Some folks have asked if I plan to do book signings in stores. None are planned because I need to take care of business here before heading back to the war, but I have been making dozens of media appearances and many more are scheduled this month. The big issue at hand is the launch of my book Moment of Truth in Iraq. Doesn't do any good to spend all that time on the battlefields if I do not take time to convey the facts to folks at home.

I'll try to sign one more gigantic stack of Moment of Truth before heading back to the war, but for those folks who were buying signed copies for Christmas presents, now is the best time as we still have about a thousand signed copies.

Amazon.com is fully stocked and has the lowest current price--$17.97 today.

Moment of Truth is available at all Barnes & Noble stores and at BN.com at a reduced price. Please click the link and enter your zip code to check availability of Moment of Truth in Iraq at nearby stores. This function maps nearby stores with copies in stock.

Great to be back in America but sure comes with a lot of work before heading back to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Next time you see a service member in an airport, please say "thank you" to him or her. Those simple words go a long, long way. Back in the war, I often have heard combat soldiers saying how good it made them feel when someone in an airport simply said "thank you" and kept on walking. Very powerful words. They hugely appreciate those words.

Your correspondent,

Michael

Copies of my new book Moment of Truth in Iraq are in distribution, but this is the only place to get signed copies. Moment of Truth is now available in Barnes & Noble and some other bookstores. Download this handout to give to your military exchange, local bookstore or library so that they may order the book.

Please support this mission by buying Moment of Truth today, or by making a direct contribution. Without your support, the mission will end. Thank you for helping me tell the full story of the struggle for Iraq.

We get many requests about bulk sales from people who wish to distribute copies of the book to illustrate the important work our troops are doing in Iraq. One person bought 600 copies.

My publisher is making it possible to order regular (unsigned) copies at great bulk discounts, even though the best possible discount is available at Barnesandnoble.com right now. But we don't know how long the discount will last at Barnes & Noble, they control their pricing. I just signed 2000 more copies this past Saturday and they are already shipping. There are 1600 still available.

My gear is waiting for me in Mosul so that I can return once I finish my work with the book.

Below is my publisher's message:


Order 10 books or more and save 30%, plus get free standard shipping!

Order a full case of 30 books and save 45%! A $900 value for just $495. Standard shipping is free! This super discount is available only for case quantities.

Here is how. Call our distributor, Pathway Books, at 1-800-345-6665 and tell them you want to take advantage of the special Michael Yon bulk order offer.

Give them the product code "Prepared and Loyal"
so they will know to give you this special discount. Be ready to give them a credit card or arrange payment.

Remember standard shipping is free but Pathway will arrange expedited shipping at an additional cost upon request..

Copies of my new book Moment of Truth in Iraq are in distribution, but this is the only place to get signed copies. Moment of Truth is now available in Barnes & Noble and some other bookstores. Download this handout to give to your military exchange, local bookstore or library so that they may order the book.

Please support this mission by buying Moment of Truth today, or by making a direct contribution. Without your support, the mission will end. Thank you for helping me tell the full story of the struggle for Iraq.

"LTC Kurilla began running in the direction of the shooting. He passed by me, and I chased, Kurilla leading the way. There was a quick and heavy volume of fire. And then LTC Kurilla was shot. Kurilla was running when he was hit - in three places, including his femur, which was shattered.

"The commander didn't seem to miss a stride. He did a crazy judo roll and came up shooting from a sitting position," Yon reports.

Click Here to read the entire article by J.R. Michael in the New York Post.

Copies of my new book Moment of Truth in Iraq are in distribution, but this is the only place to get signed copies. Moment of Truth is now available in Barnes & Noble and some other bookstores. Download this handout to give to your military exchange, local bookstore or library so that they may order the book.

Please support this mission by buying Moment of Truth today, or by making a direct contribution. Without your support, the mission will end. Thank you for helping me tell the full story of the struggle for Iraq.

On Saturday I signed an additional 2000 books with 1600 left. The backorders for signatured books began shipping on the same day.

The publisher is going into the 2nd printing.

Moment of Truth in Iraq is out of stock on Amazon.com but it is on the shelves in Barnes & Noble stores and is available for a short time at an astonishingly low price on Barnesandnoble.com.

Michael
Washington, DC

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Copies of my new book Moment of Truth in Iraq are in distribution, but this is the only place to get signed copies. Moment of Truth is now available in Barnes & Noble and some other bookstores. Download this handout to give to your military exchange, local bookstore or library so that they may order the book.

Please support this mission by buying Moment of Truth today, or by making a direct contribution. Without your support, the mission will end. Thank you for helping me tell the full story of the struggle for Iraq.

Moment of Truth in Iraq is on sale at www.Barnesandnoble.com for a very discounted price. We are not sure how long they will be offering the discount but we want as many readers as possible to know about it.

Click here for a direct link to their sales page...

Copies of my new book Moment of Truth in Iraq are in distribution, but this is the only place to get signed copies. Moment of Truth is now available in Barnes & Noble and some other bookstores. Download this handout to give to your military exchange, local bookstore or library so that they may order the book.

Please support this mission by buying Moment of Truth today, or by making a direct contribution. Without your support, the mission will end. Thank you for helping me tell the full story of the struggle for Iraq.

Greetings,

I have just landed in El Paso after my latest long trip in Iraq. (This time it was only two months.)

The Wall Street Journal published my op-ed article regarding the Petraeus-Crocker testimony. [Please click to read it.]

Michael Yon

Mosul, Iraq
10 March 2008

Men crept in darkness to plant a bomb. They moved in an area where last year I was helping to collect fallen American soldiers from the battlefield.

Terrorists. The ones who murder children in front of their parents. The ones who take drugs and rape women and boys. The ones who blow up schools. The ones who have been forcibly evicted from places like Anbar Province, Baghdad and Baqubah by American and Iraqi forces. Terrorists are here now in Mosul. They call themselves al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). AQI cannot win without Baghdad, and cannot survive without Mosul. The Battle for Mosul is evolving into AQI’s last great stand.

And there were the men planting the bomb. It is unknown if the men with the explosives were al Qaeda, but they were planting a bomb and that was enough. Many terrorists murder only for money. Like hit men. They might have nothing against the victim. It’s just business. Although understanding enemy motivations is key to winning a war, out on the battlefield, such considerations can become secondary, as divining the motives of a would-be killer is less important than stopping him.

The bombers were being watched. Invisible to them, prowling far overhead, was a Predator.

The Predator is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) whose eye sees through the darkness. The night sky is the jungle where it hides. The Predator strikes with more suddenness and force than any tiger. I often watch the live feed streaming down into the Tactical Operations Centers (TOC) around Iraq, while crosshairs track the enemy, and the screen lists data such as altitude, azimuth, ground speed, and the precise grid coordinates of the target. The Predator carries a deadly Hellfire missile, but also has other weapons, like the crosshairs on its eye, which links down to soldiers watching the video and data feed. The soldiers have radios to other soldiers with massive arrays of weapons. With that combination, every weapon in the US arsenal can be brought into action. Unarmed spy planes, like the Shadow, often allow enemies to escape—the difference between success and failure is often measured in seconds. The Predator can launch an attack with its Hellfire, but the most devastating attacks are usually the result of closely-coordinated teamwork between soldiers on the ground and in the air, using information provided by the Predator above. Combat at this level is an elegant dance under a burning roof.