Iraq War History

This is a story of pain, loss, and hope. Our son was killed on foreign soil, and in an instant our world was forever changed. Just as yours would be. Chronicling the life of only one of the currently 7,000 Gold Star families from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, When Our Blue Star Turned Gold takes the listener from the early morning hours of his final and fatal battle to the ongoing journey of staff Sgt. Bryan Burgess’ family.

"I never thought it would be a foregone conclusion that I would be seeing a fight when I entered the Teams. I thought that perhaps I would get the chance to answer that call, but I never knew for sure until today. I hope that I never get in a rough situation, but if I do, I hope I will have the courage to see it through." Less than four years later, on June 28, 2005, Matthew Gene Axelson answered his own question.

Welcome to a place where even beer runs are a matter of life and death. As the Iraq War draws to an official close, Joshuah Bearman tells the funny and poignant tale of the real-life Baghdad Country Club, a bar in the Green Zone during the conflict's bloodiest years. Against all odds, its proprietors struggle to keep their raucous watering hole safe and well-stocked as the insurgency rages outside.

This riveting and important book is the summation of more than 20 years covering Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The War Against Saddam offers, in five acts, the full story of his rise to power and the West's relationship with Saddam throughout his dictatorship.