From Baghdad, with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava

by Melinda Roth and Jay Kopelman

Book Overview

When Marines enter an abandoned house in Fallujah, Iraq, and hear a suspicious noise, they clench their weapons, edge around the corner, and prepare to open fire. What they find during the U.S.-led... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592289800
• ISBN13: 9781592289806
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Lyons Press
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful book!

When Marine Jay Koppelman and his unit raid a house in Iraq,all they find in it is a lively,adorable puppy.Unsure of what to do with him,Jay takes him back to their headquarters.Although Marine rules forbid keeping pets, Jay promptly falls in love with the irresistible pup he names Lava,and is determined to get him to America.What follows is a riveting,suspenseful story of survival.Koppelman tells it brilliantly.Watching this big,strong, tough Marine melt over a little dog is wonderful.Their love and affection for each other is obvious right from the start,and it really comes across to the reader.Jay's langauge and prose are rough at times,but remember,he IS a Marine.Read this moving,powerful book.You'll be glad you did!

A remarkable story that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking

When Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman walks down the hallway of a compound housing U.S. Marines in Fallujah, Iraq, he's startled by a noise. He shouts and raises his gun, his nerves still on edge from having just patrolled the dangerous streets of a city in the grip of violence. His adversary? A five-week-old stray puppy. "There's fear in his eyes despite the bravado," writes Kopelman in FROM BAGHDAD, WITH LOVE. "He's only a puppy, too young to know how to mask it, so I can see how bravery and terror trap him on all sides while testosterone and adrenaline compete in the meantime for every ounce of his attention. Recognize it right away." The "little outlaw" has been named Lava in a nod to the nickname of his rescuers' regiment --- the 1st battalion, 3rd Marines, otherwise known as the Lava Dogs. In a breach of military policy, the Lava Dogs have been secretly caring for the tiny canine. "The newest grunt" has been "de-flead with kerosene, de-wormed with chewing tobacco, and pumped full of MREs [Meals Ready to Eat]." Although the soldiers enjoy Lava's energetic company and take comfort in the routine of caring for him, Kopelman included, they avoid talking about what will become of the puppy when they move on. And then something happens. Perhaps it's when Lava falls asleep head first in Kopelman's boots. Or maybe it's the morning he wakes up to find Lava curled in a ball at the bottom of his sleeping bag. "Once I decide to save Lava," Kopelman says, "it becomes an unprogrammable mission I don't have the smarts to reassign or the guts to walk away from." What begins is Kopelman's five-month effort to get Lava out of Iraq and into the United States, no small feat in a war-torn country where red tape runs deep and the well-being of one dog is of little consequence except to the few who have come to care for the "cute but fairly drastic breach of military law." What is truly remarkable is that even after Kopelman leaves Iraq, the wheels keep turning to get Lava out of the country, thanks to a group of people determined to complete the mission. Along with Kopelman's first-person account, in which he conveys the harsh realities of life in Iraq, are the stories of those who worked to help him bring Lava home. There is Sergeant Matt Hammond, a Marine recovering from life-threatening wounds who looked after Lava when Kopelman was transferred to another base, and who later arranged a special convoy to take the pup to Baghdad; Anne Garrels, an NPR journalist who sheltered Lava in Baghdad's dangerous Red Zone; "Sam," an Iraqi who risked his life obtaining vaccination papers (and dog biscuits) for Lava; and John Van Zante, director of public relations at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in California, who wonders "what the heck possessed a three-tour, tough-guy Marine to try to save a little puppy in the middle of a war." Indeed, with death and destruction rampant in Iraq, why should the fate of a single puppy be of much importance? In the pages of FROM BA

Buy the book!

Have you ever read a book and gotten so sucked into the story that you had to remind yourself it's not actually happening right now? What an incredible book and a very fast read! By the time you've finished it you are very clued in on what it's like to be a Marine in Iraq. Lava helped the people who cared for him to re-connect to their humanity. Just as the SAR dogs helped the workers at Ground Zero re-connect after a hard day searching the rubble, Lava helped Jay Kopelman get through his tour of duty in Iraq. What an incredible dog! And what an intense affirmation of the human-canine bond.

It's not the dog in the fight...

This is a superb, and surprising, combat memoir that impressively mixes genres. I'm not a pet owner/dog lover so I admit I approached the book with curiosity more than urgency; would the focus be the emotional connection with an animal or the emotional response to hardcore combat? Well, it's both. If the overarching goal of a book is to prod the reader to turn the page...wondering "what's going to happen next"...Kopelman drills it. This book is not for those who relish the confines of convention. It's a visceral, heart-felt, even strange journey to find light in the dark.

Heart Rending

I was looking for a technical book and just happened to see the cover of this book. I'm a veteran, so I took a chance and bought it. I sat down at 8 p.m. with the book thinking I'd read myself to sleep. At 2 a.m. I finished the book. I laughed, cried, cringed and cried some more. What a great story. I was with the Marines for four years and totally know how "gungy" they are. I also know they are big "boys" with big hearts. I've recommended it to everyone I know.