thundered away from the nearby Barksdale Air Force Base, Brandon Friedman dreamed of becoming a warrior and defending his country. But dreams of heroism and the realities of war can look very different, and when Brandon joined the army as a second lieutenant in peacetime, he had no way of knowing how his world was about to change.

This is Brandon Friedmans story of coming of age in a world awakening to the horrors made plain on 9/11. With the U. S. Army moving into full-fledged combat operations half a world away against Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts, Brandon found himself facing an elusive enemy on unfamiliar ground. He tells how, as an infantry platoon leader in the elite 101st Airborne Division, the famed "Screaming Eagles," he and his unit struggled to find their footing in the high valleys of the Hindu Kush while battling radical Islam in operation Anaconda.

A brief respite at their home base in Kentucky, and Friedman and the Screaming Eagles were off to war again, this time in Iraq. In this gripping memoir of a young soldier learning the hardest lessons of combat, we see the terrors and disillusion of war as the insurgency in Iraq spirals out of control. And we see the true valor of character emerging under fire.

  

What people are saying - Write a review

User ratings

5 stars
6
4 stars
6
3 stars
3
2 stars
0
1 star
0

Review: The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War: A Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq

User Review  - Luis - Goodreads

Wow what can I say about this book. As you may see by my profile picture, I can easily relate to this book, but even more so, I was in his battalion for the whole Iraq invasion and occupation...So ... Read full review

Review: The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War: A Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq

User Review  - Mike - Goodreads

Don't read this one for battle scenes, famous tactical engagements or overall conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. You won't find that here. You will find a fine story of a young lieutenant ... Read full review

All 15 reviews »

Related books

US Army Ranger 1983-2002: Sua Sponte - Of Their Own Accord
US Army Ranger 1983-2002: Sua Sponte - Of Their Own Accord
Mir Bahmanyar
Limited preview - 2003
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost ...
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost ...
Marcus Luttrell
Limited preview - 2007
Twice Armed: An American Soldier's Battle for Hearts And Minds in Iraq
Twice Armed: An American Soldier's Battle for Hearts And Minds in Iraq
R. Alan King
Limited preview - 2006
All related books »

Selected pages

Contents

I
7
II
11
III
13
IV
21
V
31
VI
39
VII
57
VIII
77
XI
123
XII
169
XIII
221
XIV
223
XV
231
XVI
249
XVII
251
XVIII
253

IX
79
X
97
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War
The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War
Brandon Friedman
Limited preview - 2007

Common terms and phrases

101st Airborne Division Afar Afghanistan American Ammar Anaconda Army asked attack Baath Party Baghdad battalion began bombs Bravo Company Chad Corn combat desert door driving Estrada eyes face feel feet felt fight fire front fuck going gonna gotten gunfire guys hand happened head hear heard helicopter Hillah Hindu Kush humvee infantry inside insurgency Iraq Iraqi Jacobabad Kamauf killed knew looked minutes Mohamed morning mortar Mosul moving Najaf never night Nikki noticed O'Brien okay Operation Anaconda ouzo Passat pulled Qaeda radio road ruck Saddam Sergeant Collins Sergeant Croom Shah-e-Kot Valley shit Shomali Plain shooting shot side sitting soldiers someone sound squad standing started stood stop Suddenly talking Task Force 20 tell terrorists thing thought told traffic truck trying turned U.S. Army Volkswagen Passat waiting walked wanted Waseem watching weapon Yeah yelling

References from web pages

rudeclerk: The War I Always Wanted
The War I Always Wanted The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War Brandon Friedman, Zenith Press, St. Paul, MN, 2007 I often dream of falling bombs. ...
rudeclerk.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 09/ war-i-always-wanted.html

Brandon Friedman The War I Always Wanted - Untitled
A Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and iraqfrom Publisher's Weekly:This cynical but appealing memoir by a lieutenant in the elite 101st Airborne recounts his ...
www.brandonrfriedman.com/ about_the_book

"The War I Always Wanted" - Democratic Underground
"The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and Reality of War," by Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran Brandon Friedman, captures the feelings of war with ...
www.democraticunderground.com/ discuss/ duboard.php?az=view_all& address=209x5723

WOSU - Guest recommendation: Brandon Friedman author of "The War I ...
Login. Username:. Password:. Keep Me Logged In. Register · Forgot Password. Car Talk. Name the new Car Talk TV show! Name Tommy's 1952 MG TD ...
action.publicbroadcasting.net/ wosu/ posts/ list/ 645810.page

'The War I Always Wanted': A vet writes about Afghanistan and Iraq ...
guidelive.com, from The Dallas Morning News, is an arts and entertainment guide to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Restaurants, movies, theater, concerts, ...
www.guidelive.com/ sharedcontent/ dws/ ent/ books/ stories/ DN-bk_wariwanted_0909gl.ART.State.Bulldog.420a2c7.html

Daily Kos: The War I Always Wanted
The War I Always Wanted. by The Angry Rakkasan. Sun Jul 29, 2007 at 10:53:04 PM PDT. Daily Kos is my online home, and I’ve made dozens of friends here over ...
www.dailykos.com/ story/ 2007/ 7/ 30/ 13627/ 8997

Savvy and sincere: Two war-zone accounts that stand out ...
After reading the title and subtitles of Friedman’s book — “The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War. ...
www.armytimes.com/ entertainment/ books/ military_books_wariwanted_071026/

Brandon Friedman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War: A Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq (Zenith Press, 2007) ISBN 0760331502 ...
en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Brandon_Friedman

Brandon Friedman - The Huffington Post
A Vice Chairman of votevets.org, Brandon Friedman is the author of The War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War. ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/ brandon-friedman

The North Dallas Texas Democratic Women March Meeting - The North ...
Meet other local Democrats! Gather in your local communities to help organize and support the Democratic cause
democrat.meetup.com/ 1109/ calendar/ 7429963/

About the author (2007)

Brandon Friedman served as an infantry platoon leader and company executive officer with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division. He participated in both Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan and in the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent insurgency. He lives in Dallas, Texas.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The War I Always Wanted
TitleThe War I Always Wanted: The Illusion of Glory and the Reality of War : a Screaming Eagle in Afghanistan and Iraq
AuthorBrandon Friedman
Editionillustrated
PublisherZenith Imprint, 2007
ISBN0760331502, 9780760331507
Length254 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Biography & Autobiography / Military
History / Military / Iraq War (2003-2011)
  
Export CitationBiBTeX EndNote RefMan