Product Description: Four US Navy SEALS departed one clear night in early July, 2005 for the mountainous Afghanistan-Pakistan border for a reconnaissance mission. Their task was to document the activity of an al Qaeda leader rumored to be very close to Bin Laden with a small army in a Taliban stronghold. Five days later, only one of those Navy SEALS made it out alive.
This is the story of the only survivor of Operation Redwing, SEAL fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, and the extraordinary firefight that led to the largest loss of life in American Navy SEAL history. His squadmates fought valiantly beside him until he was the only one left alive, blasted by an RPG into a place where his pursuers could not find him. Over the next four days, terribly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell crawled for miles through the mountains and was taken in by sympathetic villagers who risked their lives to keep him safe from surrounding Taliban warriors.
A born and raised Texan, Marcus Luttrell takes us from the rigors of SEAL training, where he and his fellow SEALs discovered what it took to join the most elite of the American special forces, to a fight in the desolate hills of Afghanistan for which they never could have been prepared. His account of his squadmates' heroism and mutual support renders an experience that is both heartrending and life-affirming. In this rich chronicle of courage and sacrifice, honor and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers a powerful narrative of modern war.
Awesome read! Hands down one of the best books I have ever read. This books should be part of the high school curriculum. The style of writing is easy to read but very detailed and draws you in so deep, you don't want to put it down. You've never felt so proud of the brave men and women serving our great nation, nor have you ever felt so proud to be an American. This book had me crying like a baby by the end. A must read!
True Dedication and Selflessness This is the true story of a band of brothers in Seal Team 10 and there final mssion in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. Marcus Luttrell talks about his experiences going through Seal training the friens and family that he has and still remembers. There are many great "one liners" in this book. He shows a glimps of what the afghanies mainly "Pashtun" tribesmen are like. Especially th one's that give him "lokhay". Absolutely incredible, a must read. It will make you think about the U.S. situation for a long time! For man and woman alike.
Amazing One of the most phenomenal books I have ever read. It's almost hard to believe that it's real. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
Self aggrandizing hero w(a)orshipping I bought this book believing I would get into the heart and soul of a Navy SEAL and come to understand some of the subtleties of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Unfortunately, the book is so filled with bravado and testosterone that it offers almost no lens on the war and the challenges of being in a difficult strategic _and_ tactical battle situation.
If you want to hear about how many pull-ups a SEAL can do, buy this book.
If you want a well-rounded, thoughtful, open-minded analysis of the life of a SEAL in the morally tenuous wars we find ourselves in, take a pass.
Anyone who blindly kills on demand, is 100% loyal to the president regardless of the decisions that leader makes, and who cannot introspect about the situation at hand needs to reboot their hard drive and rediscover what it is to be human, humane, and a warrior at the same time.
Couldn't finish it Caveat: I only read the prologue, the first three chapters and the 6th and 7th chapters.
I am an avid reader of military history and greatly enjoy Mark Bowden and Anthony Beevor as my favourite military authors. I purchased "Lone Survivor" because of its favourable comparison to "Black Hawk Down".
I tried to read this during a long flight. But my stomach churned as a read the first part of the book. Not due to any thrilling narrative but due entirely to the extreme jingoism of the author. I can understand the author's point of view. After all, he is part of the story and watched his mates die in the field. However, for this reader, Mr. Luttrell's characterization of Iraqis and Afghani's as "terrorists", "fanatics" and "maniacs" is just too much. As I tried to read the book, I felt like Eddie Murphy's character in "48 Hours" as he walked into the cowboy bar. In other words, I felt entirely out of place and uncomfortable.
In frustration, I jumped ahead a few chapters hoping to concentrate on Mr. Luttrell's eyewitness account of the ill-fated SEAL mission. However, I was unable to avoid the author's political and social commentaries. The last straw for me was Mr. Luttrell's statement that the West was the "civilized half" of the world. Clearly, Mr. Luttrell is not aware of what happens in the housing projects or emergency wards of America or virtually any other Western nation. At this point, I closed this book and stuffed it deep into the airplane's seat pocket.
Mr. Luttrell clearly, and understandably, lives in a world of black and white where Americans are heroes and America's enemies are all cowards. If you share this belief, then you might enjoy this book. If you feel otherwise, then you might just leave this book on the plane as I did.
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