Collateral Damage

America's War Against Iraqi Civilians

By: Chris Hedges, Laila Al-Arian

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges and journalist Laila Al-Arian spent several months interviewing Iraqi war veterans to expose the patterns of the occupation and how it affects Iraqi civilians. The testimonies of these soldiers and marines provide a disturbing window into the indiscriminate killing of unarmed and innocent Iraqis that is carried out daily by the occupation forces.

Collateral Damage is organized around key military operations on the battlefield - convoys, checkpoints, detentions, raids, suppressive fire, and "hearts and minds". Hedges and Al-Arian uncover how the very conduct of the war and occupation have turned the American forces into agents of terror for most Iraqis. The military convoys that speed through the centers of towns, often driving on the wrong side of the street or on sidewalks, have become trains of death. Soldiers fire upon Iraqi vehicles with impunity at checkpoints; pregnant women being rushed to the hospital have been killed at roadblocks when their husbands failed to slow down, and children have watched in horror as their parents have been killed.

Hedges and Al-Arian show how this widespread pattern of civilian killing has fueled the insurgency in Iraq, giving rise to instability, sectarian violence, and total chaos.

©2008 Chris Hedges and Laila Al-Arian (P)2008 Tantor

looking through the eyes of pure evil and torture

in an age where there is no more visual or audible existence of the U.S. draft to fulfill the need for psychological violence of modas operandi for the balance of evil and good. once again Mr. Chris Hedges gives the world a transparent view in the reality of human behavior that never fails to amaze me of how ordinary people are capable of entering a war by their own choice of brainwashed uncognitive thoughts that are associated with their personal vindictiveness and are willing to create their own place in the arm forces to create so much pain and violence for their own personal pleasure and completely disregard the purpose on who why how and when any of the purpose was there to begin with. thank you Mr. Chris Hedges to bring awareness to the American people who definitely will never get it unfortunately but you have captured me with you're brilliance

Vivid and Relevant: one of the best war books...

Where does Collateral Damage rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Chris Hedges is a much-respected war journalist and deserves those merits. In terms of war-related writings, I would put this up there with "Shake Hands with the Devil" in terms of impact and clarity.

This book, unlike Shake Hands, is not a first-person narrative; it relies on interviews of those directly affected by the Iraq Occupation, from Iraqi civilians to American soldiers. This format is tremendously effective!

I've read several of Mr. Hedges' books, including "War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning" (first-person narration) and "Death of the Liberal Class" (tremendous book with larger scope of topic). All amazing, but this book is the most vivid in my memory... powerful and "must-read" status for sure.

Have you listened to any of Lloyd James’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Great pace and clarity, perfect narrating performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Gripping and fluid narration, this would be easy to finish in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

All of Chris Hedges' books should be narrated and available on Audible (several already are, even "I Don't Believe in Atheists", which ironically I do not believe in, but interesting debate nonetheless). Not many people have managed to crack mainstream intellectual status and have/maintain some integrity.