Author

As an Author & Journalist

When my son returned in June 2003 from his first Iraq deployment, I asked him the obvious question “So, Marine, what was it like?” The result was “Charlie Battery; a Marine Artillery Battery in Iraq.” With my son as the focus, it’s the story of Charlie Battery, 1^st Bn, 10^th Marines deploying to Iraq, fighting at An-Nasiriyah, and safely returning home. It turned into a rather personal book, as both readers and reviewers commented and approved. 

A few of the Amazon Reviews: 

*There is the truth and there is The Truth. Andrew Lubin tells The Truth in this fascinating account of Marine Artillerymen in the initial invasion of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

*Andrew Lubin brings the sights, sounds, and realism of Iraq to the reader! You can read this book and close your eyes and feel like you are in the place of the young Marines he is writing about. This is one of those infectious pieces of work that you simply cannot put down.

*This has got to be the best book written about the Marines and their families to come out of this war! I heard the author speaking at Barnes & Noble, and bought his book; the way he talks about his son going off to war, and the feelings and reactions of the families of the other Marines…this book personalizes the war to an extent that I never imagined.

*Andrew wrote this book for families of military members especially those in the Marine Corp. Being a father of an Army Captain who has deployed several times I read the same emotions in Andrews writing that I experienced. Even if you don’t have a family member in the military it’s a powerful insight into the feelings of a father and the bond between Marines, Soldiers and all of those who serve.

*This has got to be one of the best of the Iraq war books on the market. Writing from the viewpoint of the parent of a deployed Marine, Mr. Lubin follows his son and his artillery battery as they sail off to Iraq, fight at An-Nasiriyah, and then thankfully, all come home. This is a well-written book; it has an easy and natural flow as the author works blends interviews with the parents and girlfriends with the stories of the Marines themselves. Highly recommended!!

*This is one of a very few books that I read non-stop. It spoke to me most deeply because I have a child who, like Andrew’s son, has done a few tours in Iraq and now Afghanistan. His writing enabled me to be there with Charlie Battery; I held my breath when they did; my muscles burned when theirs did. Andrew brings us current and present with these boys as they successfully faced their Armageddon. I wept and hated and laughed with them. As a mother I recoiled at his descriptions of certain things that are simply “male,” but as a mother I loved Andrew’s ability to be straight and honest with his being a dad. This is a man’s book. Andrew Lubin is unapologetically a father first, a man second and a scholar third. He is a Marine at heart…and what heart he has. His passion comes across in each word of Charlie Battery. Semper Fi.

*Andrew Lubin’s Charlie Battery is a great read. It is tough to put down. The author has an ability to tell a story that makes it appear that us readers were there in Iraq alongside the fighting. I am very jealous of his ability to tell a story. I highly recommend Charlie Battery. you won’t be disappointed.

Following “Charlie Battery,”, I wrote from the field for OnPoint, Leatherneck Magazine, PBS, Proceedings, Janes Defense and then my own blog (below). Not bad someone who never took a college journalism or photography course!