| Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story |  | Author: Ricardo S. Sanchez
Publisher: audible.com
Category: Book
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 An American Heroe. July 22, 2008
Lt General Sanchez confirms what the few intelligent American voter suspected. The Neo-Conservatives in The White House and The Pentagon have created a mess in Irag. Now because of field commanders that are finally being shown the respect that they did not receive until General Petraes was placed in charge; there has been more military successes on the ground in Irag.The Neo-Conservatives will soon be out of power after The November Elections. Whether it's President McCain or President Obama; their priorities should be to allow the Generals on the ground control the wars in Afghanistan and Irag and to not politicize the war for their own agendas be they liberal or conservative. LT General Sanchez would make a good Secretary of Defense for either President. He has the experience,the intelligence, and the respect for the Generals on the ground. The fact that he is a Latino would also honor the many Latinos that are in harms way and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. A country that has yet to accept them as equal Americans. In fact Senator McCain and Senator Obama would be wise to use him as their military adviser during their presidential campaign as soon as possible. A great book, a great public servant and a great Latino role model.
Sanchez Serves His Country Again July 13, 2008
As someone deeply involved in activities for the promotion of the German-American Partnership, I had the good fortune to meet Ricardo and Maria Elena Sanchez here in Germany before Ric was sent to Iraq. I was very impressed by Ric's honesty, humility, devotion to duty and his willingness, despite his unbelievably crowded schedule, to devote quality time to helping us promote cross-cultural understanding. Since he was one of the few high-ranking people that I found really impressive, I followed his subsequent career with great interest. As the tragic events in Iraq unfolded, I knew there had to be more to the story. I am extremely grateful to Ric for having the courage to write this outstanding book. Generations after us will use it as primary source material to help understand how the combination of ignorance, incompetence and hubris exhibited by the Bush administration has so severely diminished America's image in the world and inflicted damage on the country's institutions that will take decades to repair. Ric Sanchez by emphasizing the importance of truth, honesty and self-criticism in overcoming the legacy of our failures has served his country once again in an exemplary fashion.
David T. Fisher
Former President of the German-American Steuben Schurz Society
Interesting personal memoir. June 28, 2008
All memoirs tend to be self serving and this one fits the usual template. General Sanchez seems never to have made a mistake in his career or his life. And the bureaucratic details with their endless abbreviations and acronyms are sometimes confusing. There are minor spelling mistakes but that's the copy editor's responsibility. All that aside, this is a pretty believable story about an Hispanic guy who came out of the wilderness and rose to command an army in Iraq. The good general doesn't clobber any of his army comrades, although he insinuates, and saves his carefully expressed displeasure for the civilian leadership. Not so much Bush, who comes off as usually sincere, sometimes loony, but for Rumsfeld and the Democrats in Congress, both of whom come out looking like either lying morons (Rumsfeld) or angry but uninformed (Congressional committees). One can question some of his claims but his description of the Marine's abortive battle for Falujah is supported by a recent documentary being shown on the Military Channel. Sanchez was forced to retire and was deprived of a star for political reasons, mostly having to do with Abu Ghraib. He claims to have done the best possible job at the prison and elsewhere in Iraq, given that he was usually 60% under strength. I believed him, but you can judge for yourself.
A Soldier's Conundrum June 28, 2008
"Wiser in Battle" made for interesting reading, but it also pointed up the soldier's dilema when faced with the conflicting objectives of politicians and the military.
Throughout the book, General Sanchez had nothing but positive things to say about results achieved under his command, but at a certain point, when it was abundantly clear that things had gone badly wrong, he finally laid the blame where it should have been in the first place: The President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary of State, as well as Condi Rice.
For those interested in studying this phenomonem, it's worth reading. It is a pity, however, that honorable officers are put in the position he was, where he had a choice of speaking out or resigning.
If all the retired generals who are now criticizing the war had resigned en masse, perhaps we wouldn't be looking for a 100-year occupation, as the good Senator McCain suggests.
 Sour Grapes June 22, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
LTG Sanchez probably has a legitimate complaint as to how his retirement was handled.....but this book is a poor way to express it. He has taken great liberties with the facts and his view is not necessarily the correct one. He has written a puff piece about this poor Hispanic Texan who rose to three stars in the Army. As a minimum, he should have gotten people's names correct; among others it is "Rick" (not Ric) Brown, the CG at Ft Knox, who gave him considerable responsibility early in his career. Overall, a disappointing book. I blame the editors for allowing it to be published without some fact checking. Might have been a better book with just a little more work!
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