The Long Road Home
A Story of War and Family
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4.6 • 101 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
ABC News’ Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz shares remarkable tales of heroism, hope, and heartbreak in her account of “Black Sunday”—a battle during one of the deadliest periods of the Iraq War.
The First Cavalry Division came under surprise attack in Sadr City on Sunday April 4, 2004. Over 7,000 miles away, their families awaited the news for forty-eight hellish hours—expecting the worst. In this powerful, unflinching account, Martha Raddatz takes readers from the streets of Baghdad to the home front and tells the story of that horrific day through the eyes of the courageous American men and women who lived it.
“A masterpiece of literary nonfiction that rivals any war-related classic that has preceded it.”—The Washington Post
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Violent resistance in post-invasion Iraq kicked into high gear on April 4, 2004, when American troops in Sadr City faced a massive assault that claimed eight soldiers' lives and wounded more than 70 others. Raddatz, an Emmy-winning correspondent for ABC News, clearly aims to equal the storytelling in Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down in her account of the battle, and hits the mark with distinction. Extensive interviews with the commanding officers of the army's 1st Cavalry division and the soldiers pinned down in the streets provide a clear narrative of how U.S. troops, prepared for "a babysitting mission," found themselves in a bloodbath, as efforts to rescue the first soldiers fired upon met with even greater resistance from Mahdi militiamen who did not hesitate to use small children as frontline attackers. Heroic moments abound, like Casey Sheehan's volunteering to take another man's place on the rescue team, which resulted in his death. Raddatz touches upon the reaction of his mother, noted antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan, but this is just one of many perspectives from families on the home front. The gripping account eschews politics and focuses squarely on the soldiers and their sacrifices.
Customer Reviews
Real thorough depiction of what happen
Author did a real good job in telling our story. I was there supporting the lancer battalion. Ensuring they could continue the fight, and seeing all the horrific images coming back into camp war eagle. Thanks for telling the story of my fellow brothers in arms who fought and those who gave their lives.
The Long Road Home
War has many types of casualties, strengths and heroes. This very well written book not only deals with war from the soldier perspective but also from the family that supports them. The intense bonds that form between so many different ethnicities, races, religions, etc. bring to light that at least the people in this accounting learned to embrace the diversity to help one another.
I’m a rather linear thinker so if I had one critique it was the jumping between the time line but it didn’t ruin the book for me.
Incredible!
An incredibly powerful book on a battle that was simply glossed over by most news media at the time. Very moving and emotionally draining to read about what our soldiers had to go through because of miscalculations of higher-ups of the risk our troops were facing in Baghdad … which was supposedly a peace-keeping mission that turned into an almost uncontrollable insurgency. The heroism demonstrated by our troops trying to rescue their fellow soldiers is incredible, moving, and the
sobering reality of urban warfare!