THE FIGHTING 69TH One Remarkable National Guard Unit's Journey From Ground Zero to Baghdad

Before 9/11, the 69th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard consisted of weekenders prepared only to drink, play, and womanize. The terrorist attacks of 2001 aroused the latent leadership skills of their officers to motivate and train the unprepared men for duty in Iraq. Narrator Eric Steele uses changes in the volume and force of his voice to differentiate the author's words from those of the GIs; Steele rolls out the abundant profanity just like the men who swore it. He imitates slackers cussing out officers with insolent language that would never fly in disciplined troops. The brisk pace he keeps never impairs his clarity and makes a slow story worth pursuing until the action begins toward the end. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2008]