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nfmgirl 's review for:
Marcus Lutrell is a Texas-boy through and through. Texans are a unique breed. Often arrogant and self-confident, yet warm and generous, Lutrell fits the bill. "Don't mess with Texas!"
Lutrell is raised in Texas by a tough father who pushes his boys to be their best-- and I mean pushes! They are pushed to give both their mental and physical best through constant training and drills, and at a young age Lutrell and his twin brother Morgan know that they want to become SEALs when they grow up. And both of them do just that. Lutrell joins the US Navy in 1999, and becomes a Navy SEAL in 2002.
On June 28, 2005, Lutrell and SEAL Team 10 are sent on a mission into Afghanistan to capture or kill whom he refers in the book to as Taliban leader Ben Sharmak, who the military had been tracking. However Wikipedia identifies the target as Mohammad Ismail alias Ahmad Shah, who survived the operation, but was later killed in 2008.
SEAL Team 10 consisted of Lutrell, Matthew Axelson, Michael Murphy and Danny Dietz.
The SEALs moved through the Hindu Kush mountains, eventually positioning themselves to watch the village where "Sharmack" was supposed to be located. While on surveillance, they are surrounded by the Taliban and engaged in a firefight. Over the next few hours the team is outnumbered probably 35 to 1, caught in a vicious firefight, wounded and pushed further and further down the mountain. There are great moments of heroism and bravery as one-by-one they are picked off. In the end, only Lutrell is still alive and on the run with the Taliban chasing him through the mountains.
Eventually he is found and taken in by a Pashtun tribe, and carried to their village where his wounds are treated and he is cared for. The tribe extend their hospitality to him, and they are bound to protect and care for him to the death. This pits them against the Taliban in securing the safety of Lutrell, and in their determination to return him to the Americans. Eventually they do just that.
The writing style was a little too relaxed for me. It was like I was sitting in a bar and listening to him talk over a beer. It was a little scattered and lacked very much structure. Additionally there is so much arrogance in the beginning that it could be a bit of a turnoff. But eventually I got used to the writing style and began to see the arrogance more as "confidence", and by the middle of the book I'd hit my groove.
However the one thing that kept bothering me was the continual derogatory attitude towards "liberals". I know Texans are staunchly conservative, but it would have been nice to see a little less bias and derogatory tone. It is quite evident that the author views liberals an enemy nearly paramount to the Taliban.
The details of the firefight are brutal. These guys were shot repeatedly, with serious head, neck, back and stomach wounds, sometimes mortally shot, and they kept going. They kept fighting- for themselves, for their buddies, for their mission and their country.
The one thing that I missed in this book was the chance to really get to know these guys that died out on that mountain. However that didn't stop me from crying as I read of their bravery in the face of terror and pain.
There is a fair amount of vulgarity throughout this book. After all, there is a reason we refer to people as "talking like a sailor"!
Overall I would recommend this story-- for the middle. The beginning is a little too arrogant and brash, like a boy boasting of his conquests. The end a little too quiet as he recuperates and tours the US to visit with the family members of those who died in Operation Redwing. The middle, the heart of the story, is heart-wrenching and brutal and will have you in tears as you read what these boys went through and what they did for one another. Their love for one another is evident. Beautiful.
If you are intrigued by the Navy SEALs, if you don't shy away from brutality, if you can take the vulgarity and brashness, pick this one up. It will move you.
Lutrell is raised in Texas by a tough father who pushes his boys to be their best-- and I mean pushes! They are pushed to give both their mental and physical best through constant training and drills, and at a young age Lutrell and his twin brother Morgan know that they want to become SEALs when they grow up. And both of them do just that. Lutrell joins the US Navy in 1999, and becomes a Navy SEAL in 2002.
On June 28, 2005, Lutrell and SEAL Team 10 are sent on a mission into Afghanistan to capture or kill whom he refers in the book to as Taliban leader Ben Sharmak, who the military had been tracking. However Wikipedia identifies the target as Mohammad Ismail alias Ahmad Shah, who survived the operation, but was later killed in 2008.
SEAL Team 10 consisted of Lutrell, Matthew Axelson, Michael Murphy and Danny Dietz.
The SEALs moved through the Hindu Kush mountains, eventually positioning themselves to watch the village where "Sharmack" was supposed to be located. While on surveillance, they are surrounded by the Taliban and engaged in a firefight. Over the next few hours the team is outnumbered probably 35 to 1, caught in a vicious firefight, wounded and pushed further and further down the mountain. There are great moments of heroism and bravery as one-by-one they are picked off. In the end, only Lutrell is still alive and on the run with the Taliban chasing him through the mountains.
Eventually he is found and taken in by a Pashtun tribe, and carried to their village where his wounds are treated and he is cared for. The tribe extend their hospitality to him, and they are bound to protect and care for him to the death. This pits them against the Taliban in securing the safety of Lutrell, and in their determination to return him to the Americans. Eventually they do just that.
The writing style was a little too relaxed for me. It was like I was sitting in a bar and listening to him talk over a beer. It was a little scattered and lacked very much structure. Additionally there is so much arrogance in the beginning that it could be a bit of a turnoff. But eventually I got used to the writing style and began to see the arrogance more as "confidence", and by the middle of the book I'd hit my groove.
However the one thing that kept bothering me was the continual derogatory attitude towards "liberals". I know Texans are staunchly conservative, but it would have been nice to see a little less bias and derogatory tone. It is quite evident that the author views liberals an enemy nearly paramount to the Taliban.
The details of the firefight are brutal. These guys were shot repeatedly, with serious head, neck, back and stomach wounds, sometimes mortally shot, and they kept going. They kept fighting- for themselves, for their buddies, for their mission and their country.
The one thing that I missed in this book was the chance to really get to know these guys that died out on that mountain. However that didn't stop me from crying as I read of their bravery in the face of terror and pain.
There is a fair amount of vulgarity throughout this book. After all, there is a reason we refer to people as "talking like a sailor"!
Overall I would recommend this story-- for the middle. The beginning is a little too arrogant and brash, like a boy boasting of his conquests. The end a little too quiet as he recuperates and tours the US to visit with the family members of those who died in Operation Redwing. The middle, the heart of the story, is heart-wrenching and brutal and will have you in tears as you read what these boys went through and what they did for one another. Their love for one another is evident. Beautiful.
If you are intrigued by the Navy SEALs, if you don't shy away from brutality, if you can take the vulgarity and brashness, pick this one up. It will move you.