The Washington Post’s David Finkel, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, discusses his new book, the already highly regarded and well-reviewed The Good Soldiers (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009), with Joseph Planta; a powerful book that follows United States Army soldiers between January 2007 to June 2008, who go to Iraq as part of President Bush’s surge.

The Good Soldiers by David Finkel. (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Good Soldiers

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line. This is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

The book is already highly regarded, with some tremendous reviews. It’s called The Good Soldiers, and it’s been compared to the works of Ernie Pyle, Black Hawk Down, and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. One reviewer said it was the best war book since The Iliad. Its author David Finkel not only profiles the United States Army soldiers of the Second Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment of the Fourth Infantry Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division, also known as the 2-16 for short; he also gives us a view of the war, and the loved ones at home. Between January 2007, as President George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq, and June 2008, Finkel, a reporter for the Washington Post, spent eight months with the soldiers. He goes with them in Baghdad, finding out about their lives, who they are, and seeing first hand the surge and whether it’s a success. It’s a compelling book, timely and obviously illuminating on this war that’s consumed all of us, even those outside of the United States. David Finkel is a staff writer for the Washington Post, and he received the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for his reporting on a series of stories about US-funded democracy efforts in Yemen. The Good Soldiers is published in Canada by Douglas & McIntyre. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, David Finkel; Good morning, Mr. Finkel.

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