House to House

A Tale of Modern War

David Bellavia, John Bruning

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9781847391186
• eBook ISBN:
  9781471105876
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

On 8 November 2004, the largest battle of the War on Terror began, with the US Army's assault on Fallujah and its network of tens of thousands of insurgents hiding in fortified bunkers, on rooftops, and inside booby-trapped houses. For Sgt. David Bellavia of 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, it quickly turned into a battle on foot, from street to street and house to house. On the second day, he and his men laid siege to a mosque, only to be driven to a rooftop and surrounded, before heavy artillery could smash through to rescue them. By the third day, Bellavia charges an insurgent-filled house and finds himself trapped with six enemy fighters. One by one, he shoots, wrestles, stabs, and kills five of them, until his men arrive to take care of the final target. It is one of the most hair-raising battle stories of any age -- yet it does not spell the end of Bellavia's service. It would take serveral more weeks before the Battle of Fallujah finally came to a close, with Bellavia, miraculously, alive. In the words of the author: "HOUSE TO HOUSE holds nothing back. It is a raw, gritty look at killing and combat and how men react to it. It is gut-wrenching, shocking and brutal. It is honest. It is not a glorification of war. Yet it will not shy from acknowledging this: sometimes it takes something as terrible as war for the full beauty of the human spirit to emerge."

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Author’s Note
• Prologue: The Coffins of Muqdadiyah
• Chapter 1  In the Shit
• Chapter 2  Beyond Redemption
• Chapter 3  The Measure of a Man
• Chapter 4  Land Rush
• Chapter 5  Machines of Loving Grace
• Chapter 6  The First Angel
• Chapter 7  Battle Madness
• Chapter 8  Doorways
• Chapter 9  Dorothy’s Oz Gate
• Chapter 10  Shadows and Wraiths
• Chapter 11  Rooftop Alamo
• Chapter 12  The Stay Puft Marshmallow Cock
• Chapter 13  Where Feral Dogs Feed
• Chapter 14  Better Homes and Gardens
• Chapter 15  “The Power of Christ Compels You”
• Chapter 16  The Failed Test of Manhood
• Chapter 17  A Soldier’s Prayer
• Chapter 18  Man-to-Man
• Chapter 19  Blood Oath
• Chapter 20  The Last Caress
• Chapter 21  A Smoke on Borrowed Time
• Chapter 22  Nut to Butt in Body Bags
• Epilogue:  Broken Promises
• Appendix
• Brief Glossary of Terms
• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors
• Photographic Insert