Marines in the Garden of Eden Category:  History Publisher: Berkley Calibre ISBN-10:  0425215296 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 448 Copyright: June 5, 2007 ISBN-13: 9780425215296 Marines in the Garden of Eden is the story of America’s sons and daughters who fought, bled, and died in a little-known city on the banks of the Euphrates River. Richard Lowry places you among the participants, on an ancient battlefield, at the edge of civilization.             Eleven Soldiers were killed as the sun rose on that clear Sunday morning. Ten more were wounded; six others were taken prisoner. The ambush of the 507th Maintenance Company was the beginning of Jessica Lynch’s horrible ordeal and a week-long fight for control of the dusty desert city of An Nasiriyah. By sunset on that same day, eighteen Marines had given their lives in the fight. For the next week, Task Force Tarawa’s Marines methodically swept through the city of a half-million. Building-by-building, block-by-block – they wrested control of the city from Saddam’s fanatic followers. Finally, American Special Forces dealt the crushing blow to the resistance in a daring midnight raid on the Saddam Hospital in the center of town. They freed Jessica Lynch and, in so doing, the residents of An Nasiriyah from the oppression of Saddam Hussein.             Marines in the Garden of Eden tells the story of the battle for An Nasiriyah. It tells it through the eyes of nearly one-hundred Marines, Soldiers, and newsmen who lived through that terrible week at the edge of the Arabian Desert. It tells of the Herculean efforts of men like Private First Class Patrick Miller, Corporal John Friend, Sergeant William Schaefer, Lieutenant Mike Seely, Captain Eric Garcia and Major Bill Peeples. The people of An Nasiriyah will not soon forget the men of Task Force Tarawa and the Camp Lejeune Marines will never forget their battle for “The Nas,” a battle that turned the tide in the invasion of Iraq and helped change the course of history. We should all never forget the Marines and Soldiers who died while serving their country along the banks of the Euphrates River. Marines in the Garden of Eden immortalizes these brave young Americans.

Midwast Book Review
In 2003 members of the 507th Maintenance Company had become lost in the desert - a week later they would participate in one of the bloodiest battles to oust Husseun from Iraq. Marines in the Garden of Eden: The True Story of Seven Bloody Days in Iraq tells of the story of the battle for a key part of the region, seen through the eyes of Marines, reporters and soldiers who were there. Sixteen pages of black and white photos provide a centerfold of images to back a powerful story of ambush and battle.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

W. H. McDonald Jr. - The American Author Association
It is rare indeed that you will read a book about war that is so absorbing and entertaining; yet, it is as analytical and probing as any great history book can be. Richard S. Lowry has written the definitive accounting of the battles in and around An Nasiriyah. That includes what happened to Private Jessica Lynch and her fellow soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company - their capture and misfortune and her eventual rescue from the hospital days later. In his book "Marines in the Garden of Eden," the whole story of this operation unfolds for you beginning well before the actual combat starts.

He brings to life the men and women in the various units from the privates to the generals; he lets you know them as people. His writing style is unique in the best of ways. He weaves in all the little details of what was going on by several groups involved in those early days of the war. He simultaneously chronicles the actions taken by each unit so that it gives you an almost god-like view point of the war. You could never experience it like this - even if you were actually there in all the action! His depictions of the battles are crisp and full of energy and give you that eye-witness feeling.

This is good reporting and good story telling. This book will be read by military historians for many long decades. It is well documented, well structured, and easy to read. It is also a great book just to kick back and read on the old sofa. This book receives the MWSA's TOP BOOK RATING of FIVE STARS! It is destined to become a classic book on the war in Iraq.