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    From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava
    Unavailable
    From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava
    Unavailable
    From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava
    Audiobook3 hours

    From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava

    Written by Jay Kopelman and Melinda Roth

    Narrated by Michael Kramer

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Love and hope often arrive in the strangest places and in the strangest ways. During his tour of duty in Iraq, Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman of the U.S. Marines endured the emotional stress common for those involved in bloody battles for freedom. Although the rules forbid pets, Kopelman and his comrades adopted an abandoned puppy left behind after the battle for Fallujah. The dog (named Lava) befriended the Marines and journalists, and was eventually smuggled out of Iraq by the soldiers with the help of NPR reporters, John van Zante and the Helen Woodward Animal Center, Iraqi citizens, and the Iams pet food company.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateOct 3, 2006
    ISBN9780739342985
    Unavailable
    From Baghdad, With Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava

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    Reviews for From Baghdad, With Love

    4/5

    159 ratings21 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Breaks my heart there are so many abandoned animals, but glad there are people ready and willing to help!
    • 4/5
      Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman is a Marine stationed in Fallujah, Iraq. The US military has strict rules about this kind of thing. Prohibited activities for service members under General Order A-1 include adopting as pets or mascots, caring for or feeding any type of any domestic or wild animal. So when the Marines on a mission to secure an abandon house find a puppy that was left behind there is only one thing they can do: save the puppy.From Baghdad, With Love is the story of the dramatic rescue attempt of a dog named Lava and of Lava's rescue of at least one Marine from the emotional ravages of war. While the story focuses primarily on Lava's rescue we also get small insight into just how bad war can be. The story is heartwarming and another reminder of the healing power of animals.
    • 5/5
      The details in this book are so enriching that I can't help but to keep reading on!
    • 4/5
      How a US marine fighting in Iraq managed to rescue and adopt an Iraqi dog. Fascinating look both at war torn Iraq and the life of a men fighting in a war.
    • 3/5
      Quick and informative read. The story of the puppy is very touching and the basis of the book but so much more is learned of the lives of our soldiers in Baghdad.
    • 4/5
      Being a dog-lover, I loved this book. It's a fast read, and really humanizes the Marines. I learned a lot about what really went on in the Middle East during the first elections in Iraq. It was nice to get some political history surrounded by a heart-warming story.
    • 4/5
      The dog story itself is not really long enough for a book, so the authors allow themselves to ramble off on tangents. My copy was an audio book, so I found the recitiations of car bombings etc. a little tedious, since I couldn't just skip over those parts, but I didn't find the non-dog discussions too tedious, and after all, if Kopelman didn't find the dog in the middle of a war there would be no story.
    • 4/5
      A US officer (Kopelman) and his troops come across a stray puppy while clearing an abandoned building in Iraq. Not wanting to kill the puppy, as they are supposed to, they adopt him, name him Lava after their company, and hide him from the powers that be. Kopelman tries to keep his distance from him at first, but the fiesty antics of Lava are impossible to ignore and soon the little guy has wormed his way into Kopelman's heart. But what are they going to do when Kopelman has to go back to the U.S.?This was a wonderful story of love triumphing over impossible odds. I also enjoyed hearing a first hand account of what life is like in Iraq and gained a lot of knowledge beyond what you hear in the news. Those interested in current events or who love animals can't miss with this one.
    • 5/5
      This story may not become a classic piece of literature because of the style it is written in, however this book has a lot to say to this world about war. It is about love, compassion and faith. If this book does not move you then I think perhaps a heart transplant is required. Beautiful and moving, and an ending made for Hollywood.
    • 5/5
      A simple story simply written. soldier (Kopelman) stumbles on a pup in the course of his frontline duties. He and his peers become attached to the dog and go to great lengths to protect and rescue him from Iraq. The realities of war juxtaposed against the need for love and affection, returned in spades by the dog, Lava.
    • 4/5
      Gritty images of soldier life in Iraq, harrowing escape for an innocent puppy, grief for all those innocents (two and four-legged) left behind.
    • 4/5
      A group of Marines in Iraq found a puppy in an abandoned building they took over. They named the puppy Lava, and despite a military order not to care for any animals, the Marines fell for the cute little guy, and Kopelman started to worry about what would happen to Lava when they left. He did everything he could to make sure Lava was brought to the United States.

      It was good and what animal-lover wouldn’t fall for the cute, but slightly obnoxious puppy Lava!? Loved reading about Lava, and found that more interesting than the details of the extremely difficult task of shipping him to the U.S. No surprise that I teared up a few times.
    • 3/5
      You knew from the pictures in the book, it would have a happy ending. Lava was a pup that Jay found and against regulations, kept. Now the issue was who could take care of the puppy as he was rotated to other sites, and how to get the puppy out of Iraq at all. In the end, with a lot of logistics, it happened and Lava is now a Southern California dog.
    • 4/5
      There aren't that many heart-warming memoirs about the war in Iraq, but this is one of the few! From Baghdad With Love tells the story of a lieutenant colonel in the Marine corps who, in violation of regulations, becomes attached to an orphan puppy. His attempts to get the puppy out of Iraq are described in a direct, tell-it-like-it-is style which I enjoyed. If you are an animal lover, this is a great quick read!
    • 3/5
      Much as I'd been looking forward to fitting this short book in, I have to admit: I was a bit disappointed. It may be because I've read so much about war, or because I've read so many memoirs related to animals and pets, but I expected more. It may be, simply enough, that this book needed to be quite a bit longer...or else two separate books. Kopelman's writing and style wasn't bad, and I found the book to be a fast read, but he seemed pulled between feeling the need to explain the setting that he and the soldiers found themselves in (and the accompanying feelings) and describing the relationship he developed with Lava, and the eventual rescue. And, what was there in both regards was bare bones. This made sense in terms of Iraq--the focus was supposed to be the dog, Lava, after all. But, the problem came in the fact that I wanted more about Lava too. I wanted the details and the different relationships and the details of the rescue. Instead, I often felt like I was reading the cliffnotes. In my experience, I should have felt close to tears on multiple occasions as I read a book like this--that expectation/dread is one of the reasons I took so long to pick the book up, much as I wanted to read it. Instead? I think I teared up once. All in all, I'm glad to have read it, and this will probably be a more meaningful book for those who've read Either about the war Or about animal rescue and pet related memoirs...for me, though, I'm afraid I just wanted more. Still, for me, worth reading. And, probably, you'll feel the same in the end if you love dogs.
    • 4/5
      A US officer, lieutenant colonel Jay Kopelman comes across a stray puppy while clearing an abandoned building in Iraq. At first the puppy was terrified an alone but was also glad to see someone around, so as was the Kopelman, he was amazed to see a creature so small survive in a battle zone with terrifying sounds during the night and day. Not wanting to kill the puppy as he was suppose to due to the rules to the good men of the US are, Kopelman adopted him and named him after their company, lava. Each member bonded with lava and treated him like he was part of the team more importantly; the little guy had made his way into Kopelman's heart. This was a wonderful story of love between a soldier and a strayed puppy.I would suggest this book for those who enjoy reading love and war genre books as this book had a great deal of love. It was also funny, poignant and harrowing.
    • 4/5
      Great story - Quick read that makes one feel good. Lava sounds like a really unique character, as does his human.

      May all the people, companies and animal groups that help evacuate military personnel's animal companions find a special welcome in Heaven. Those who have never loved an animal like this just would not understand!
    • 5/5
      I love this book. I couldn't put it down. It is a short book but so well written and a wonderful story!
    • 4/5
      Well written, heart-warming story
    • 5/5
      great book but very sad at times
    • 4/5
      It was a heartwarming dog story, written by a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines. Since this takes place in Iraq during the war, it is not all sweetness.