Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story | 
 enlarge | Authors: Ricardo S. Sanchez, Donald T. Phillips
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 175996
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.8
ISBN: 0061562424
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.0092
EAN: 9780061562426
ASIN: 0061562424
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
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Product Description
Amid all of the criticisms of America's war in Iraq, one essential voice has remained silent—until now. In his groundbreaking new memoir, Wiser in Battle, Lieutenant General Ricardo S. Sanchez, former commander of coalition forces in Iraq, reports back from the front lines of the global war on terror to provide a comprehensive and chilling exploration of America's historic military and foreign policy blunder. With unflinching candor, Sanchez describes the chaos on the Iraqi battlefield caused by the Bush administration's misguided command of the military, as well as his own struggle to set the coalition on the path toward victory. Sanchez illuminates the fallout of the communication breakdown between the leadership on the front and the politicians in Washington, revealing fractious discussions he had with, among others, Ambassador Paul Bremer and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Drawing on his tenure on the ground, Sanchez shows how minor insurgent attacks grew into synchronized operations that finally ignited into a major insurgency and all-out civil war. He provides an insider's account of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, explaining the circumstances that led to the abuses, who perpetrated them, and what the formal investigations revealed—all the while reflecting on America's objectionable use of torture and the grave need for the country's leadership to pursue an ethical course of action in the war on terror. Sanchez also details the cynical use of the Iraq War for political gain in Washington and shows how the pressure of an around-the-clock news cycle drove and distorted critical battle decisions, such as troop drawdowns, the fight for Fallujah, and the transfer of sovereignty. In addition, Sanchez shares the story of his career. He tells of the journey from his poverty-stricken youth on the Texas banks of the Rio Grande to joining the Reserve Officers' Training Corps at sixteen and later serving in Kosovo, Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and, ultimately, Iraq. At the time of his retirement, Sanchez was the highest-ranking Hispanic in the U.S. Army. The first book written by a former on-site commander in Iraq, Wiser in Battle is essential reading for all who wish to understand the current war and the American military's role in the new century.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
Heart in the right place, but... August 1, 2008
...is this book another self-serving attempt to place blame for individual and collective shortcomings elsewhere?
I will say right off the bat that I served under then-Colonel Sanchez when he was a mechanized brigade commander in Kansas in the mid-90's. I found him to be very interested in his leaders' knowledge, skills and abilities, but also felt that the way he went about testing his subordinates at times bordered on complete and total micromanagement. As a brand-new officer, I didn't mind that as much because it told me that he was involved and engaged in what his unit was doing. However, I know it rubbed a lot of other officers and NCOs the wrong way.
His section on brigade command leaves out some important facts about events at Fort Riley in the summer of 1995 and then the subsequent NTC train-up and rotation that I won't go into, but the way the section was written did put me on guard the rest of the way in terms of how he presented his case and what other critical details were omitted.
I will say that I respect Gen. Sanchez as a commander and know that he had his hands full as the V Corps Commander based on the observations of friends who served on his staff. I believe a lot of what he says in his book to be true: his corps was woefully under-resourced due to the belief that the war in Iraq was "over" and the lack of detailed planning for post-combat operations doomed his legacy unit to have to learn on the fly, something that rarely pays off successfully- at least early on in the game.
In Lt. Gen. (ret.) Sanchez's defense, he presided over some important victories in Iraq: namely the capture of Saddam Hussein and the killing of his two sons. Unfortunately for him, the Abu Ghraib scandal proved to be his undoing, no matter that the events occurred at levels well below him.
As is the case with Lt. Col. (ret.) Nathan Sassaman's memoir, I would caution readers not to take everything at face value and understand that with these autobiographies, there is always going to be a modicum of self-serving revisionism. I know that for a fact in this book because I lived through one of the sections and found that LTG (ret.) Sanchez left out a key event that I had always wanted to understand how he viewed it and how it affected him as a commander. I was disappointed that it got nary a mention and truly made me question what else he was leaving out the rest of the way. I was disappointed mainly because in my heart, I truly respected Sanchez as my brigade commander and would have followed him anywhere as a young officer who had yet to serve under anyone else. He inspired loyalty in me, and I believe him to be a good man.
In the end, I thank Gen. Sanchez for his service and believe that he tried his best. He has written a pretty interesting book about his career and life experiences. At the same time, knowledge is power. If this is the only account of the Iraq War you read, then you will come away with an incomplete picture of what happened there during that timeframe and what is occurring now at the 5 1/2 year mark.
Lt General Sanchez believes he was unfairly made a scapegoat to cover up for dumb decisions July 28, 2008
Perhaps he was. Certainly he makes a worthwhile case, and 30-plus years of service are not to be overlooked. He's understandably wounded in pride to think that he was forced into retirement while those in our government who should be (that's my opinion, not Sanchez's, BTW) remain in power.
Pride, indeed, just might be this warrior's Achilles' heel. As other reviewers have pointed out, he comes across at times as self-serving and defensive.
But he rightly returns his focus, time after time, to the men and women he led into battle. And though he makes his love for the service quite clear (again, 30+ years), he does not spare their blushes in his assessment of mistakes made, and steps that need be taken to learn.
In the end, though perhaps it could have been edited by about 10%, this book is well worth reading.
 An American Heroe. July 22, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Lt General Sanchez confirms what the few intelligent American voter suspected. The Neo-Conservatives in The White House and The Pentagon have created a mess in Irag. Now because of field commanders that are finally being shown the respect that they did not receive until General Petraes was placed in charge; there has been more military successes on the ground in Irag.The Neo-Conservatives will soon be out of power after The November Elections. Whether it's President McCain or President Obama; their priorities should be to allow the Generals on the ground control the wars in Afghanistan and Irag and to not politicize the war for their own agendas be they liberal or conservative. LT General Sanchez would make a good Secretary of Defense for either President. He has the experience,the intelligence, and the respect for the Generals on the ground. The fact that he is a Latino would also honor the many Latinos that are in harms way and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. A country that has yet to accept them as equal Americans. In fact Senator McCain and Senator Obama would be wise to use him as their military adviser during their presidential campaign as soon as possible. A great book, a great public servant and a great Latino role model.
Sanchez Serves His Country Again July 13, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As someone deeply involved in activities for the promotion of the German-American Partnership, I had the good fortune to meet Ricardo and Maria Elena Sanchez here in Germany before Ric was sent to Iraq. I was very impressed by Ric's honesty, humility, devotion to duty and his willingness, despite his unbelievably crowded schedule, to devote quality time to helping us promote cross-cultural understanding. Since he was one of the few high-ranking people that I found really impressive, I followed his subsequent career with great interest. As the tragic events in Iraq unfolded, I knew there had to be more to the story. I am extremely grateful to Ric for having the courage to write this outstanding book. Generations after us will use it as primary source material to help understand how the combination of ignorance, incompetence and hubris exhibited by the Bush administration has so severely diminished America's image in the world and inflicted damage on the country's institutions that will take decades to repair. Ric Sanchez by emphasizing the importance of truth, honesty and self-criticism in overcoming the legacy of our failures has served his country once again in an exemplary fashion.
David T. Fisher
Former President of the German-American Steuben Schurz Society
Interesting personal memoir. June 28, 2008
All memoirs tend to be self serving and this one fits the usual template. General Sanchez seems never to have made a mistake in his career or his life. And the bureaucratic details with their endless abbreviations and acronyms are sometimes confusing. There are minor spelling mistakes but that's the copy editor's responsibility. All that aside, this is a pretty believable story about an Hispanic guy who came out of the wilderness and rose to command an army in Iraq. The good general doesn't clobber any of his army comrades, although he insinuates, and saves his carefully expressed displeasure for the civilian leadership. Not so much Bush, who comes off as usually sincere, sometimes loony, but for Rumsfeld and the Democrats in Congress, both of whom come out looking like either lying morons (Rumsfeld) or angry but uninformed (Congressional committees). One can question some of his claims but his description of the Marine's abortive battle for Falujah is supported by a recent documentary being shown on the Military Channel. Sanchez was forced to retire and was deprived of a star for political reasons, mostly having to do with Abu Ghraib. He claims to have done the best possible job at the prison and elsewhere in Iraq, given that he was usually 60% under strength. I believed him, but you can judge for yourself.
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