Black Knights, Dark Days: The True Story of Sadr City's Black Sunday

An Iraq War veterans firsthand account of surviving a deadly insurgent ambush against the 1st Cavalry Divisionand battling through the aftermath. It was known as Black SundayApril 4, 2004, when units of Americas 1st Cavalry Division saw their routine deployment turn into a harrowing and costly fight. Enraged, motivated, and well-armed insurgents crammed the alleys, streets, and buildings of Sadr City. In that fight, a surging mob of militants ambushed one small unit of the Black Knight battalion. The heroic rescue attempt proved fatal for many of the determined soldiers who braved the gauntlet. Cav veteran Matt Fiskwho fought through Black Sunday and survivedgives a gut-level, over-the-rifle-sights view of a short, violent period when one of the safest places in the war zone suddenly turned into a cauldron of death and destruction, leaving eight US troops dead and dozens woundedonly the beginning of a lengthy siege aimed at defeating the Mahdi Army. Fisks rugged deployment with colorful and courageous fellow soldiers would result in some serious problems when he returned home, testing his coping skills. He turned to the VA for helpand wound up with the same frustration that plagues so many of todays returning combat veterans. Its all here in Black Knights, Dark Daysand its all brutally honest. A gripping, astonishing insiders account of the April 4, 2004, ambush of a First Cavalry Platoon in Sadr City that changed the course of the Iraq War. With great candor and skill, Matt Fisk interweaves the chaos and adrenaline of modern combat with the continuing battles with PTSD at home. An intense, vivid, deeply personal portrait of men at war that is up there with the very best books of the genre. Mikko Alanne, screenwriter and producer, The Long Road Home, The 33