For six months in 2006, a charismatic young U.S. Army captain and Arab linguist named Travis Patriquin unleashed a diplomatic and cultural charm offensive upon the Sunni Arab sheiks of al Anbar province, the heart of darkness of the Iraqi insurgency. He galvanized American support for the "Sunni Awakening," the tribal revolt against al-Qaeda that spread through Anbar and eventually across the country-a turning point which led to dramatically lower levels of violence starting in mid-2007. The Awakening may not have succeeded without Patriquin, who was so beloved by the Iraqis that they adopted him into their tribes and loved him as a brother. This is the true story of a man who loved Iraq, and a soldier who helped engineer the turning point of the Iraq War. This is the story of America's T. E. Lawrence.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-307) and index. Includes maps of: Travis Patriquin in the Middle East; Operation Anaconda; Iraq; Tribal Cooperation, June 6, 2006; Tribal Cooperation, December 2006; Battle of Sufiyah - Turning Point at Shark Fin Peninsula, November 25, 2006; Complex U.S. Air and Ground Counterattack against al-Qaeda - F/A-18s, UAV, Predator, Paladin Mortars, Quick Reaction Force of Bradleys, Tanks.

Prologue: the banks of the Euphrates -- The gate of the Himalayas -- The edge of the Arabian Desert -- The city of death -- The earth was on fire -- A time to strike -- Before the dawn -- A baptism in blood -- The awakening of Iraq -- The men on the wall -- A cocky son of a bitch -- The turning point -- A soldier's dream -- Epilogue: a soldier's legacy.