As someone who has embedded as a freelance photojournalist in Iraq several times, I think I can appreciate any correspondent's efforts to tell his or her story...so while three stars might seem "negative," it's not so much the writing or the subject that's at fault; just not enough of it to merit this kind of publication.
It's not the author's fault. This 'book' was actually a McSweeney's essay, and at probably 40,000 words it's actually a strong example of short-form writing. But...they published it as a book, and expect legit paperback prices.
His embed was two weeks, with multiple units, so I have to question just how much knowledge he really brings to it. Yes, it's a lot of surface sensation, and it definitley sticks with you, but in just a few days a reporter's not really going to learn a whole lot about the context of whereever he or she is. So yes, Iraq is intense at any point, but I'm not sure the contents here really justify a book about two weeks with the soldiers. And I've read his peices for "Time," and they are pretty much reproduced here.
Granted, he was in Iraq longer than two weeks - this just covers his embed time.
One passage that bugged me was when he recounted a conversation with a higher-level officer, writing about a vague answer he has been given, "there was a smile creeping around his face, as though he had said something clever, answering the question without actually saying anything at all."
I felt that way about this book, like McDonell - who is a great writer - used his writing skills to make much more out of a series of anecdotes than the events probably deserved. You know how a movie trailer for even a really bad movie can use jump cuts and theme music to make a whole lot out of not much? That's sort of how I felt - and maybe if I hadn't been to Iraq several times myself it would have fooled me too - but in the end, there's a lot of melodramatic scene setting to cover over the lack of true detail.
So...if I had originally read this in McSweeney's I probably would have been moderately impressed, but this was presented as a book; it doesn't earn the necessary gravitas.