Since Homer's time, storytellers have struggled with the challenge of how to describe the experience of war. The War Tapes suggests that the best storytellers aren't looking on from an emotional and physical detach-they're on the battlefield. Using footage shot by three members of the National Guard deployed in Iraq, Deborah Scranton has crafted a documentary that is humorous, gut wrenching, and deeply authentic. This is war as experienced by its most intimate players. Sergeant Steve Pink is a wisecracking carpenter who aspires to be a writer. Sergeant Zack Bazzi is a Lebanese-American college student who loves to travel and is fluent in Arabic. Specialist Mike Moriarty is a father who seeks honor and redemption. Part journal, part jokebook, part witness, The War Tapes offers a view of war rarely seen-from the inside out. We are illuminated on what the soldiers are thinking every step of the way, from their views on the media's coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom to how they miss loved ones back home. Caught between the bravery and the hypocrisy of war, the men allow us to step into a their daily lives, which can be both beautiful and shocking to watch. Audiences will be hard-pressed to find a more objective look into the lives of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.