Hi All'
SWMBO said she was going intotown and would pick up the book Thunder Run by David Zucchino for my birthday. Me, working nights went to bed. When I woke up I was told there's TWO books by David Zucchino with that title.
Can anyone out there shed any light on this quandry?
Tom

Hi Tom, it looks like Thunder Run is a series?
There looks like there is actually 4 books "titled " Thunder Run"
you can check each one here:
ThunderRun X 4

Bruce

I've read this book and it is excellent reading!! (the first one if there is a series)
One of those that you can't put down once you start.
Will give you a wide open look at what our troops are facing.
Enjoy!
Besy regards,
Gary

Guess I should learn how to spell "Best"
Gary

Thunder Run is one book...what the link shows are the hardcover and paperback versions.

Heavy Metal: A Tank Company's Battle To Baghdad by Jason Conroy & Ron Martz is another book about US Armor in Baghdad during OIF. I haven't read it yet, but it has received very good reviews.

Jim

In my opinion this is about the best book out on OIF so far. Only one other book I think compares, and it is The March Up, which follows the Marines. Both books are heavy with first person accounts and good discussion on tactics and strategy.

Bob

Bob,

The March Up .... is it paper or hardback?

Gary

The best book so far. I know of a certain OIF book that I bet will be even better when it hits the shelves. I have an inside contact that assures me it will be great, If you know what I mean.

Looks like I have a couple of new titles to add to my list now. "Thunder Run" and "The March Up"

I read "Generation Kill" while on duty one night. It follows 1st Recon on their missions in OIF. It had a decidedly different flavor, since the author was embedded with them from Rolling Stone magazine.

I have read both (I own Heavy Metal) and Thunder Run is simply amazing. Zucchino and Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down) worked together at the same newspaper and helped each other on their respective books, so the flow of reading and the language is the same (a good thing).

Heavy Metal is alright. Its contributions are an expansion of Thunder Run and Charlie's Company (2nd Brigade)'s contribution to the Runs and it contribution to the 2nd Brigade throughout the war. It is also notable for being one of the few if not the only book on US conflict in the past ten years written for the general public with small unit combat (in this case a tank company) in mind written by a small unit commander (Black Hawk Down's Bowden was a journalist and does not count to this statement). Its biggest downside is that, while very informative, tends to flow at times like the stereotypical autobiography, only in this case, Charlie Company takes the place of the author. But its benefits outweigh its deficits.

Jeff

Gary, The March Up might be in paperback by now, but I have only seen it in hardback. Even in hardback if you shop around I bet by now you can get it on sale. Check Amazon.com.

Yes, Gino, there might be an upcoming book that exceeds Thunder Run ... NOT! :-) . Anyway, maybe it will be one of the better ones of the photo history type. We shall see!!

Bob

Thanks Bob,
Just ordered both HEAVY METAL and THE MARCH UP from Amazon.
Got both for just over $37.00 US. Always forget about Amazon.com!
I'm currently reading BROTHERHOOD OF HEROES by Bill Sloan.
Excellent book about the First Marines at Peleliu.
Thanks again,
Gary

Loved "Thunder Run." That said, I do have a compaint.
The book was seriously lacking in maps and pictures. More maps would have been really helpful. I got lost trying to figure out who was where. That is one gripe I have with a lot of history books, especially ones that deal with a small tactical operation like this one. I mean, how much can a map cost to have added to a book.

Shaun

I hear you. Burik will probably be able to better answer this since he was working on a book if I remember right.

For me, it wasn't so much figuring out where each unit was and when, it was figuring out each unit. At the time I read Thunder Run, I didn't know much about how the Army organized its units and numbered them. So that was my first priority before I even attempted to figure out where each was (I have since relatively learned both). But looking online for maps of Baghdad, it wasn't too hard to figure out.

Jeff

Shaun's complaint will probably carry over into my book too about the maps. I think I planned on just one overall map of Iraq in the front of the book. I actually had lots of maps of local actions (with overlaid notes on them - and one of those is on the inside of the front and back covers of Thunder Run). But I wanted to get as many photos in as possible so I felt the photos would have been more appreciated by readers than maps.

Gents:

You may find this publication helpful in the map department: http://onpoint.leavenworth.army.mil/

It's the OIF after-action prepared my the Center for Army Lessons Learned. Enjoy!