My War : Killing Time in Iraq

Skateboarding party animal Colby Buzzell traded a dead-end future for the army-and ended up a machine gunner in Iraq. To make sense of the bloody insanity surrounding him, he started a blog about the war and how it differed from the government's official version. As his blog's popularity grew, Buzzell became the embedded reporter the Army couldn't control-despite its often comical efforts to do so. The result is an extraordinary narrative, rich with unforgettable scenes: the Iraqi woman crying uncontrollably during a raid on her home; the soldier too afraid to fight; the troops chain-smoking in a guard tower and counting tracer rounds. Drawing comparisons to everything from Charles Bukowski to Catch-22, My Wardepicts a generation caught in a complicated and dangerous world-and marks the debut of a raw, remarkable new voice.

Colby Buzzell lived in the San Francisco Bay area until he enlisted in the Army at the age of 26 to straighten out his life. He served two years, including a year in Iraq.