The Iraq war officially began on March 20, 2003, and since then, nearly one million young Americans have rotated through the country's insurgent-infested hot spots. But although stories of dramatic ambushes and attacks dominate the front pages of major newspapers, we do not yet truly know what the war is like for the Americanswho fight it. WHAT WAS ASKED OF US bridges the gap between the soldier's reality and a nation still largely unaware of Iraq's ground truth. Through a series of in-depth and intensely probing interviews, it documents the soldiers' experiences and darkest secrets, offering a multitude of authentic, unfiltered voices--at times raw and emotional, at other times eloquent and lyrical. These voices walk us through the war, from the successful push to Baghdad, through the erroneous "Mission Accomplished" moment, and into the dangerous, murky present. By turns inspiring and frank, WHAT WAS ASKED OF US is the first book to offer the narrative of the entire war to date. It captures the sum total of the soldiers' experiences and reveals what America is actually asking its young men and women to do.