In the Company of Soldiers
A Chronicle of Combat
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Narrated by:
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Rick Atkinson
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By:
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Rick Atkinson
About this listen
Granted complete access to the commanders and troops of the 101st, Atkinson saw their war from the preparations in Kuwait through the occupation of Baghdad. As the war unfolded, he witnessed the division's struggles to overcome a murderous attack by one of its own soldiers, a disastrous Apache helicopter raid, and fierce resistance from guerrilla diehards in Najaf, Karbala, and Hilla.
At the center of Atkinson's drama stands the compelling figure of Major General David H. Petraeus, described by one comrade as "the most competitive man on the planet." Atkinson observes Petraeus as he teaches, goads, and leads his troops and subordinate commanders in several intense battles. All around Petraeus, we watch the men and women of a storied division grapple with the challenges of waging war in an unspeakably harsh environment. But even as the military wins an overwhelming victory, we also see portents of the battles that would haunt the occupation in the long months ahead.
In the Company of Soldiers is a dramatic, utterly fresh view of the modern American soldier in action from the premier military historian of his generation.
©2004 Rick Atkinson (P)2004 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Shooter
- The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked Marine Sniper
- By: Jack Coughlin, Casey Kuhlman, Donald A. Davis
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Now Coughlin has written a highly personal story about his deadly craft, taking readers deep inside an invisible society that is off-limits to outsiders. This is not a heroic battlefield memoir but the careful study of an exceptional man who must keep his sanity while carrying forward one of the deadliest legacies in the U.S. military today.
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Great...if you want another book about Iraq.
- By james on 11-09-05
By: Jack Coughlin, and others
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Lions of Kandahar
- The Story of a Fight Against All Odds
- By: Major Rusty Bradley, Kevin Maurer
- Narrated by: Eric G. Dove
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Southern Afghanistan was slipping away. That was clear to then-Captain Rusty Bradley as he began his third tour of duty there in 2006. The Taliban and their allies were infiltrating everywhere, poised to reclaim Kandahar Province, their strategically vital onetime capital. To stop them, the NATO coalition launched Operation Medusa, the largest offensive in its history. The battlefield was the Panjwayi Valley, a densely packed warren of walled compounds that doubled neatly as enemy bunkers.
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'Merica!
- By NKeene on 03-07-15
By: Major Rusty Bradley, and others
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No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy
- The Life of General James Mattis
- By: Jim Proser
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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The first in-depth look at the marine hero who has become one of the most beloved and admired men in America today: Secretary of Defense James Mattis. In this illuminating biography, Jim Proser looks beyond Mattis’ professional competence to focus on the driving element behind Mattis’ success: his unimpeachable character - a formidable personal integrity that fosters universal confidence. Proser carefully examines the events of Mattis’ life and career to reveal a man who leads with insight, humor, fighting courage, and fierce compassion.
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Final 7 minutes is all that covers SecDef
- By jeffrey jones on 08-11-18
By: Jim Proser
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Thunder Run
- The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad
- By: David Zucchino
- Narrated by: Richard M. Davidson
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Called “the best account of combat since Black Hawk Down” by Men’s Journal, Thunder Run is a no-holds-barred look at the sweep of Baghdad, Iraq in 2003 by U.S. armed forces. One of the boldest gambles in modern military history, the surprise attack on Baghdad by three battalions of tanks and APCs and less than 1,000 men total was the single stroke that is credited for ending the Iraqi war.
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Good reporting, but not a great book
- By Dr. Jonathan Newman on 04-01-12
By: David Zucchino
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Kill Bin Laden
- A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man
- By: Dalton Fury
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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This work offers a firsthand account of the Battle of Tora Bora and an insider's look at the extraordinary nature of America's supersecret counterterrorist unit---an elite and mysterious group known as Delta Force.
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Ex-military that can relate.
- By William on 02-10-15
By: Dalton Fury
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Warrior Soul
- The Memoir of a Navy SEAL
- By: Chuck Pfarrer
- Narrated by: Chuck Pfarrer
- Length: 14 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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"Since the first navy frogmen crawled onto the beaches of Normandy, no SEAL has ever surrendered," writes Chuck Pfarrer. "No SEAL has ever been captured, and not one teammate or body has ever been left in the field. This legacy of valor is unmatched in modern warfare." Warrior Soul is a book about the warrior spirit, and it takes the listener all over the world. Former Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer recounts some of his most dangerous assignments.
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An amazing story
- By JB on 10-22-13
By: Chuck Pfarrer
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The Fires of Babylon
- Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting
- By: Mike Guardia
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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On the morning of August 2, 1990, Iraqi armored divisions invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. The Iraqi Army, after its long war with Iran, had more combat experience than the US Army. The Kuwaitis had collapsed easily enough, but the invasion drew fierce condemnation from the United Nations, which demanded Hussein's withdrawal. Undeterred by the rhetoric, the Iraqi dictator massed his forces along the Saudi Arabian border and dared the world to stop him.
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Good picture of Desert Storm unit action
- By Brent on 05-11-18
By: Mike Guardia
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Eye of the Storm
- Twenty-Five Years in Action with the SAS
- By: Peter Ratcliffe, Noel Botham, Brian Hitchen
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Peter Ratcliffe served in the SAS for 25 years. Blooded in Oman in the 1970s, he also saw action in Northern Ireland, in the Falklands War, and in the Gulf campaign. From his early days in the Paras to his time as Regimental Sergeant-Major in the Gulf, he has lived and fought by the motto 'who dares wins'. Eye of the Storm is his insider's account of that exceptional career.
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Peter is the real deal
- By LARRY on 10-19-19
By: Peter Ratcliffe, and others
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The Brave Ones
- A Memoir of Hope, Pride, and Military Service
- By: Michael J. MacLeod
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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From the trials of basic training on the home front to the ranks of the legendary 82nd Airborne Division to taking fire in the hot zones of Iraq and Afghanistan, MacLeod chronicles the soldier's evolution as only one who's been in those boots can. Candid, wise, and powerful, his memoir takes listeners on an unforgettable journey through war and allows them to witness bravery firsthand.
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A real story of war.
- By Devin Ronk on 03-07-16
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Hue 1968
- A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam
- By: Mark Bowden
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 18 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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By January 1968, despite an influx of half a million American troops, the fighting in Vietnam seemed to be at a stalemate. Yet General William Westmoreland, commander of American forces, announced a new phase of the war in which "the end begins to come into view". The North Vietnamese had different ideas. In mid-1967, the leadership in Hanoi had started planning an offensive intended to win the war in a single stroke.
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I KNEW This Book Would Sting Me . . . .
- By Rum Runner on 07-28-17
By: Mark Bowden
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The Ragged Edge
- A US Marine’s Account of Leading the Iraqi Army Fifth Battalion
- By: Michael Zacchea, Ted Kemp
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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At a time when the United States debates how deeply to involve itself in Iraq and Syria, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Zacchea, USMC (Ret.), holds a unique vantage point on our still-ongoing war. Deployed to Iraq in March 2004, his team's mission was to build, train, and lead in combat the first Iraqi army battalion trained by the US military. Zacchea tells a deeply personal and powerful story while shedding light on the dangerous pitfalls of training foreign troops to fight murderous insurgents.
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Lessons on cultural values
- By lorraine on 04-05-24
By: Michael Zacchea, and others
What listeners say about In the Company of Soldiers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Philip
- 04-17-04
You are there
No doubt this Pulitzer Prize winner (An Army at Dawn) knows how to write. He also is a solid narrator. One gets a sense of what it was like to be in boots on the ground, though Atkinson was embedded with military leadership, so it's not the Ernie Pyle account of the dogface. But, it's good writing, good narration, and gives one a perspective of the uncertainties of war and the need for innovative and imaginative leadership at all levels. For someone looking for more extensive discourse on whether we should be in Iraq, find another book, but don't skip this one altogether. It definitely expands one's perspective on the war.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- David
- 12-08-04
Great Story Teller
He is a fabulous narrator telling an excellent story!! His words are riveting and engaging - great and fascinating entertainment.
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1 person found this helpful
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- John dahlberg
- 08-02-20
It’s just some passages
I ordered this book because I like Rick Atkinson’s work and narration. Huge portions of this recording are summaries of chapters read by others.
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- miyaker
- 06-22-04
Interesting, informative and balanced
Unlike the multitude of reports heard during the war from embedded journalists, Atkinson's experience as a war historian provides a depth to our troops' experience during the war. While I was initially hoping for a more detailed summary of the war as a whole, as in Atkinson's brilliant Crusade (about the '91 Gulf War), this view from the 101st Airborne's perspective is still captivating. Unfortunately, the abridgement prevents the book from being completely engrossing. Whole chapters are skipped, with a separate narrator providing a summary. The book still flows reasonably well, but it's a pain to have things keep fast-forwarding all the time.
Only a few portions of the book, primarily the last chapter, deal with WMD and other potentially "policital" topics. Here Atkinson occasionally does insert commentary, but it generally feels like that of a historian's analysis. For the most part, it's a review of facts - for example, WMD weren't found and Iraq - Atkinson hardly "sneers" over this.
I wish it weren't abridged, and I hope he writes a Crusade-style book on the full war, but this one is still well worth a listen.
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6 people found this helpful
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- David Anderer
- 04-26-20
in the company of soldier's
informative and helpful to understanding the topic.
one thing that you should know is the ability of our coalition forces, thus helping us to understand more completely this conflict.
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- Kevin Christy
- 04-10-04
A Mixed Bag
While the author did a fine job of documenting the professionalism and endurance of the command soldiers of the 101st, he cheapened the work by grinding his anti-Iraq war axe. All the usual leftist dumps on Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz are paraded out, along with the sneering "well, were are the weapons of mass destruction, huh???" Regardless of whether Saddam possessed as much *capability* as we thought he did, he possessed all the intent necessary to rely on him to mount threats in the future. Also, he had an abundant track record of supporting terror. It's impossible to see what future would have resulted had we continued to place our faith in the UN (which was already under leftist pressure to end sanctions entirely) and let Saddam stay in place.
The war on terror is nothing less than the battle of Western Civilization against the anarchic brutality of militant Islam and those who seek to use it as a weapon for their own secular purposes (not anymore, Saddam). Those who imagine that it is a police action ("Get Osama") best left to the UN place our nation's security in inept, perhaps even entirely hostile, hands.
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54 people found this helpful
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- WSV1975
- 07-04-13
Great story by a great Military Historian
Would you listen to In the Company of Soldiers again? Why?
No, once was enough
What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?
I served in the Gulf War, and Atkins, an embedded reporter had the perspective of an Army brat, who had made a profession of military history. He was the right guy to be embedded with Gen. Patraeus and write this story about the 101st (Air Mobile) Infantry Division's drive into Iraq. If anyone wants to know what it was actually like, read this book.
What does Rick Atkinson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
This guy brings a wealth of historical analysis to which frames what he is seeing. Most writers do not have that gift to add to the telling of the tale.
Any additional comments?
My only negative, is that, like most people, he becomes a little too much of a hero worshiper of the Generals he observes. But, that is a normal human reaction when living in close quarters with great men under great stress, and watching them perform.
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- don'tlistenivebeenhacked
- 10-14-22
Not his best
After listening to the exceptional, “The Long Gray Line”, I had high hopes for this book. They were not realized. Rick Atkinson is a far better writer than a narrator
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Overall
- Ben
- 06-08-04
Back seat driving
The book fails on two fronts. First, the author can't resist picking at the Bush administration's policies and reasons for war. Newsflash Rick - people against the war aren't going to read your book. The audience for a book about soldier experiences during the Gulf War are...surprise surprise people who are generally in favor of disposing Saddam and believe the war was about more than finding WMD's.
Second problem, this book isn't even about soldier experiences. If you enjoy hearing about logistics and the commanding officers that logisticize, then you'll love this book. 90% of the time the author is in a CP or a helicopter. There is virtually no ground time with troops.
For a good example of a Gulf War book where the author doesn't let their politics ruin the story, check out 'Naked in Baghdad'.
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10 people found this helpful