"The Good Soldiers" is an in-depth account of the 2007 Iraq war effort known as "The Surge " as told by Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Finkel. Finkel followed the Battalion 2-16 into Baghdad and chronicles their 15 month stay in a treacherous section of Baghdad known as Rustamiyah. "Everything in Rustamiyah was the color of dirt, and stank. If the wind came from the east, the smell was of raw garbage, and if the wind came from the west, the smell was of burning trash. In Rustamiyah, the wind never came from the north or the south." Rustamiyah was know for their homemade bombs, known as "improvised explosive devices" or IEDs. In the midst of the bombed out buildings, trash, and canals of human refuse, Iraqi insurgents hid IEDs and then detonated them as soldiers traveled their patrols. The consequence, was soldiers blown into parts resulting in dismemberment and death. Finkel records the emotional and physical toll levied upon the soldiers, and documents the stark differences between media coverage and the soldier's front line experience. Due to the its graphic depiction of war this is not a book for younger readers. The Good Soldier is an ALEX Award winner and is recommended for mature readers.