I Am a Soldier, Too: The Jessica Lynch Story

(Paperback)

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER . The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author lends his remarkable narrative skills to the story of the most famous POW this country has known. In I Am a Soldier, Too, Bragg lets Jessica Lynch tell the story of her capture in the Iraq War in her own words--not the sensationalized ones of the media's initial reports. Here we see how a humble rural upbringing leads to a stint in the military, one of the most exciting job options for a young person in Palestine, West Virginia. We see the real story behind the ambush in the Iraqi Desert that led to Lynch's capture. And we gain new perspective on her rescue from an Iraqi hospital where she had been receiving care. Here Lynch's true heroism and above all, modesty, is allowed to emerge, as we're shown how she managed her physical recovery from her debilitating wounds and contended with the misinformation--both deliberate and unintended--surrounding her highly publicized rescue. In the end, what we see is a uniquely American story of courage and true heroism.

Reviews

Riveting. . . . The straight story on Lynchs remarkable ordeal. --Entertainment Weekly

Finely wrought. . . . A vivid portrait of a young woman who fled the familiar and fell into a situation beyond her control. New York Daily News

Deftly, respectfully, movingly, Bragg has written Lynchs story with extraordinary power. Brave, convincing and wonderfully sweet. --The Baltimore Sun

Bragg brilliantly paints a portrait. . . . Lynchs voice is heard, and through her eyes, we learn the importance of what it means to be an American. The Oklahoman

Rick Bragg . . . deftly separates fact from conjecture. . . . A convincing record . . . a minor miracle. --Winston Salem Journal

Bragg is a gifted wordsmith. He crafts wonderful sentences. . . . He writes lovingly and beautifully about the hills of West Virginia where Lynch was born and raised. --San Francisco Chronicle

Bragg tells the story as Jessica lived it . . . [and] in the telling, her story illuminates the stories of countless others. --San Antonio Express-News

There is probably more truth--sweet, human, undeniable truth--in Rick Braggs fine book, I Am A Soldier, Too than we have seen in anything about her experience so far--including the nightly news. For here, captured in Braggs distinctive prose, his appreciation of working people and their hardships, Jessica Lynchs story comes into its full surround as a quintessentially American journey. --The New Orleans Times-Picayune

I Am a Soldier, Too does Jessica Lynchs story justice without contributing to the distortion that has plagued it. --The Plain Dealer

A compelling story. --Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Lyrical. . . . Bragg is a storyteller. . . . He knows how to use palpable detail to put us inside the emotions of his characters. --Orlando Sentinel

Bragg . . . gives a cinematic account of the desperate firefight that mortally wounded Lynchs Army buddy, Lori Piestewa, and 10 others. . . . Lynchs painful recovery . . . is vividly described. --The Philadelphia Inquirer

Lynch is a true hero in the best tradition of a nation that intuitively prefers modest honesty to grandstanding bravado. --Los Angeles Times

There is a modesty about Lynch in the book . . . that is at odds with the months-long media ruckus over her ordeal. --The Wall Street Journal

A gripping account of the fight that engulfed Lynch and 32 fellow members of the 507th Maintenance Company. . . . This book is a survival narrative, a story of fighting against fear and pain and isolation and trying desperately to sustain hope. --Houston Chronicle

Bragg skillfully gives the story depth and immediacy. --Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

Author Bio

Rick Bragg is the bestselling author of All Over but the Shoutin', Somebody Told Me, Ava's Man, and I Am a Soldier Too- The Jessica Lynch Story. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1996. He lives in Alabama.