Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq (Yale Library of Military History) Paperback – Illustrated, September 29, 2009

Colonel Mansoor's excellent work fills a vital need in the continuing perspective of US interests in the Middle East and southwest Asia. In fact, as times shrink, this foreign policy reality is rapidly spreading to all overseas operations.While the military has learned this, the stripped suit and NSC and White House still have not done so.American political leadership appears frozen in time, while the world goes on at ever increasing velocity, dealing with things as they are rather than how we would prefer to find them. Colonel Mansoor and other senior field commanders must deal with the real world and Baghdad at Sunrise is an excellent account of going about doing so.From my experience there are three books which, together, complete the perspective on what has gone right, what has gone wrong--and why--and where we are headed in the unsymmetrical warfare linked statecraft arena: "Cobra II" (Gordon and Trainor) bluntly reveals the failures of the Department of Defense (Rumsfeld), creating, by default, much of the reason we are still engaged in combat in IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, and PAKISTAN; "Imperial Life in the Emerald City" (Chandrasekaran) provides inside views of the civilian failures following after "Cobra II," and now "Baghdad at Sunrise" provides military perspective of the "Imperial Life. . ." time frame.What is apparent as one considers these three works is the utter failure in application and practice of the so-called Country Team concept of US Strategy. I suggest that this is the result of too many civilian novices who are long on opinions and short on experience, and who usually spend little time on the ground.It appears that the field military commanders in IRAQ (hopefully not in AFGHANISTAN, but I doubt it) are continually frustrated trying to determine which US Country Team is in command: State, President, DOD (not the same thing as military), USAID (and mutations), or CIA (and mutations). The highly motivated and dedicated enemies confronting us in the field do not have to contend with such nonsense.Well done, Dr. Mansoor, and appreciation to the Kagans for this needful perspective. Please keep it up.Louis T Dechert, US Army Special Forces, Retired

Wonderfully written by a brilliant soldier who saw the elephant. First-hand account by a fine man, professor, and patriot-soldier.

I am an Army historian who has accessed many, if not most, of the existing (and they are relatively few) records pertaining to the Ready First Brigade Combat Team's operations in Iraq during the period discussed in this book. Therefore, I can set the "bar" a bit higher when it comes to informed analysis of the book's value. I am also acquainted with an extremely candid and capable senior non-commissioned officer from Colonel Mansoor's Brigade Reconnaissance Troop who interacted with the author on a daily basis during the 1st BCT's deployment in Iraq. If my friend did not believe that Colonel Mansoor was an effective combat leader, he would have told me so in no uncertain terms. Quite the contrary, Colonel Mansoor was a well-respected and credible leader who "figured out" what was happening long before other commanders. All professional affilitations aside, this review represents my personal opinion. That said, I believe Colonel Mansoor has produced a forthright, factual, and valuable narrative of his experiences in the tumultuous months following the fall of Sadaam Hussein's regime in Iraq. A respected historian prior to assuming brigade command, Colonel Mansoor took it upon himself to record each day's events in a notebook for posterity's sake. He does not rely solely on his memory, media reports, or the recollections of others. This fact alone sets his account apart from other OIF related personal accounts. His book is even more important given the relative lack of historical material, when compared to later OIF deployments, on the operations conducted by 1st Armored Division during the period 2003 - 2004. If Mansoor has an unstated agenda, it is a subtle one focused on educating our nation's future political and military leadership. He is not trying to rehabilitate the public's perceptions of his actions in Iraq. Indeed, his candor and objectivity are very refreshing in comparison to other books covering that same period which I have recently read.

I found this an excellent read! I have met Peter Mansoor and listened to him speak and he is an sxcellent spokesman for The Ohio State University (where he now teaches) and for the U.S. Army.Pete Anderson

To my liking it was a very long with lots of details, but it a very good book. Col. Mansoor impressed very much with his great memory and of ours his archives which is very impressive. I can see he kept his log up to date. I feel like I was in Iraq with him, since it was a very personal experience that was shared for all of us that like to read military history. I am a U.S. retired officer with combat experience in Vietnam and in Central America. Excellent!!!!!

I have attempted to read many accounts of the war in Iraq, but most begin with either the agenda of criticism and blame, or cheer-leading. This account is a clinical, unvarnished report describes mistakes, dreadful decisions as well as extraordinary heroism and Sisyphean diligence. The adaptive insight and creativity of the troops "on the ground" is remarkable.The breadth of Mansoor's experience, honesty, explanation and detail provides a glimpse into the complexity of Baghdad after the invasion.This book should be required reading for all government officials, including the presidential candidates, regardless of opinion, political party or past positions on the reasons for the war.

Well written, sufficiently detailed to understand the intent, not so detailed as to bore the reader. One of the best first-hand experience books I've read. Looking forward to reading Dr. Mansoor's book 'Surge'.

Another story from Iraq ! it's an okay book but I have read many books on Iraq and this is far from the best.Martin Mc Larnon