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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
<b>Rating 6.5/10</b>
Overall, the biography gives key insight on the harsh training scheme the Navy SEALs must endure and the mindset that not many are capable of maintaining.
The story of Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL on his journey to Afghanistan in his mission to dispatch a key Taliban member.
The book follows through Marcus's previous training in BUD/S located in Coronado, California.
Along with the help of his father encouraging Marcus and his brother to join the SEALs and his neighbour who gave Marcus the key training to keep up with the demanding training scheme of the Navy.
However, during his mission in Afghanistan he finds himself the only 'Lone Survivor' as his fellow soldiers of Operation Redwing perish in battle.
During his mission, Marcus survived being severely out-numbered by hundreds of Taliban members, dying from dehydration and infected bullet wounds.
In order to drive on the Navy soldier is forced to imagine his deceased comrades protecting him, soon to be saved by Gulab and other villagers.
After being rescued by a local village of Kandish, Marcus is able to heal the bullet wounds and learn to communicate to the villagers who perform an old Pashtun tradition, Pashtunwali, which enables Marcus to be collected by officers of the U.S. military.
<b>Review</b>
The book is slightly confusing as there are frequent time skips from past to present, where multiple characters are introduced.
The author begins his main mission in Afghanistan mid-way through the book to which readers know more about the training schemes of the Navy than Marcus's experience during his mission.
There was minimal discussion of Marcus's relationship with his comrades, however there are brief mentions of their closeness.
This hinders the development of sympathy and melancholy atmosphere at the loss of his team mates during their sacrifice.
The conclusion of 'Lone Survivor' is relieving, Marcus is reunited with his family and gets recognition from his idol, the former Texas governor.
Overall, the biography gives key insight on the harsh training scheme the Navy SEALs must endure and the mindset that not many are capable of maintaining.
The book follows through Marcus's previous training in BUD/S located in Coronado, California.
Along with the help of his father encouraging Marcus and his brother to join the SEALs and his neighbour who gave Marcus the key training to keep up with the demanding training scheme of the Navy.
However, during his mission in Afghanistan he finds himself the only 'Lone Survivor' as his fellow soldiers of Operation Redwing perish in battle.
During his mission, Marcus survived being severely out-numbered by hundreds of Taliban members, dying from dehydration and infected bullet wounds.
In order to drive on the Navy soldier is forced to imagine his deceased comrades protecting him, soon to be saved by Gulab and other villagers.
After being rescued by a local village of Kandish, Marcus is able to heal the bullet wounds and learn to communicate to the villagers who perform an old Pashtun tradition, Pashtunwali, which enables Marcus to be collected by officers of the U.S. military.
<b>Review</b>
The book is slightly confusing as there are frequent time skips from past to present, where multiple characters are introduced.
The author begins his main mission in Afghanistan mid-way through the book to which readers know more about the training schemes of the Navy than Marcus's experience during his mission.
There was minimal discussion of Marcus's relationship with his comrades, however there are brief mentions of their closeness.
This hinders the development of sympathy and melancholy atmosphere at the loss of his team mates during their sacrifice.
The conclusion of 'Lone Survivor' is relieving, Marcus is reunited with his family and gets recognition from his idol, the former Texas governor.
I read this book because my friend's brother was one of the SEALs that was killed in this operation. If it weren't for that, I probably would have put this book down after a few chapters. The author's anger and attitude make it hard to get through. I was interested in the story, but I had to steel myself against the anti-liberal, anti-Muslim, "Texas / America first" perspective that imbues his writing. I allow that I might feel differently if I had fought a war and lived through some of what the author experienced; however, the tone and extreme slant of he author's views make the book feel completely unbalanced.
I'm not sure what to think about this book, and it's not because I am in the camp that believes the military battles are exaggerated. I believe they are, but that's not even the main point. Is the book a celebration of heroism? Is it a criticism about military engagement policy in Afghanistan? Is it a criticism of US foreign policy in the Mideast? At the end of the day, I celebrate Marcus' return and the heroism of his fallen comrades. But I still have to ask the questions: why are we in Afghanistan and what are our objectives?
This is the first memoir/bio i read. This is also the very first book i read that's about military. I want to thank these guys for what they did for the people, and our country.
It started out slow, took a while to past first few chapters. Then comes chapter 8, and I was reading it before going to bed. Very bad idea. Couldn't sleep that night, all depressed. I cried ALOT reading this book.
Will definitely read the second one by Marcus Luttrell.
It started out slow, took a while to past first few chapters. Then comes chapter 8, and I was reading it before going to bed. Very bad idea. Couldn't sleep that night, all depressed. I cried ALOT reading this book.
Will definitely read the second one by Marcus Luttrell.
Several people recommended this book to me. I love heroic stories such as this one and seeing this story is rather recent, it appealed to me.
The book is broken into four main parts:
1) SEAL Team Training
2) Insertion & fight in Afghanistan against the Taliban
3) Help by the local Pashtun villagers in escaping the Taliban & rescue by US Military
4) Post rescue visit of families who lost loved ones from SEAL team 10
The SEAL training was fascinating. I have heard stories of how difficult "Hell Week" is at BUD/S school for SEAL's but Luttrell's description brought it front and center. A riveting portion of the book for me as I constantly wondered while reading if I would have ever made it through that type of training without walking away like so many do that attempt to become a Navy SEAL.
Equally riveting was the actual firefight against the Taliban. It left you realizing that no matter how well-trained a fighting force is, when the numbers are against you like they were in this position, it doesn't matter much.
Quite an amazing read! Marcus Luttrell is a US Patriot. The reason I didn't give it five stars is a personal one - I didn't like all of the swearing. Although I figured with it being a military book, there would be lots of it, I especially didn't like the cursing of God's name. Although I am thankful for our military, I never like it when people curse my God's name whether they are in the military or not.
If the movie captures the essence of the book, it will be rather exciting and sad at the same time.
The book is broken into four main parts:
1) SEAL Team Training
2) Insertion & fight in Afghanistan against the Taliban
3) Help by the local Pashtun villagers in escaping the Taliban & rescue by US Military
4) Post rescue visit of families who lost loved ones from SEAL team 10
The SEAL training was fascinating. I have heard stories of how difficult "Hell Week" is at BUD/S school for SEAL's but Luttrell's description brought it front and center. A riveting portion of the book for me as I constantly wondered while reading if I would have ever made it through that type of training without walking away like so many do that attempt to become a Navy SEAL.
Equally riveting was the actual firefight against the Taliban. It left you realizing that no matter how well-trained a fighting force is, when the numbers are against you like they were in this position, it doesn't matter much.
Quite an amazing read! Marcus Luttrell is a US Patriot. The reason I didn't give it five stars is a personal one - I didn't like all of the swearing. Although I figured with it being a military book, there would be lots of it, I especially didn't like the cursing of God's name. Although I am thankful for our military, I never like it when people curse my God's name whether they are in the military or not.
If the movie captures the essence of the book, it will be rather exciting and sad at the same time.
adventurous
emotional
informative
fast-paced
An easy, enjoyable, and unbearably sad read. However, it loses stars for three reasons.
1) Although a great patriot, he's not the best writer...entertaining, but not great.
2) I was under the impression more of the book would directly deal with the actual mission.
3) it is inconsistent.
Let me expand on that last one... (Preface: I DON'T like the media...at all. I don't even watch T.V. and am picky on where I get my news.) I believe it was inconsistent because the author tends to blame liberal media for his inability to conduct a militarily strategic war (i.e. If a SEAL or any other American serving in war kills another individual without following protocol they could potentially go on trial for murder) even though his underlying reason for (not) killing was clearly based on other factors. For instance, in the case of the goat herders, he specifically states he does not take their lives because of his religious beliefs. Religious. Beliefs. It is right there. I know he ranted about the prospect of being arrested and held accountable, but in the end, it was clear he felt an obligation to his beliefs not to kill them. The second instance is when the good doctor found him. Why, at this point (I know, he was in terrible shape), did he not kill them? It certainly wasn't because he had consulted the rules and came to the conclusion he would be considered a murder (because they had not fired at him). No, once again, there was something deeper there (unstated by the author) that made him decide, I'm not going out in a blaze like Danny, Mike, and Axe.
I know this isn't a popular view and I'm sorry, but I accept (and expect) that people (sometimes innocent) are to be killed at war and this is often due to a breach of protocol. I'm fine with that. Let them do everything in their power to live. If it were me I would show less restraint, panic, and kill everything that moved. (Here I would like to be clear that I do not have the balls to serve and I am humbled and grateful for those that do). But we have rules for a reason. If you send uneducated, inexperienced, young men into war (not at all referring to Navy SEALS) they can potentially make horrible decisions (rape, authentic and arbitrary murder, desecration of women and children [look to the Crusades, Nuremberg Trials, Mai Lai {American soldiers who have yet to be held accountable} 90's Chechnya...countless others]). Not to mention, become jumpy and accidentally kill one of their own. These people, (once again, I am grateful for their service) need to be curbed because they ARE young, inexperienced, and uneducated. Unfortunately, we cannot give one set of rules to one group and make exceptions for the others. Not the way the world works. I think in his heart the author knew this, and this fact, unfortunately, makes the book at little less and takes away from the true heroics that actually occurred
Sorry for all the digressions...proceed to call me an unAmerican liberal.
1) Although a great patriot, he's not the best writer...entertaining, but not great.
2) I was under the impression more of the book would directly deal with the actual mission.
3) it is inconsistent.
Let me expand on that last one... (Preface: I DON'T like the media...at all. I don't even watch T.V. and am picky on where I get my news.) I believe it was inconsistent because the author tends to blame liberal media for his inability to conduct a militarily strategic war (i.e. If a SEAL or any other American serving in war kills another individual without following protocol they could potentially go on trial for murder) even though his underlying reason for (not) killing was clearly based on other factors. For instance, in the case of the goat herders, he specifically states he does not take their lives because of his religious beliefs. Religious. Beliefs. It is right there. I know he ranted about the prospect of being arrested and held accountable, but in the end, it was clear he felt an obligation to his beliefs not to kill them. The second instance is when the good doctor found him. Why, at this point (I know, he was in terrible shape), did he not kill them? It certainly wasn't because he had consulted the rules and came to the conclusion he would be considered a murder (because they had not fired at him). No, once again, there was something deeper there (unstated by the author) that made him decide, I'm not going out in a blaze like Danny, Mike, and Axe.
I know this isn't a popular view and I'm sorry, but I accept (and expect) that people (sometimes innocent) are to be killed at war and this is often due to a breach of protocol. I'm fine with that. Let them do everything in their power to live. If it were me I would show less restraint, panic, and kill everything that moved. (Here I would like to be clear that I do not have the balls to serve and I am humbled and grateful for those that do). But we have rules for a reason. If you send uneducated, inexperienced, young men into war (not at all referring to Navy SEALS) they can potentially make horrible decisions (rape, authentic and arbitrary murder, desecration of women and children [look to the Crusades, Nuremberg Trials, Mai Lai {American soldiers who have yet to be held accountable} 90's Chechnya...countless others]). Not to mention, become jumpy and accidentally kill one of their own. These people, (once again, I am grateful for their service) need to be curbed because they ARE young, inexperienced, and uneducated. Unfortunately, we cannot give one set of rules to one group and make exceptions for the others. Not the way the world works. I think in his heart the author knew this, and this fact, unfortunately, makes the book at little less and takes away from the true heroics that actually occurred
Sorry for all the digressions...proceed to call me an unAmerican liberal.
Made me feel things, fantastic story teller. I'm glad I read it
Marcus does an excellent job of recounting his incredible and heartbreaking story. Some political bias on his side that he is not afraid to flaunt. A good look into what it takes to become a Navy Seal and how these men lay down their lives for our country. A powerful testimony to what lies out there and how the public and media see events such as these.
Very good story. Heart wrenching and fast paced. Definitely a book I can see myself rereading in the future.