Author tells overlooked story of Iraq war in new book

Author tells overlooked story of Iraq war in new book
By Ron Wynn
October 18, 2006

Author and journalist Michael Weisskopf already planned to write about the plight of soldiers returning home gravely wounded from the Iraq War when he began covering it for Time magazine in March 2003. But nine months later Weisskopf became part of the story he wanted to cover. Hearing something land in the Humvee he was riding in as an embedded reporter, Weisskopf tried to heave it out of the vehicle. The object exploded in his hand.Michael Weisskopf’s right hand was amputated and he was sent to Ward 57 at Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment, becoming the first journalist ever treated there. His new book Blood Brothers: Among the Soldiers of Ward 57 (Henry Holt and Company) presents not only his story but also that of many others gravely wounded in battle in graphic, poignant and painful detail.