Donovan CampbellKirja-arvosteluja

While I know nothing of what it takes to be a Combat Marine, this book did a good job of describing the people who were. It is heart wrenching, funny, exciting and angering at what they had to go through. It is a great read for anyone who's exposure to war comes entirely though entertainment or the news.

While this book was well written, and correct, I didn't enjoy it like others because of the genre [non-fiction].

If you like military non-fiction, then I suspect you'll like this book. Snapshots of a military tour from the Lt's point of view. He is in the middle between the grunts and the High Command. Not a nice place to be.

Written by a Marine Officer leading his platoon into combat for the first time, a hardcore look at the war on the ground in Iraq, and the coming of age by the men who fought it.

Written for Library Thing Early Reviewers:
A thoughtful, detailed look by a Princeton grad cum Marine officer at bringing together a unit of Marines to be battle-ready, and then going to his first battle zone, Iraq in 2004. The writing is a bit rough in spots, it won't be a spoiler-alert to tell anyone that the reader knows intuitively early on not all of these men will make it back in one piece, and some won't make it back at all. Campbell's earnest and truthful acknowledgment of inexperience in leading - yet he is their leader...his bone-crushing intention not to make a mistake that could cost his men their very lives are depicted vividly. He's managed to replay his thinking, putting the reader in his shoes, of trying to think clearly, for example, when a rocket blast has just deafened him. Brief, sympathetic character development brings his men and fellow officers to life. With many military men in my immediate family, I appreciate their sacrifice. Taking Joker One at face value, the Marines take sacrifice to a higher level.

RGG: First person account of a Marine Corps officer and the platoon he commands in Ramadi, Iraq. Very revealing and heart-felt.

I will be honest and say that I did not expect this quality of a book from a Marine. I was quite surprised at how well it is written. I have not been so moved by a book about war since All Quiet on the Western Front. That was fiction; this is non-fiction. I was very proud about some of the decisions these "kids" made while in the heat of battle. Campbell did well to show the reader how training will never be enough, supplies run out or don't work, and anything that can go wrong whi...moreI will be honest and say that I did not expect this quality of a book from a Marine. I was quite surprised at how well it is written. I have not been so moved by a book about war since All Quiet on the Western Front. That was fiction; this is non-fiction. I was very proud about some of the decisions these "kids" made while in the heat of battle. Campbell did well to show the reader how training will never be enough, supplies run out or don't work, and anything that can go wrong while being shot at, will. He also showed how camaraderie and faith can get you through anything.

based on the reviews ive heard from my recruiter and many other i cant wait to read this book

Very few books make me cry at the end. But this one was particularly humbling. I had trouble with this book at first, because of how the author presented himself. However, as I read further, I saw how this young officer evolved. As a former enlisted Navy reservist, and having family still serving, I often get into discussions about officers’ arrogance and their distance in background from most enlisted personnel. At the end of the book my viewpoint about Mr. Campbell changed. Through serving with Joker One he learned about love, real love, love for your brothers, and love for people. In the end I was very appreciative of his ability to be honest about himself, his thoughts and feelings and how he was shaped throughout this experience. In fact, this book is a story about what an officer should become and what he/she should embody when holding such a commission. Though this is a tale of war and despair there was still so much hope in the book. Also, I often find myself in conversations with those for and against the military. These conversations in essence really end up as sound bites of people’s differing views on patriotism. I want them all to read this book. Mr. Campbell does well in depicting what Marines are: young men (some a little older) who put themselves in harms way in attempt to bring peace. Often they screw up and are definitely not infallible, but more often than not have an enormous amount of compassion. I experienced this myself when I met my cousin’s husband who is also Marine and during my experience in the Navy. I have read many books about the military, many of which have not shown the good deeds of our service members, often focusing on war or killing or the negative outcomes. I’m particularly taken to the chapter in Joker One regarding the school children and how the platoon risked their lives to save them. And also at the end when the Marines were happy to go home but felt they may have failed because Ramadi was still in turmoil. This book does a great job of encompassing the humanity of our marines.

Donovan Cmpbell has given us a memoir of how it is to be the officer in charge of a group of men who may die at any moment. He has not written an intense "shoot 'em up" book, although there is plenty of fire power in his story. Rather he has told how the interaction between himself and his men created a caring family who was willing to work together for a common cause.

Iraq in 2004 was not a fun place, and we see the work our men performed through the eyes of their leader. Donovan Campbell was not raised to be a military man, but circumstances led him to join the military and go to the middle east to fight. We see a man who is very similar to those under his command - a man who is willing to look outside himself for guidance yet takes his command position very seriously. If he is typical of our leaders in the military, I have no qualms of sending my son to fight under their protective eye.

Taken from my blog: http://theherculesnotes.blogspot.com/2009/02/1024-joker-one.html

What struck me from the beginning of this book, is the narrator's perspective on events. Like anything, when we read a book, we bring our own prejudices into the reading of the book. I personally try very hard to avoid this pitfall, but at the same time, I would be lying if I said that I was one of the war's biggest supporters. Nor did I go out and vocally oppose it, but that's another story, for another time. In hindsight, I have noticed, that many reviewers have taken the approach of bringing their personal biases in reviewing this book (pro or against the war and its effects). I would argue that this book is so great, that such an approach is completely unwarranted.

Here are the themes that struck me upon reading this book:

1. It is made very clear that the author is a Princeton and Harvard Business School graduate. Yet, it is not that education which plays the biggest role during his deployment.
2. The military are given certain parameters to operate within (one could say, their hands are tied, before the deployment even begins), however, the reality on the ground is different than the orders.
3. The History of the Marines as an institution comes through those pages very strongly. Yet, for all that, Marines are soldiers, and soldiers are human beings, with human feelings, and human concerns and human problems and human failings.

The strongest truth in this book was its honesty. From the very first page it grabbed my attention and never let me go. That is why I mentioned it was important to forget your prejudices. You can not go into reading this story by hating the Marines for what they are doing. Open your eyes and read Donovan's story and hear it with your heart. Then you will understand what it really takes to serve in the modern military. If you might get to a point where you question how the military functions, or how it handles decisions handed down from the political leadership that could be an outcome of your existing preconceived notions, but in the meantime, you would have missed the human part of the equation; you would have missed the drama of men fighting along each other for a cause they were told was just and right.

There is another truth hidden in the exceptional story telling skills of Donovan Campbell. He cares. He cares for his Marines. He cares for his squad leaders, his NCOs, his sergeants, etc. He tries to always do right by them. This does not mean he is a "soft" leader, but every trial faced by one in the platoon, is faced by all. Ramadi in 2004 is not a welcoming place. There are many dangers, and many of the dangers come from within mosques and other off-limits type places. I do not know if the loses that this Platoon suffers can be regarded heavy in comparison to other Platoons, yet, you feel each one of them as if they were someone you knew. That is the greatness of the story that Mr. Campbell is conveying here.

Finally, one more compliment. At the end of the book, you get the feeling that something was accomplished and yet, a lot remained to be accomplished. Regrets were finally expressed, but they were not so overwhelming as to consume the tone of the book. This then is the highest compliment I can pay to this war memoir: if you had not made-up your mind about this war and you read this book, this would not help you decide, BUT it would give you a very clear and distinct perspective on what the American fighting men and women have to endure in persecuting this war. And isn't that what we all need? Better understanding? For others, this will be just a great war yarn.

Just finished Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood. Told by the Platoon Commander this is an excellent book. There's no politics involved. It's a straightforward, detailed account of his platoon's hellish stint in Ramadi during the summer of '04. During that stint, their company had a higher casualty rate than any company since Vietnam. Had me in tears this morning while I was finishing it up. Just a damn good book.

Candid, Minute to Minute, On the Ground Account

Donavan Campbell gives us a candid view of what he and his Marine platoon, Joker One, experienced as they trained at Camp Pendleton California for their deployment in Ramadi, Iraq. The “hit and run” tactics of the enemy, how terrorists melt back into the city streets after an RPG attack, errant AK 47 “spray and pray” firefights in the city’s streets, the shocking consequences of an IED explosion, the heartbreaking death of young Iraqi children and the consequences on Campbell’s platoon who we feel we know by the end. Not only is the book a candid account of what the platoon experienced in Ramadi, but also a useful self assessment by Campbell of his own decisions, the confusion in decision making (fog of war) and the self doubt around some decisions. It is a good book on leadership as well.

The book’s minute-by-minute account of urban firefights is a good and granular companion to higher altitude perspectives that miss the real consequences of war.

Here's to hoping that the current (much deserved)success of The Hurt Locker will lead to the masses discovering the other great works of the Iraqi war, including Joker One by Donovan Campbell. What helps both The Hurt Locker and Joker one is how immersive the worlds being portrayed are, the story of Campbell and his platoon is not one we the reader feel as if we are on the outside looking in on, instead after a surprisingly short amount of time his platoon is your platoon. You run through the same gamut of emotions that the characters are put through. Just as in actual deployment the days/skirmishes start to run together until all of a sudden out of nowhere the realities of the horror these men are going through hits you like a ton of bricks. A definite must read.

Many times, the authors of war memoirs--especially those coming out of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts--fall into one of three common traps: they try to recast their story as a "real life Apocalypse Now," they try to write a "real life Catch-22," or they try to channel Kurt Vonnegut without possessing Vonnegut's light touch or mastery of irony. Donovan Campbell attempts none of these things. He simply relates his experiences as they happened, without embellishing them with overwrought "philosophical" meditations, and while trusting the reader to understand the humor, fear, and horror without needing to be walked through it. The result is that Joker One is one of the best war memoirs I've read.

Like all such memoirs, it's also infuriating: whenever Campbell's marines casually desecrate cemeteries, invade the homes of innocent citizens, or destroy their means of earning livelihoods during the course of their missions, I found myself doing the mental equivalent of screaming at the television set. "This is why you have a civilian insurgency! This is why you are not being greeted as liberators!" The horrible reality, of course, is that the very actions Campbell must take to protect his men are the actions that turn the populace against them--a problem for which there is ultimately no solution. Campbell does seem more aware of this contradiction than many other authors, however, although that doesn't make it any easier to read about.

But where Campbell really excels is in describing his interactions with the other members of his platoon. Again, in contrast to other authors, he goes light on the physical descriptions and information dumps, and lets the individual marines' actions build the picture of who they are as people. Campbell's evaluations of their strengths and failings--and his own--are both frank and evenhanded. The result is that readers will feel a strong connection to the people on the page and come away with a better idea of the caliber of the men and women deployed in Iraq.

While the author, Donovan Campbell, was attending the Harvard Business School he wrote this memoir as part of a veteran's writting project for full credit.This book, Joker One, is the result of this course. An easy to read first person account of a U.S. Marine Infantry Platoon leader whose platoon ended up serving a tour of duty in Ramadi, Iraq.

Donovan Campbell, Lt. Campbell, had already served a tour of duty in Iraq as an Intelligence Officer but wanted the responsibility of leading an infantry platoon. He finally got his wish and was transferred to an Infantry Company as the Platoon Leader of the First Platoon. When he arrived at his first combat command position the platoon was under manned and not combat ready. And soon after his arrival notice is given of the companies impending deployment to Iraq, his first front line combat deployment but second tour of duty in that theater of war.

When the orders arrived not only was the Company at its bare bones minimum, including missing a platoon leader, they filled out companies platoons complement of men with green men right out of boot camp. This means that the platoon would not have the bonding or training that a fully staffed platoon that had trained together would have had.

The memoir starts here and we follow Lt. Campbell as he relates what he has to deal with as a newely assigned platoon leader. We read about his daily stress and the informal training he gets from performing his job, his squad leaders and from his tough platoon sergeant. Then once in a war zone we learn how a combat platoon and its leader quikly learn their responsibilities in a combat zone. Here the responsibility of all platoon missions and the lives of his men rest on his shoulders. The Lt. was blessed that he had the aid of very good non-commission offciers to aid him. Then Iraq!

The main part of this memoir is of the platoon's deployment in Iraq. Their Company call sign was Joker and being the first platoon Lt. Campbell's platoon was called Joker One. He writes about what their daily lives were like while deployed in Ramadi, Iraqi. The constant stress and pressures of a combat zone seven days a week, 24 hours a day. As you read you get a glimpse of what these U.S. Marines went through.

The belief on arrival that they all know they will be going home to assuming they are already dead so they can concetrate at the job at hand with the feeling of constant stress of the unknown which was always present. Joker One started each mission in prayer as a unit.

Every platoon leader has the responsibility to complete the mission and keep his men safe. Joker was deployed to the city where some of the fiercest battle took place. Donovan Campell was one of the brave service to make it home and was willing to share some of his experience with us.

This is a first person account of a U.S. Marine Infantry Platoon leader whose platoon ended up serving a tour of duty in Ramadi, Iraq. We are introduced to the author as he transfer from a HQ intelligence job to a front line combat infantry position where the lives of men will be his responsibility. It was surprising o me after reading this account how ill prepared our Marines were for combat...yet they still performed s we would expect of a U.S. Marine.

When Lt. Campbell is given his transfer to his infantry platoon it is woefully understaffed and as they get orders for deployment new and green men right out of boot camp are sent to fill out the ranks. So his platoon is did not have the opportunity too get the bonding or training one would expect of a combat unit before deployment. This first hand telling let’s us see the daily stress and learning curve that a infantry platoon Lt. has to go through in a U.S. base and in a combat zone and how the responsibility of the men are always on his shoulders. You also see the truism of how important good non-commission officers are.

As they are deployed and we read Campbell’s retelling of their deployment in Iraq we can almost feel the times of stress and relief he went through. And how you go from knowing you will go home to assuming you are already dead so the stress is lessened. You can also tell how dedicated he was to his men and his resolve to try to get everyman home and still perform their duty to the best of their ability...always with the thought of upholding the honor of the Marines. This look inside what actually happened in a city where some of the fiercest battle took place. If you were not deployed yourself, thank God that these men volunteered for service. This is a very good memoir of a front line Marine and I am glad I was able to read it.½

I am only part way through reading this book so I will have to update this when I finish it. Thus far I have enjoyed reading this account but it has not drawn me in like some other authors I have read. This is the first book I have read concerning our current war in the Middle East so it was interesting to see it from the view of someone who was there rather than just the media. I have struggled with following all the characters and keeping them strait because there are so many, but I often do, so that may not be a problem for other readers.

Joker One by Donovan Campbell is the first person account of a Marine lieutenant serving in Ramadi, Iraq in 2004. Joker One, the platoon’s call sign, is not an in-depth review of why the United States is fighting in Iraq. Instead, Campbell provides a personal and detailed account of one platoon, thrown into an intense combat situation, with limited practical training and Campbell’s efforts to bring his men out alive.
Campbell provides excellent insight into the daily life of a Marine stationed in Ramadi, just as the violence in the area begins to increase. The vast majority of the book contains retellings of the day-to-day life of the Marine platoon that Campbell leads. Many of the stories are humorous—the retelling of a particularly raucous song and dance number is amusing, other tales are much more grim. Campbell’s retelling of patrols in hostile territory, coming under enemy fire, and ultimately, the loss of a fellow Marine, places the war in Iraq in a narrow focus, from a unique point of view.
Ultimately, Joker One is the closest most Americans will come to being in an actual war zone. Campbell’s love of his fellow Marines, his deep faith in God, and his own personal determination to lead his platoon to the best of his ability, makes for a fascinating, if somewhat heartbreaking, read.½

It was hard to read this book without becoming overwhelmingly furious at the leaders, both military and civilian, who ask our young men to do impossible jobs without the proper tools. President Bush surely knew better than to attempt a land war in Asia, after all, it's only been a military maxim for better than 50 years. How many times did Mr. Campbell mention that the radios didn't work correctly or that they STILL didn;t have enough Humvees? Funny how the civilian mercenaries can seem to find radios that work perfectly and have plenty of vehicles to do their job.

I was also a bit bothered by the coercive nature of the prayer sessions. This seems to be increasingly prevalent in our military forces. In other words, to be part of the team, you must take part in the rituals laid out by the team leader. Joker One, was by Cambell's account, a diverse group of guys. Surely there was at least one Roman Catholic, or Jew, or even Moslem (since some were Filipino) or Pagan. He mentioned that he thought some were atheist. But still they were forced to participate. Semper Fi transcends religion I'm sure.

But the Marines do the best job they can, mostly without complaint or bitterness. Campbell provides us with a multitude of leadership lessons. And in the end, we have another war memoir that illustrates the futility and wastefulness of attempting to impose our will on another culture... no matter how good our intentions.½

Donovan Campbell joined the Marines after 9/11. A recent Princeton grad and first in his class at the Marines’ Basic Officer Course, Campbell was made the Lieutenant of a forty-man infantry platoon called Joker One. Campbell led his platoon on a tour of duty in Ramadi, Iraq, where they patrolled for IEDs, battled insurgents, and tried to win over the locals – often in temperatures over 120 degrees, carrying 50 pounds of equipment.

Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood is Campbell’s account of his time in Ramadi. He describes what he and his men did and learned, but also shares his heartfelt insights into what made his team so great. It is a riveting story of courage and camaraderie that should make us appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of our military.

Also posted on Rose City Reader.

An interesting account of a platoon of Marines who had little time to train before they were shipped out to Ramadi.

Donovan's memoir brings to light the day-to-day operations of a Marine platoon from how squads are formed to saving lives in hostile territory.

Following the platoon through their training, the intense tension that followed their mission in Iraq, the few glimpses of humor and relaxation and of course the horror and grief that followed deaths of some of the squad brought home the sacrifices these men make in serving their country. As you follow them along their journey, you live their fears, their stress, their anger, their courage, their grief, their thrills and the deep emotional bond that makes them an effective platoon.

The details can sometimes be a little overwhelming but they do give a different and I think stronger perspective of what the Marines had to go through compared to what's covered by the news stations.

You know how they say to never judge a book by its cover? They should update it to include never judge a book by the paragraph on its back cover. I started reading this book apprehensively because its description made it sound like it was written by a Christian jihadist out to kill hajis.
Thankfully, Donovan Campbell is none of those things but he is en excellent writer. His prose is crisp as he describes the impossible situation that he and his platoon find himself in. He details the absurdities and sorrows of living in a war zone in a manner that's easy to read but still engaging. What's amazing is that he manages to do this without speaking of the politics that sent him to war. I'm still undecided if whether or not this is a good thing. Regardless, it's an important book and displays the realities of the war in Iraq. I'm just not sure how many people will pick it up, I know I wouldn't have if it weren't sent to me.

“Donovan Campbell was a platoon commander in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in Anbar in 2004. In Joker One, he tells the story of a hard fight from the ground level better than most of the military writers or news people ever could. This is how it was in Ramadi in 2004,way before the Surge, when Iraq was falling apart on the evening news. The book portrays an picture of what it is like to lead men into battle. It describes the bonds that are formed between soldiers and the love he felt for all the men under his command. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in knowing what fighting in a war really entails. Whether you agree with the Iraq invasion or not you cannot help but respect the men that had such courage, who always looked out for their fellow soldiers and the Iraqi citizens and put themselves in harms way day after day.

Wow. This non-fiction work is about the author's experiences leading a marine platoon for one year in Iraq. I devoured this on one plane trip and back and was so moved towards the end, I found myself crying in public. Its a really harrowing, but honest account of the horrors of the Iraq war and I think how much we Americans do not really understand the war.

I really enjoyed this book - it was in turns shocking and awe-inspiring. It is a well-written and fairly fast read - there are no slow bits and it qualifies as a real page-turner. It makes you think and makes you question many of the ideas you thought you already had answers to.