On the bottom of my November Blog Page I display a book called House to House by
SSG David Bellavia. Well, actualy as dictated to and prosed by a "co-author."
I wanted to make a few reviewer style comments about it, but my Blog has been waylaid by the subjects of Self Defense Talk. A worthy and long subject, but when I get myself hooked up in these themes, I just can't pontificate at random on stuff in general.
In the end of this book, Bellavia kills a guy with a knife to end a long, drawn-out CQC fight. AT one point he bashed the guy with his body army plate and well, this fight uses everything but the kitchen sink and it is an epic finale CQC battle.
I realized I knew this story! This story was covered in the news and perhaps I was filtered some after action report a few years back on this fight. I may have even published this free governemnt report right here on the talk forum.
Someone in the media thought this story could be built into a whole book I guess...and with a co-writer, took the challenge. So, the book also covers aspects of the invasion, plus the end, and it is entertaining and educational.
The latter third of the book is about one very secure house, with embedded enemies that could have...well, just been by-passed (like the Alamo.) Go around it. Or better yet, when they received enemy fire from it? Call in an airstrike and blow that son-of-a-bitch up.
But our hero became obsessed with it and there is much babble about making a heroic stand and going back in and cleaning the house out. ETC. Much introspective babble.
They go back in and mucho gunfights begin. Hallways, doors, closets, etc and I thinking? Why not blow the building up. They've done it before? And after MUCH pace-slowing babble from Belleva's head in which the actual author visits and re-visits the Sergeant's life, his family etc...we end in the bedroom CQC fight right out of Die Hard and pluck the bad guys is stabbed a few times.
I really got tired of hearing the many, many differning levels of Bellava's heart rate. I swear it races, pounds, jumps, and every which thing and way every few paragraphs. Over and over again. Belleva second-guesses everything, every step, interwoven with heart rates, sweat, thoughts of family... This and all the introspective psycho-babble, and makes me think that it is filler. I get the idea Belleva just went in and kicked some ass and the author and publisher turned him into an Oprah Winfrey episode.
This book is a few highly entertaining short stories stretched out into a small book, all at the expense of Belleva, I think. He is too tough, too experienced and way too cool a cat to be confabulated into this second-and third-guessing, emotional, distracted fighter.
Cheer Rating!
- Three cheers for Belleva and his boys.
-Half a cheer to the co-writer, who spread too much out. But still made a book
-Half a cheer for the publisher, who made the co-writer spread it out. But still made a book
-In toto? One and a half cheers for the book itself.
I have become convinced this day and age of ours that the true Americans, the true Brits and so forth, are the special, worthy, breed, the best of our best, are the people in our militaries. The warrior class again. Special note - the citizen soldiers, who live amongst us and ALSO are brave enough to volunteer.
The rest of us nationals? We just talk shit, scratch our ass, eat popcorn and watch. And read. I suggest you buy and read it this book. Its the least we can do.
Hock
Author
Topic: Military Knife Fight in Irag (Read 445 times)