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[0] checkbox [#] position [cover] cover [title] title Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad [author] author Zucchino, David [isbn] isbn 080214179X [isbn13] isbn13 9780802141798 [asin] asin [num pages] num pages 368 pp [avg rating] avg rating 4.03 [num ratings] num ratings 390 [date pub] date pub Mar 22, 2004 [date pub (ed.)] date pub edition Nov 29, 2004 [rating] Lucas's rating 3 of 5 stars [my rating] my rating 1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars add to shelves [notes] notes Notes are private! [recommender] recommender none [comments] comments 0 [votes] votes 0 [read count] # times read 1 [date started] date started not set [date read] date read Mar 09, 2009 [date added] date added Jan 03, 2009 [date purchased] date purchased [owned] owned [purchase location] purchase location [condition] condition [format] format Paperback [29] actions view [review] 
review The central problem of this book is a dramatic one: the battles are completely one-sided. The Iraqis were completely ill-equipped to defend against ta The central problem of this book is a dramatic one: the battles are completely one-sided. The Iraqis were completely ill-equipped to defend against tanks and die by the hundreds for every U.S. casualty. I think the overwhelming success was completely lost on whoever was in charge of the occupation that followed the invasion, and they replaced practically invincible heavy armor for Humvees. Half the time I was trying to think of inexpensive defenses (swarms of rc or autonomous landmines on wheels?), and the other thinking of things the tanks seemed to be missing (like real-time aerial reconaissance, they were basically charging in with very little knowledge of what was in store for them). The parts I appreciated the most were the events that overlapped with those in Anne Garrel's Naked in Baghdad but from a different perspective. The first was a U.S. tank that was disabled by a lucky shot from an rocket-propelled-grenade or recoilless rifle (which is sort of like the cannon on a tank but mounted on a truck or freestanding), and then abandoned, after which the Iraqi information ministry brought foreign reporters to see it as proof of their defeat of the Americans- this book describes it from the point of view of the people in the tanks, and Garrels was among the reporters who saw it later. The second event is more tragic, where a U.S. tank fired on the Palestine Hotel where Garrels and other reporters were staying and two Spanish reporters died as a result. The first half or two thirds of the book which covers the actual 'thunder runs' of the title seems stronger, but I had difficulty later on keeping events at different locations distinct and characters are very rapidly introduced and then ignored after their moments pass. The other thing was that I had some difficulty visualizing the pacing of events- the author (and probably the interviewed participants) edits out the boring parts, but doing the math on shots fired or vehicles destroyed shows things happened in quantity but somewhat spread out in time. ...more
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