"By the time the platoon finally returns home, exhausted, scarred, and with fewer men than they set out with, Campbell's admiration for his men has become contagious. It's only then that you realize that Joker One isn't as much a story of war as it is a story of love. " -- Grade "A"

 

"Joker One hits you right in the gut. This book is boils years of politics and debate down into an extremely harrowing and human story about what it means to be a grunt. Joker One is heartfelt, thoughtful and exciting depiction of modern warfare that will surely stand the test of time. Campbell’s story is more than about war; it is about service, family, dedication and leadership. His voice is powerful, compelling and clear. In Joker One, this young writer emerges as a voice for the millions of us who have served in America’s defense since 9-11. Campbell speaks about what is most important in life, and America should be listening. "

 

"Nothing in life forges closer bonds than facing death together.  It's stock in trade for Marines.  Donovan Campbell embodies the best of America's young leaders--intelligent, courageous, sacrificial, and composed under deadly fire.  So many "soldier books" emerge from America's wars.  Many are overstated; this one is not.  It is an honest down-in-the-dust-and-rubble look at young Marines.  Walk with the men of Joker One into the crucible of combat every single day for seven months.  You'll be better for it.  And you'll thank God for men like these.  During our day in Vietnam there was a statement floating around Special Forces circles--"For those who fight for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know."  Fair enough, but you can sure begin to taste it in this book."

 

"Campbell decided as a junior at Princeton that attending Marine Corps Officer Candidate School would look good on his résumé. Three years later, in the spring of 2004, he was in Iraq commanding a platoon known by its radio call sign, Joker One. Campbell tells its story, and his, in an outstanding narrative of the Iraq War. Joker One counted around 40 dudes: country boys and smalltown jocks; a few Hispanics and a single black. Some were college men with futures; some had pasts they preferred to forget. The battalion was assigned to one of Iraq's worst hot spots: the city of Ramadi, where faceless enemies found shelter among 350,000 Iraqi civilians. Joker One fought from street to street, house to house and ambush to ambush for seven straight months. By the end of the tour, even the Gunny's hands had started ceaselessly shaking, Campbell writes. Faced with urgent life-and-death decisions, Campbell had learned that there are no great options... you live with the results and shut up about the whole thing. For all his constant self-questioning, Lt. Campbell brought Joker One home with only one KIA—a record as impressive as his account."

 

“Donovan Campbell, first as a Marine and then as a writer, shows us that the dominant emotion in war isn’t hatred or anger or fear. It’s love. His story stands as a poignant tribute to his men–their courage, their dedication, their skill, and their love for one another, even unto death. This is a deeply moving book.”

–Nathaniel Fick,
author of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer

 

“Joker One is the finest small-unit description of a platoon at war in Iraq. Hang on and cheer them on.”

 

“Joker One is the real goods, what Hemingway called ‘the true gen.’ The classic military story: one platoon leader, the men of his platoon, and the impossibility and urgency of the assignment. The book will sharply take its place in ranks beside Black Hawk DownJarhead. If you want to know what American fighting will look like in this century, you need to read Campbell. Like the best stories, military and nonmilitary, it’s a story about love, community, and a brotherhood.”

–David Lipsky,
author of Absolutely American: Four Years at West Point

 

“Donovan Campbell was a platoon commander in the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment in Anbar in 2004–the unit that had my flank. In Joker One, he tells the story of that hard fight from the ground level better than I thought possible. This is how it was in Ramadi in 2004, before the Surge, before the Awakening, when Iraq fell apart. And this is what it is like to lead men in battle. Read this book if you are going to war, or if you have gone to war, or if you want to know what war is.”

–Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl (Ret.), “Centurion 3,”
author of Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife

 

Donovan demonstrates, in a very engaging way, truly authentic values based leadership; inspired by faith, anchored in discipline and lived out in true love for his men.

 

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First Chapter.
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