MWSA Review

The Real Deal in Iraq by a Marine Who Was There! Leatherneck Publishing has rolled out a long anticipated book about the current war on terrorism called Street Fight In Iraq. The book is written from diary notes taken from August 2004 through April 2005 by then GySgt Patrick Tracy, USMC. It brings the action to the reader as if you were right on patrol with the Marines. There is lots of emotion and many personal observations as the book lays it out as viewed from a combat soldier’s perspective. This is not some story of strategies and battle plans written by some general or some imbedded reporter – this is a first hand accounting of the day to day life in a real combat zone.

Gunnery Sergeant Tracy captures the nuances as well as the harsh realities of life and death in his well crafted book. This book holds no punches back and could never be called “politically correct” in any sense. The author tells us without much emotional censorship what he went through, how he felt about the terrorists and about losing good men, and how much he missed his family. The author’s words are not homogenized and fluffed over – the language is all Marine and very raw and salty at times.

There have been many books already written about the war going on in Iraq but none have the force and the power that Patrick Tracy’s book has – this is the best book of this genre! It is a must read book for all those interested in understanding the current war in Iraq; however, it is an absolute necessity for all those troops being deployed there in the future. This book is real history and is destined to become a classic war memoir for this generation of Marines.

The book is neither recommended nor suitable for all family members, or for those who may be offended by some very raw “colorful” language at times throughout the book.

This book is about today’s Marine Corps and reflects well on the men and women who proudly wear that uniform. 

Reviewed by: Bill McDonald (2006)

Author's Synopsis

A day by day account of the battle for Ramadi, Iraq during the height of the Iraqi insurgency from August 2004 until March of 2005. The legendary Fox Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines battled insurgents on a daily basis and this book serves as a blow by blow account; told by Fox Company Gunnery Sergeant, Patrick M Tracy. The author brings you along for the ride through many battles and skirmishes and has an upfront, no-nonsense style of telling his story.