Review Richard Lowry, Marines in the Garden of Eden, The True Story of Seven Bloody Days in Iraq, Berkeley Publishing Group, 2006

Lowry, Richard, Marines in the Garden of Eden, The True Story of Seven Bloody Days in Iraq, Berkeley Publishing Group, 2006

 

Nasiriya was the biggest battle the Americans fought during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Initially the Marines didn’t think the Iraqis would put up much resistance but it turned into a week-long operation. Richard Lowry tells the most comprehensive story of what happened.

 

Nasiriya was essential because it was on the main route the Marines were going to take to get to Baghdad. There were two bridges that needed to be seized as a result. The U.S. didn’t think the Iraqis would put up much resistance and it would take little effort to complete the mission. Nothing went according to plan however.

 

The book portrays the battle for the city as a comedy of errors. First a U.S. army unit got lost in the city, ambushed, took casualties while others were captured. The Marines were then ordered to take the bridges as quickly as possible out of fear that they would be destroyed. This was not the plan but some units were not informed. One third of the Marines tried to follow the original plan by skirting the city to avoid urban fighting but got bogged down in mud and came under attack. The rest of the Marines went right into the city and got int the fight of their lives. Communications were not properly working throughout the day and no one knew where they went. As a result they were attacked by their own planes leading to several dead and wounded.

 

Lowry goes through all these events and more. He does a good job breaking down the story by each of the many units that were involved from the leadership to the different companies to the tanks to the helicopters and more. There are several maps which are very helpful to keep up with who was where and what they were doing. There is coverage of many individual Marines to personalize the combat as well.

 

There are a few other books on the fight for Nasiriya. Marines in the Garden of Eden is the best of them because it covers the most information in a well written story. The narrative moves quickly and there is plenty of action as the combat was very intense. Most people know about the Shock and Awe bombing and the Thunder Runs through Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq but Nasiriya was the toughest battle the U.S. ran into and is largely forgotten. Richard Lowry helps fill in that gap.

 

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