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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
Read in an afternoon on the way to pick rand up from camp. God bless SEAL team 10.
What an amazing experience. I cannot imagine what it takes to be special ops, to be willing to fight and die for your country. Luttrell is obviously a hero. I prefer my heroes to put less emphasis on blame. His blaming of the liberal media and "lefties" for all that is wrong in the world is tiresome and inaccurate.
On the cover of the paperback edition I read is the following quote from the Dallas Morning News: "Every bit as thrilling as Black Hawk Down and, unexpectedly, quite moving." That actually sums up my opinion of the book as well. This is the story of Marcus Luttrell, a man who doggedly pursued, and then achieved his dream of becoming a US Navy SEAL. The earlier portion of the book introduces the reader to Marcus, following him through boot camp, and then through the fabled BUD/S course (I could never make it!). It really is incredible what these guys go through.
Nearly halfway through the book, Marcus begins to tell the story of the failed Operation Redwing, which saw 4 SEALs inserted into the mountains of northeast Afghanistan, and only one surviving to tell the tale. The insurmountable odds that Marcus Luttrell had to face are truly incredible. The story of the final moments of his squadmates contains more courage, more valor, than any 10 hollywood action films combined. These are the REAL heros. Not to be forgotten are the Pashtuns who found Marcus & tended to his wounds - protecting him from the Taliban, despite the threats levied against them.
Few books move me to tears, but this one did. I don't remember exactly where it was, but somewhere in the final 50 pages it hit me.
After reading the book, I've found online that apparently this book is very polarizing. Folks tend to love it or hate it. At this point it is apparent which camp I fall into. It seems that the most common gripe amongst those who dislike the book has to do with Marcus's political views which he shares. Make no mistake about it, Marcus Luttrell is a conservative, and doesn't split any hairs when it comes to sharing his opinion regarding such issues as the role of journalism in wartime, whether or not the Taliban or Al Qaeda insurgents should be subject to the articles of the Geneva Convention (Marcus says no), and the rules of engagement by which the military is forced to act (lest they be tried as criminals & jailed as murderers back home). By & large, I agree with Marcus. His opinions are going to piss a lot of people off (and they have). I'm amazed by how many people seem to think that he shouldn't have shared such views in the book - how it "ruins" the book. Well folks, its HIS story - I can't recall ever reading anyone's memoirs or autobiography in which you didn't get any opinion-based commentary.
I know there are some who will no doubt object to what I'm about to say, but if they just shot those 3 goat farmers who stumbled upon them early on in the mission, the Taliban might never have been alerted to their presence, and the SEALs might have accomplished their mission & extracted without casualties. I know that Marcus must still be haunted by this.
THE FALLEN HEROES - who cannot be honored enough:
Marcus's squadmates:
LT Michael P. Murphy, 29
STG2 Matthew Axelson, 29
GM2 Danny Dietz, 25
Those killed on board the rescue helicopter which was shot down by a Taliban RPG:
SEALs:
FCC Jacques J. Fontan, 36
ITCS Daniel R. Healy, 36
LCDR Erik S. Kristensen, 33
ET1 Jeffery A. Lucas, 33
LT Michael M. McGreevy, Jr., 30
QM2 James E. Suh, 28
HM1 Jeffrey S. Taylor, 30
MM2 Shane E. Patton, 22
US ARMY 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the "Night Stalkers"):
SSG Shamus O. Goare, 29
CWO3 Corey J. Goodnature, 35
SGT Kip A. Jacoby, 21
SFC Marcus V. Muralles, 33
MSG James W. Ponder III, 36
MAJ Stephen C. Reich, 34
SFC Michael L. Russell, 31
CWO4 Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40
Nearly halfway through the book, Marcus begins to tell the story of the failed Operation Redwing, which saw 4 SEALs inserted into the mountains of northeast Afghanistan, and only one surviving to tell the tale. The insurmountable odds that Marcus Luttrell had to face are truly incredible. The story of the final moments of his squadmates contains more courage, more valor, than any 10 hollywood action films combined. These are the REAL heros. Not to be forgotten are the Pashtuns who found Marcus & tended to his wounds - protecting him from the Taliban, despite the threats levied against them.
Few books move me to tears, but this one did. I don't remember exactly where it was, but somewhere in the final 50 pages it hit me.
After reading the book, I've found online that apparently this book is very polarizing. Folks tend to love it or hate it. At this point it is apparent which camp I fall into. It seems that the most common gripe amongst those who dislike the book has to do with Marcus's political views which he shares. Make no mistake about it, Marcus Luttrell is a conservative, and doesn't split any hairs when it comes to sharing his opinion regarding such issues as the role of journalism in wartime, whether or not the Taliban or Al Qaeda insurgents should be subject to the articles of the Geneva Convention (Marcus says no), and the rules of engagement by which the military is forced to act (lest they be tried as criminals & jailed as murderers back home). By & large, I agree with Marcus. His opinions are going to piss a lot of people off (and they have). I'm amazed by how many people seem to think that he shouldn't have shared such views in the book - how it "ruins" the book. Well folks, its HIS story - I can't recall ever reading anyone's memoirs or autobiography in which you didn't get any opinion-based commentary.
I know there are some who will no doubt object to what I'm about to say, but if they just shot those 3 goat farmers who stumbled upon them early on in the mission, the Taliban might never have been alerted to their presence, and the SEALs might have accomplished their mission & extracted without casualties. I know that Marcus must still be haunted by this.
THE FALLEN HEROES - who cannot be honored enough:
Marcus's squadmates:
LT Michael P. Murphy, 29
STG2 Matthew Axelson, 29
GM2 Danny Dietz, 25
Those killed on board the rescue helicopter which was shot down by a Taliban RPG:
SEALs:
FCC Jacques J. Fontan, 36
ITCS Daniel R. Healy, 36
LCDR Erik S. Kristensen, 33
ET1 Jeffery A. Lucas, 33
LT Michael M. McGreevy, Jr., 30
QM2 James E. Suh, 28
HM1 Jeffrey S. Taylor, 30
MM2 Shane E. Patton, 22
US ARMY 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (the "Night Stalkers"):
SSG Shamus O. Goare, 29
CWO3 Corey J. Goodnature, 35
SGT Kip A. Jacoby, 21
SFC Marcus V. Muralles, 33
MSG James W. Ponder III, 36
MAJ Stephen C. Reich, 34
SFC Michael L. Russell, 31
CWO4 Chris J. Scherkenbach, 40
On the basis of everything within these pages, I will give this book 1 star.
I understand that this is a true story, and the events happened. I feel that maybe if it were told less from the surviving member, I would be less irritated at the writing.
I commend every single service member for their duty and service, and have nothing against Luttrell, and I realize that by being a Navy SEAL, he has gone through some tough training. However; that does not forgive the bragging sound of the re-telling of events. Facts are fine, and are what I read this book for. Explaining SEAL school was also quite riveting, but as soon as he puts in his dime's worth of at-a-boys' to himself, I want to skip ahead.
This is a sad loss of life for the other three members of his squad as well as those who went in to rescue him, and I do not question his judgement nor choices. I just find that their is no room for arrogance here. Confidence is good, and required, but Arrogance is dirty, and I hated that aspect of this.
Again, this is not meant for disrespect, because this is a trial that I have never had to suffer, and God bless Luttrell for making it out of their alive, but this is middle-line non-fiction for me.
After a full night of deliberation on this, I feel that this is a wasted space on a book shelf. This man is a survivor and not a hero, which the book tries to make Luttrell seem like a hero. He is not. He survived. He made a poor choice, and survived.
I understand that this is a true story, and the events happened. I feel that maybe if it were told less from the surviving member, I would be less irritated at the writing.
I commend every single service member for their duty and service, and have nothing against Luttrell, and I realize that by being a Navy SEAL, he has gone through some tough training. However; that does not forgive the bragging sound of the re-telling of events. Facts are fine, and are what I read this book for. Explaining SEAL school was also quite riveting, but as soon as he puts in his dime's worth of at-a-boys' to himself, I want to skip ahead.
This is a sad loss of life for the other three members of his squad as well as those who went in to rescue him, and I do not question his judgement nor choices. I just find that their is no room for arrogance here. Confidence is good, and required, but Arrogance is dirty, and I hated that aspect of this.
Again, this is not meant for disrespect, because this is a trial that I have never had to suffer, and God bless Luttrell for making it out of their alive, but this is middle-line non-fiction for me.
After a full night of deliberation on this, I feel that this is a wasted space on a book shelf. This man is a survivor and not a hero, which the book tries to make Luttrell seem like a hero. He is not. He survived. He made a poor choice, and survived.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
An amazing account of what it takes, physically & of character, to become a US Navy SEAL... and the inside life as one. I highly recommend this book!
This is an eye opening novel... I have never cried so hard in my life and I am so glad that I read this book. It made me realize the hardships and sacrifices that our soldiers make everyday for our country, and I could not be more thankful to them.
Okay -- in full disclosure, I didn't actually finished this book. But, Paul did and he said I knew the ending (the author lives, obviously) and that the second half of the book was much more of the same of the first -- Navy SEALS who are dedicated to their teams and to their missions, no matter what. I enjoyed reading about the SEALS training, and I don't know how anyone survives that. But, thank goodness some of them do, and I am very, very grateful to the service of these brave men and women. They have a dangerous, thankless job. The story is worth five stars on that basis alone!