"American Soldiers in Iraq" offers a unique sociological snapshot of American soldiers in Iraq, analyzing their collective narratives in relation to the military sociology tradition. Grounded in a century-long tradition of sociology offering a window into the world of American soldiers, this volume serves as a voice for their experience. It provides the reader with both a generalized and a deep view into a major social institution in American society and its relative constituents - 'the military and soldiers' - during a war. In so doing, the book gives a backstage insight into the US military and into the experiences and attitudes of soldiers during their most extreme undertaking - a forward deployment in Iraq while hostilities are intense.The author triangulates qualitative and quantitative field data collected while residing with soldiers in Iraq, and compares and contrasts various groups, from officers and enlisted soldiers, as well as topics such as boredom, morale, preparation for war, day-to-day life in Iraq, attitudes, women soldiers, communication with the home-front, 'McDonaldization' of the force, civil-military fusion, the long-term impact of war, and, finally, the socio-demographics of fatalities. The heart of "American Soldiers in Iraq" captures the experiences of American soldiers deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom at the height of the conflict in a way unprecedented in the literature to date.This book will be essential reading for students of Sociology, Military Studies and Political Science, as well as being of much interest to informed general readers. Morten Ender is Professor of Sociology at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. His research on military sociology has appeared in the Journal of Adolescence, Military Psychology, Journal of Political and Military Sociology, and Armed Forces & Society.