BOOK: In A Time of War by Bill Murphy Jr.

BOOK: In A Time of War

The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point’s Class of 2002

The dramatic story of West Point’s class of 2002, the first in a generation to graduate during wartime.

They came to West Point in a time of peace, but soon after the start of their senior year, their lives were transformed by September 11. The following June, when President George W. Bush spoke at their commencement and declared that America would “take the battle to the enemy,” the men and women in the class of 2002 understood that they would be fighting on the front lines. In this stirring account of the five years following their graduation from West Point, the class experiences firsthand both the rewards and the costs of leading soldiers in the war on terror.

In a Time of War focuses on two members of the class of 2002 in particular: Todd Bryant, an amiable, funny Californian for whom military service was a family tradition; and Drew Sloan, the hardworking son of liberal parents from Arkansas who is determined to serve his country. On the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, Todd, Drew, and their classmates—the army’s newest and youngest officers—lead their troops into harm’s way again and again.

Meticulously reported, sweeping in scope, Bill Murphy Jr.’s powerful book follows these brave and idealistic officers—and their families—as they experience the harrowing reality of the modern battlefield. In a Time of War tells a vivid and sometimes heartbreaking story about courage, honor, and what war really means to the soldiers whose lives it defines. 

About the Author
Bill Murphy Jr. worked as Bob Woodward’s research assistant on the bestselling State of Denial. A lawyer and former Army Reserve officer, he reported from Iraq for The Washington Post in 2007. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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Reviews

“What Rick Atkinson did for the West Point class of 1966, Bill Murphy Jr. has had the courage, talent, and dedication to do for the class of 2002. With pencil, boots and tape recorder, Murphy has performed a national service: He sends the reader out among some of the bravest, most inspiring young people in the country, at one of the most pivotal times in our history. Prepare to be moved and amazed.”—David Lipsky, author of Absolutely American

"In these days when most of America glides along, more and more oblivious to the conflict overseas, it is a remarkable achievement for any storyteller to reveal the tight, committed subculture that contends with war every day. Our military community—isolated, insulated and, indeed, emotionally segregated from the rest of the nation—is fighting, suffering and, at times, dying. In a Time of War has paid attention and done so simply, beautifully and honestly. And attention is due."—David Simon, Writer/Producer of HBO’s Generation Kill

“A powerful, penetrating tale about the young officers who bear the burden of our 21st century wars. The themes of In a Time of War are timeless: duty and sacrifice, love and death, heroism and fate.”—Rick Atkinson, author of The Day of Battle and The Long Gray Line

"Brilliantly reported and elegantly written. In a Time of War is a story of courage, but it will also break your heart."—Bob Woodward, author of State of Denial

"Bill Murphy Jr. has captured the idealism and the courage of the ‘Golden Children’ of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, West Point’s bicentennial Class of 2002. Readers will be moved to tears and fierce pride by their spirit and sacrifice. In a Time of War is a heartfelt portrait of war and family—a book that tore my heart out, and one that I will never forget."—Lt. Col. John Nagl (ret.), author of Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife

"Here is the unforgettable story of the West Point class that bore the full burden of American policy in Iraq. Bill Murphy Jr. captures young officers at war in a class account that is powerful but not overdrawn, and hauntingly sad yet never saccharine-just straight and true." – David Maraniss, author of They Marched Into Sunlight

Meet some of the men and women chronicled in a new book by Bill Murphy Jr. titled IN A TIME OF WAR: The Proud and Perilous Journey of West Point’s Class of 2002 by watching the video trailer at www.InATimeOfWar.Com