American Heroes: In the Fight Against Radical Islam »

Oliver North is a Vietnam veteran awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and two Purple Hearts during his twenty-two years of service as a United States Marine. Later, he was assigned to the National Security Council staff by former President Ronald Reagan, who called North "an American hero." Today, he is a New York Times best-selling author, syndicated columnist, and host of the award-winning War Stories documentary series on the FOX News Channel. North has four children, eleven grandchildren, and lives with his wife in Virginia.

Chuck Holton spent four years with the 75th Ranger Regiment, flew military helicopters and now travels the world as the "adventure Correspondent" for CBN. He is the author of five books, including the Task Force Valor Series, A More Elite Soldier, and Bulletproof: The Making of an Invincible Mind. He splits his time between his home in Panama and his farm in Appalachia, where he enjoys raising animals with his wife and five children.

Oliver North writes firsthand accounts of faithful American heroes in the fight against global terrorism and jihad; a New York Times best seller now in trade paper with updated chapter on Afghanistan plus a code for two downloadable episodes of War Stories.

Publishers Weekly

North is a retired Marine infantry veteran of Vietnam and was a key player in the Iran-Contra affair. This book is a mostly workmanlike presentation of his experiences as a war correspondent for FOX (which shares copyright on this book) as the U.S. invaded Iraq. Any political uproar it may cause is likely to stem largely from Pavlovian responses to the name of the author, a response that ignores that he has written both fiction and nonfiction as well as having been a Marine officer. So it is hardly surprising that he does excellent work covering a Marine aviation unit, one appointed to transport assault troops and evacuate wounded in aging helicopters-never without risk and sometimes with bloody incidents. These are vividly and knowledgeably described, as is the Marines' courage and professionalism. Nor is it surprising to witness the empathy between a retired Marine about to become a grandfather and younger Marines about to see combat. The briefer coverage of the armored units of the 4th Infantry Division is a little frustrating, and the polemics against antiwar journalists and politicians, while unlikely to offend readers who share the author's views, feel redundant. So does the capsule history of Iraq in the appendix, although well-written enough to give the author credibility as a popular historian. Even the larger issue of the linkage between a correspondent, a network and a publisher who are all politically simpatico can hardly be made into anything especially sinister without the same kind of political partisanship that the book exhibits in its less inspiring moments. DVD of Fox News North special not seen by PW. (Dec.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.