Michael Yon Online » IRAQ: INSIDE THE INFERNO 2005 -2008: Book Upate

IRAQ: INSIDE THE INFERNO 2005 -2008: Book Upate

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Published: 11 July 2011
Michael Yon

All,

My new book IRAQ: INSIDER THE INFERNO 2005 -2008 is now complete and signed copies are shipping. It was a huge effort I and hope you all like it. I have included a letter from my editor who can better explain the production delay. Please remember the publisher and I are donating a portion of our proceeds to Soldiers' Angels. You can order signed copies here.

Dear Loyal Michael Yon readers,

My name is Karen Kraft and I am the editor of Michael's new book IRAQ: INSIDE THE INFERNO. I’m pleased to say the book is now shipping to everyone. I’m honored and privileged to have helped Michael with this endeavor. Like so many of you, I’ve been a fan of Michael’s work for years, so I offer a truly heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who pre-ordered this book. I know Michael greatly appreciates your support of his mission and the support for Soldiers’ Angels.

I know there have been delays, which I apologize for, and once I explain the reasons—and once you see the book--I am confident you will believe they were worthwhile. In anticipation of your book delivery, we are going to post select book pages between Michael’s current dispatches flowing from Afghanistan.

When we began this project early last Fall, a holiday book delivery was a reasonable goal. I knew Michael had taken a lot of photographs during his travels, but when we poured through the archives, it turned out he had over 250,000 photographs--¬and that’s just for Iraq. It’s truly incredible to see how much raw material Michael has produced over the years. We culled through tens of thousands of photos to over 700 written dispatches (and countless unpublished documents).

Our dedicated team was facing a monumental task and eager to dive in. With so many photographs, it was especially hard to not become caught up in the imagery and photo sequences and just keep ourselves focused on selecting those we felt were best for this book. We rolled up our sleeves and worked 24/7. But the sheer amount of photos ultimately took longer to sort through than we planned.

Another delay came about when we decided to shape this book using more of Mike's original dispatches versus strictly going with quotes for the photos. We wanted to create a narrative flow through the pages, like a documentary. Based on my experience as a former documentary producer for Discovery channel, I believed this would best represent Michael’s work. The team agreed. This meant re-working the layout, but I hope you find the decision worthwhile. Michael can vividly articulate moments and thoughts from the field like no other.

In early December we had a draft to rush to press, but after deep thought and careful consideration, we knew with a little more time we could produce an even better project. Michael agreed. But this meant we would lose our place in the printer’s queue. This is an extremely high-quality book and requires top of the line resources so we turned to the pros at Lake Book Manufacturing in Illinois who worked with our moving deadline.

I want to give special credit to the book’s two photography editors/colorists and close friends, the late Bill G. Smith and Greg Conners. Two loyal and talented men. They each poured their hearts into this project to bring every image even more brilliantly to life. Bill had a strong photography background and he had volunteered for Michael for years, helping with hundreds of dispatches. Despite going through chemo last fall, Bill gave us his all each day. We lost Bill just last week. He was holding an advanced copy of the book where he read that it had been dedicated to him.

Greg Conners stepped in to help Bill because he’s that kind of man. Greg is a professional colorist who has spent over 25 years working in Hollywood on such films as INDEPENDENCE DAY (starring Will Smith and Bill Pullman) and THAT THING YOU DO (Tom Hanks and Charlize Theron) to over a hundred documentaries for National Geographic and Discovery Channel. Both Bill and Greg turned in many, many months of late nights as we’ve labored with the printer to get the images right. I know you will appreciate their devotion to Michael’s photographs once you see the book.

Additionally, Michael and I asked a circle of close friends and colleagues in the military and media to review the editing work. My fear was that by paring down so much of Michael’s raw materials, mistakes in the stories, incorrect names or simple inconsistencies would slip in without me realizing it since I was so close to the material (and inundated). Plus, tracking Michael around the world is like tracking the wind. He’s constantly on the move. So we both wanted to ensure we didn’t miss anything in the constant flurry of emails, Yousendit files, and FedEx packages. We were fortunate that Michael has made some well-respected friends along his journey that graciously volunteered to read over many drafts. Special thanks goes to three men in particular: Command Sergeant Major Jeff Mellinger who is currently assigned to the US Army Materiel Command (and set to retire this fall with nearly 40 years service—the last draftee remaining on continuous active duty); Command Sergeant Major Robb Prosser, a former CSM of 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry who Michael embedded with in both Iraq and Afghanistan; and retired Lieutenant Colonel Rodney Morris who is currently an Assistant Professor at the US Army’s Command and General Staff College. All three men are highly regarded as the best in their business. They do the military proud as well as this humble editor. I am truly grateful to them and the many others who have contributed so much along the way.

Once you see INFERNO, I am certain you will feel it was worth the extra effort. In fact, once you have the book, I'd appreciate any feedback you wish to share with me at kvrkaft@aol.com as this has been a passion project that I'm truly proud to be a part of it.

Thank you for your dedicated, continuous, and loyal support of Michael, his mission, and INFERNO.

Sincerely,

Karen Kraft