Iraq was a strange war in that so few members of the American population were actually affected by it. Soldiers went to war while kids back home played video games of the same battles men were fighting. Many Americans knew people who served, but it was a relative few who went back again and again while society rapidly moved ahead back home like nothing was happening. War creates gaps between those who experience it and those who don't. Lessons from Iraq closes some of those gaps. Mike Kubista was a young Marine machine gunner sent in from the very beginning. His stories put you in place, let you walk along the chaos, and feel the world through his eyes. Part of this book is also about giving people context. There are a few common stories told about Iraq and what happened there, but never from people who were actually there. Mike weaves in the history, politics, and decisions made that ultimately led to the destruction of so many lives even as Iraq was on the verge of electing its first non-sectarian government. This is the story about how it all fell apart.