Product Description
A day by day account of the battle for Ramadi, Iraq during the height of the Iraqi insurgency from August 2004 until March of 2005. The legendary Fox Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines battled insurgents on a daily… More >>
Street Fight in Iraq: What It’s Really Like Over There
Written by admin on September 5th, 2010 in Biographies & Memoirs.
Tags: 'it's, Fight, Iraq, Like, Over, Really, STREET, There
This is an enjoyable, easy to read book. It is a journal of GySgt Tracy’s time in Iraq, and it is definitely from a Gunny’s point of view. It is real, and the reader should read it not for a view of the “war in Iraq” but for a view of one somewhat arrogant (but possibly justified) Gunny. He is judgemental of his senior officers, but doesn’t realize his possible own limitations and ignorance. I state this just as a caveat to the book; it’s full of a Gy’s limited and very emotional view — good because it shows how someone actually fighting the war thinks about the war, without thinking too much about it. It may, however, give a reader unfamiliar with the military the impression that most Marines are idiots. Entertaining, but definitely from a Gy who wasn’t read-in to the bigger picture. It is more “enteraining” and “interesting” than educational or informative.
Rating: 3 / 5
Leatherneck Publishing has rolled out a long anticipated book about the current war on terrorism called “Street Fight In Iraq.” The book is written from diary notes taken from August 2004 through April 2005 by then GySgt Patrick Tracy, USMC. It brings the action to the reader as if you were right on patrol with the Marines. There is lots of emotion and many personal observations as the book lays it out as viewed from a combat soldier’s perspective. This is not some story of strategies and battle plans written by some general or some imbedded reporter – this is a first hand accounting of the day to day life in a real combat zone.
Gunnery Sergeant Tracy captures the nuances as well as the harsh realities of life and death in his well crafted book. This book holds no punches back and could never be called “politically correct” in any sense. The author tells us without much emotional censorship what he went through, how he felt about the terrorists and about losing good men, and how much he missed his family. The author’s words are not homogenized and fluffed over – the language is all Marine and very raw and salty at times.
There have been many books already written about the war going on in Iraq but none have the force and the power that Patrick Tracy’s book has – this is the best book of this genre! It is a must read book for all those interested in understanding the current war in Iraq; however, it is an absolute necessity for all those troops being deployed there in the future. This book is real history and is destined to become a classic war memoir for this generation of Marines.
The book is neither recommended nor suitable for all family members, or for those who may be offended by some very raw “colorful” language at times throughout the book.
This book is about today’s Marine Corps and reflects well on the men and women who proudly wear that uniform. It is given the MWSA’s Top Rating of Five Stars!
Rating: 5 / 5
Like combat patrols in Iraq, ‘Street Fight’ shoots for effect with no concern about hurt feelings or diplomatic fallout, and it’s authenticity makes it beautifully vulgar. Somewhere in this book I forgot I was reading a diary and felt like I was on patrol with Fox Company in Ramadi. Everyone who cares about America, Iraq, or the Marine Corps would benefit from sharing the Gunny’s perspective,and we’re lucky he wrote it down.
Rating: 5 / 5
First Sergeant Pat Tracy wrote this book in 2004, but it doesn’t lessen the battles being fought in Iraq one bit. He is a warrior and this, for now, is the only war he has to fight. This is a personal account, almost day to day, of how he copes with the real world, the world of guns, bullets, and IEDs with deadly effect. Pat is earthy, a Marine with Marine language. If you hate war, this is not your book unless you would like to know more about how the individual soldier or Marine feels about life on the edge of extinction. Battles with murderers, others call them insurgents, is no game to be played; these people are clearly trying to stop solutions to events which will improve the lives of millions of Iraqi people. However, these murderers would live in the middle-ages except for heros and heroines about which Pat Tracy writes. Earthy language and violence, so beware.
Rating: 5 / 5
If I wanted to know how the Marines really operated in Iraq, I would read this book. If you read the book and then read recent newspaper stories on the slow respoinse of the Marines getting lasers to stop road block runners, you will know why it is so important to have them. The book lays the grounwork for the need for lasers. Gunny cares for his troops. I appreciate his candor. He is a solid family man and yet a real warrior. I would highly recommend this book.
Rating: 5 / 5