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7 reviews for:
The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan
Jason Amerine, Eric Blehm
4.1 AVERAGE
7 reviews for:
The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan
Jason Amerine, Eric Blehm
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
This book was hard for me to put down. Starting at the beginning of our involvement in Afghanistan, this walks through some early lessons learned that changed our methods of ops execution. Couldn't really help but start to feel connected with those operators. I may be slightly biased as I have been to that location, all be it many years after this event, but just to walk that same piece of dirt and understand what happened there changes you as much as the conflict does.
Powerful is an understatement. The Only Thing Worth Dying For gives rare insight into the political, social, and military aspects of this war. Must read!
Eric Blehm captures both a reading audience, and an author audience. That's how fantastic his writing is.
In this title he captures the story of US Army Special Forces ODA 574, a unit of men that recaptured nearly all of Southern Afghanistan with some of the smartest combat strategy displayed in a hundred plus years.
The unfortunate ending of these men tells us a lot about pride, ego, and many of those classic debates we read in fiction. Only in this title, it is oh so real, and oh so defeating.
Blehm captures the story accurately, honestly, and informs his readers of terrible tragedy that is war, and that true brotherhood lives on.
In this title he captures the story of US Army Special Forces ODA 574, a unit of men that recaptured nearly all of Southern Afghanistan with some of the smartest combat strategy displayed in a hundred plus years.
The unfortunate ending of these men tells us a lot about pride, ego, and many of those classic debates we read in fiction. Only in this title, it is oh so real, and oh so defeating.
Blehm captures the story accurately, honestly, and informs his readers of terrible tragedy that is war, and that true brotherhood lives on.
I didn't know anything about this book before I started reading it. The terrible tragedy that happens to Special Forces team came as a surprise (though it is alluded to a few times in the book). I was moved by this account of the small team of Green Berets who put their training to the test and tried to help take over Afghanistan. It is hard not to read this story with the knowledge we have now (The Taliban weren't completely defeated, Karzai might be corrupt, etc.) Unfortunately that means some of the men might come off as naive, but I think that would do them a disservice. They did the best that they could with the resources and information they had. And their best? It was pretty damn impressive.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in how the Special Forces do some of their work and how Hamid Karzai came to lead the new Afghanistan.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in how the Special Forces do some of their work and how Hamid Karzai came to lead the new Afghanistan.
I really enjoyed this story. I think the stories of our modern day heroes need to be told! We, as Americans and world citizens, need to know if their character and their sacrifice.
However, I didn’t love the writing in this book. I really liked Fearless, more of a biography style. But this story seemed to get away from the author. I couldn’t keep track of the characters (my husband suggested that maybe details were left out to protect the real people- maybe? But things could have been presented less confusingly). The story jumped around, and sometimes seemed like it was jumping around when it was really staying in chronological order. The super short sections added to the confusion. It always took a few sentences to figure out when and where each section was set. The short parts made it easier to read a little at a time, but broke up the narrative awkwardly. And then the accident was shocking. Obviously that’s how it was for the soldiers. But it was strange. And there was lots of cursing. It was easier to read than it would be in a fiction novel, but it was still there. Military language, I guess. But not completely necessary. I get it, though, and don’t fault the author too much for that.
Anyways, great story. I’m glad I read it. I’d recommend it to people who like modern military stories, but it’s not my favorite in this genre.
However, I didn’t love the writing in this book. I really liked Fearless, more of a biography style. But this story seemed to get away from the author. I couldn’t keep track of the characters (my husband suggested that maybe details were left out to protect the real people- maybe? But things could have been presented less confusingly). The story jumped around, and sometimes seemed like it was jumping around when it was really staying in chronological order. The super short sections added to the confusion. It always took a few sentences to figure out when and where each section was set. The short parts made it easier to read a little at a time, but broke up the narrative awkwardly. And then the accident was shocking. Obviously that’s how it was for the soldiers. But it was strange. And there was lots of cursing. It was easier to read than it would be in a fiction novel, but it was still there. Military language, I guess. But not completely necessary. I get it, though, and don’t fault the author too much for that.
Anyways, great story. I’m glad I read it. I’d recommend it to people who like modern military stories, but it’s not my favorite in this genre.
