House to House: An Epic Memoir of War

In one of the most compelling combat narratives ever written, Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, Army infantry platoon leader, gives a teeth-rattling, first-hand account of eleven straight days of heavy house-to-house fighting during the climactic second battle of Fallujah. His actions in the firefight, which included killing five insurgents in hand-to-hand combat, earned him the Bronze Star, the Silver Star, and New York State's highest military honor, the Conspicuous Service Cross. He has been nominated for the Medal of Honor and for the Army's second highest combat medal, the Distinguished Service Cross, awarded for "extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force," with just four DSCs awarded since 1975.

This is the personal side of the battle, where emotion, courage, and strength are stretched to the limits.