grunt: [noun]
(1) a deep, short throaty sound
(2) a U.S. Army or Marine foot soldier
(3) one who routinely does unglamorous work

Read the milblogs, and you get a lot of the good news from Iraq. Schools rebuilt, neighborhoods revitalized and made safer, terrorists killed or arrested.

Read the MSM, and you'll get a lot of bad news. Soldiers who cross the line while guarding detainees. Heroes killed by an IED. Iraqis who don't want us there.

What you don't see a lot of is the ugly. Long convoy rides. Blue-on-blue fire. Missions that don't go right. Brave Heroes doing their jobs in trying circumstances.

"Blood Stripes: The Grunt's View of the War in Iraq" reveals a lot about all three.

The Good: Brave Marines following the Spartan Way - dealing with heat and insurgency, IED's and AK-47's, wounded and fallen friends with steady resolve. Terrorists taken out of commission. Courage in the face of war.

The Bad: Mislaid plans, a sometimes questionably loyal Iraqi police force, and frayed nerves in the face of extreme stress.

The Ugly: Fallen Heroes. Humanity. The fact that being home isn't always being home whole.

To an ultimate "pogue" (or POAG) like me, the book was a rare look inside Marine culture. Values, ethos, operations. And it was a rare look at the reality of war. Sometimes we get the bad guys. And sometimes they get us. But one thing comes through in "Blood Stripes" very clearly - the Marines are absolutely resolved to have the last word on the subject.

At times it's difficult, but inspiring, to read - you find yourself in a war movie with all the action you can handle. The only problem is that the players in this one are real, and when they go down, sometimes they don't get back up. You really begin to feel for the Heroes in "Blood Stripes" - and you feel a keen sense of loss for the ones that don't make it to the end of the story. You find yourself rejoicing along with them when they do. And you find yourself tremendously grateful for the ones who go and face the dragons, so you don't have to.

That's not to say that the Heroes are perfect - they're normal men, with imperfect personalities, idiosyncracies, and anger. But that's what makes them so remarkable. They're normal men who became extraordinary - who became Marines, went to places like Fallujah, Ramadi, and Husaybah, and walked the line between Order and Disorder.

It's a must-read - a real story of the War in Iraq - from those who know it well.

Pick it up, or you can get a free copy courtesy of me if you are the first one to answer this month's "Where Am I" correctly.

UPDATE: We have a winner