Colby Buzzell

Colby Buzzell is an American author, blogger and former United States Army soldier. 

He joined the service as an infantryman and spent 2003 - 2004 in Iraq as a member of the Stryker BrigadeCombat Team. It was in Iraq that Buzzell began publishing a blog under the title "CBFTW"--"Colby Buzzell F*ck The War"--as a replacement for his habitual journaling back in the States. The blog gained popularity quickly, gaining recognition for its realistic portrayal of gripping first hand accounts of the war in Iraq. This "milblog" won praise as “an unfiltered, often ferocious expression of his boots-on-the-ground view of the Iraq war" (MSNBC). 

Buzzell published a book on his experiences entitled, My War: Killing Time in Iraq, combining narrative, blog entries, and emails that evolved from his blog over time. In 2004, Buzzell was profiled in Esquire's "Best and Brightest" issue and has since contributed regularly. In 2007, Buzzell received the 2007 Lulu Booker Prize for My War. 

In 2008, Buzzell was re-called for active duty. After he arrived at his post, he was examined by the medical staff at Fort Benning, and marked "not deployable" due to post-traumatic stress disorder.

In 2011, Buzzell published the book Lost In America: A Dead End Journey about coping with his post traumatic stress disorder by taking a road trip to no where, all the while thinking about his newborn son, wife, and recently deceased mother.

The Washington Post referred to his article "Digging a Hole All the Way to America" as "A Tour de Force Travelogue," and his article "Down & Out In Fresno and San Francisco" was selected for The Best American Travel Writing 2010. His work has also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and on This American Life.

PRAISE FOR LOST IN AMERICA: A DEAD-END JOURNEY

“Buzzell exhibits a Henry Miller-like talent for the memorable character sketch, and Detroit gives him plenty of subjects.” – Kirkus

PRAISE FOR MY WAR

“My War… is nothing less than the soul of an extremely interesting human being at war on our behalf in Iraq.” – Kurt Vonnegut 

“[A] book that stands quite tall in the literature of that conflict to date.” – Booklist

“If military recruitment is down now, wait till the kids read this book.” – Kirkus

Named on Michiko Kakutani's Reading List of Modern War Stories, The New York Times, December 25, 2014