"The War I Always Wanted" is a non-fiction memoir that details Friedman's experiences in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The book was released in July 2007 to generally positive reviews. While "Publishers Weekly" gave "The War I Always Wanted" only faint praise (calling the book "cynical but appealing"), other reviews were more favorable. Wesley Clark called the book "compelling and moving," going on to say that "among the many excellent war memoirs by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Brandon's stands out as the best." Steven Pressfield called Friedman's work "outstanding non-fiction" and described it as "ris at numerous points to the level of literature."