Cindy in Iraq: A Civilian's Year in the War Zone

Morgan, a civilian who drove refrigerated trucks throughout Iraq delivering ice to U.S. troops, narrates a chatty, companionable book that offers an unusual look at life in Iraq. She goes to Iraq in part to empower herself after three failed marriages (her third husband tried to strangle her) and in part because of a deeply felt and frequently expressed patriotism; the book successfully blends these two aspects, and the Cindy that returns from Iraq is a stronger person than the battered woman who arrived in September 2003. The writing is strongest when Morgan relates the details of trucking in a war zone (her account of an ambush is particularly gripping) and life on an army base (one episode involves a bomb-disarming robot chasing her). Unfortunately, Morgan often slips into vague ruminations on patriotism, and the story turns dull despite the drama inherent in Morgan's job. Her voice is honest, and the story can be both gripping and horrible (as when she was raped while in Kuwait), but the book, which depends heavily on e-mail correspondence and a blog Morgan maintained while in Iraq, lacks tightness of vision.