American Soldier is a dramatic, intimate--and candid--insider's look at the march to war, from the man who commanded the campaigns. The Commander-in-Chief of the United States Central Command from July 2000 through July 2003, General Tommy Franks made history by leading American and coalition forces to victory against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq-the two decisive battles that launched the War on Terror.Now, in this extraordinary memoir, General Franks retraces his journey from a small-town boyhood in Oklahoma and Midland, Texas, throughout his three decades of military service and offers a frank assessment of American foreign and military policy, the principles of leadership, and the future directions of the United States in the world.