Lone Survivor
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- £17.99
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- £17.99
Publisher Description
Follow along a Navy SEAL's firsthand account of American heroism during a secret military operation in Afghanistan in this true story of survival and difficult choices.
On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.
This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. But it is also, more than anything, the story of his teammates, who fought ferociously beside him until he was the last one left-blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell fought off six al Qaeda assassins who were sent to finish him, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers.
A six-foot-five-inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow by blow, through the brutal training of America's warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks.
In this rich, moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare -- and a tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Risking your life isn’t part of most job descriptions—but for Navy SEALs like Marcus Luttrell, it’s all in a day’s work. In his stunning memoir, Luttrell describes how he set out with three fellow SEALs to pursue a ruthless Taliban leader in an intense mission known as Operation Redwing. Narrator Kevin T. Collins takes us through the journey, capturing every ounce of Luttrell’s all-American grit. The book contains as much gunfire and suspense and as many explosions as your typical action movie—so it’s no surprise the Mark Wahlberg–starring screen adaptation was a blockbuster. What we found most affecting, though, were Luttrell’s depictions of the group’s extraordinary heroism, including the story of how Danny Dietz, a nice guy who loved yoga, kept fighting even after being shot five times, or the account of the wisecracking Lieutenant Michael Murphy sacrificing his life in order to call for backup. There’s also the moving anecdote of the Pashtun villagers who found a gravely injured Luttrell and defied the Taliban to save him. Sometimes wry and often heartbreaking, this brilliantly humanizing glimpse into modern warfare reminds us that these brave soldiers do a dangerous job most of us could never imagine.