''The Good Soldiers'' (2009) is a

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

book about the 2007 troop surge in Iraq written by

David Finkel David Louis Finkel (born October 28, 1955) is an American journalist. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2006 as a staff writer at ''The Washington Post''. As of January 2017, he was national enterprise editor at the ''Post''. He has also worked for the ...

, chronicling the deployment of the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, nicknamed "Rangers", under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Kauzlarich. The story follows Kauzlarich as he experiences the reality of war, and loses soldiers for the first time.

Background

In 2007

embedded with 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, also known as the "2–16 Rangers", as they worked to stabilize a portion of Baghdad. During this time he witnessed first hand the realities of war and the toll it takes on those who engage in it. Using his experience reporting on the United States activities in Yemen,

writes on the then ongoing Iraq War from the focused perspective of a single U.S. Army Infantry Battalion.

Reception

''The Good Soldiers'' is a recipient of the ALA Alex Award (2010) and the

Cornelius Ryan Award The Cornelius Ryan Award is given for "best nonfiction book on international affairs" by the Overseas Press Club of America (OPC). To be eligible for this literary award a book must be published "in the US or by a US based company or distributed ...

References

Occupation of Iraq 2009 non-fiction books Iraq War books Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism {{mil-hist-book-stub