Iraq: Inside the Inferno

Michael Yon has done a better job than anyone else as a war correspondent in Iraq and Afghanistan, partly because he spent more time embedded with British and American soldiers there than anyone else. His book Moment of Truth in Iraq is fantastic—better than even his blog—and he has a new one coming out called Iraq: Inside the Inferno which should be on everybody’s required to-get list.

“It will cover my years reporting in the field from 2005-2008,” he says. “It will tell, with words and pictures, the dramatic story of how we won the war in Iraq – not primarily with our overwhelming technology, not with shock and awe destruction, but with the far more important force of American values.”

This book will include 200 of his best photographs, many of which have never been published, and it was put together by Karen Kraft, a documentary producer with the Discovery Channel.

He’s taking pre-orders now for a special edition that will be hand-numbered, signed, and shipped before the regular version hits bookstores. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but should be worth it for two reasons. First, the book will be of extremely high-quality.

This 220 page, full color book will be printed on the finest paper used for art books and bound using timeless techniques of the book-makers’ craft. Here are some of the details:

– The pages will be Smythe sewn, not just glued the way most books are today.
– The paper is acid free and guaranteed to last 800 years without yellowing or deterioration.
– The beautiful cloth cover – not plastic or some other synthetic fabric – will be gold stamped on both front and spine.
– And each book will be encased in a cloth-covered, gold stamped slipcase.

The second reason it’s a little bit pricey is because some of the proceeds will be donated to Soldiers Angels.

I can’t vouch for this book because I haven’t yet seen it or read it, but I can vouch for Moment of Truth in Iraq as the most accurate book about the Iraq war to date, at least among those that I’ve read. I trust him enough, and admire his work enough, that I pre-ordered a copy. Here is where you can get yours.