{"product_id":"dogwood-by-andrew-wiest-9781472863188","title":"Dogwood","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is an unsparing account of the sharp end of war written by one of the finest military historians of his generation.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAndrew Wiest, author of the bestselling \u003ci\u003eBoys of ’67\u003c\/i\u003e, traces the experience of the 150th Combat Engineers of the Mississippi National Guard in their 2005 tour of duty in Iraq, centred on the forward operating base \u003ci\u003eDogwood\u003c\/i\u003e. Comprising youth hoping to attain a way out of grinding poverty, women seeking to break barriers, and patriots answering their nation’s call after 9\/11, the 150th represented nearly all of what America had to offer in 2005.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmid the transformation of the US military in the 21st century, no longer were they destined to be weekend warriors tasked mainly with local disaster relief. The new Guard was a sharp weapon of war. Soldiers grew up in the same communities, played sports and served together. As \u003ci\u003eDogwood\u003c\/i\u003e reveals, this provides a singular advantage, but also intensifies loss. Defying poor equipment, lack of specialist training, and heart-breaking losses, the 150th endured combat. They also implemented their own homespun counterinsurgency policy that turned an insurgency hotbed into a thriving community – one of the war’s few success stories. But all was forgotten.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSet within the context of a changing military, an evolving strategic situation, and an unpopular war, \u003ci\u003eDogwood\u003c\/i\u003e is an unflinching history which lays bare the harsh reality of combat through countless first-hand accounts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46849023901932,"sku":"9781472863188","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/10769403482712.jpg?v=1759009484","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/dogwood-by-andrew-wiest-9781472863188","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}