The Outpost

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

The heartbreaking and inspiring story of one of the deadliest battles of the Afghanistan war, acclaimed by critics as a classic.

‘A mind-boggling, all-too-true story of heroism, hubris, failed strategy, and heartbreaking sacrifice’ Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild

At 5:58 AM on October 3rd, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating, located in frighteningly vulnerable terrain in Afghanistan just 14 miles from the Pakistani border, was viciously attacked. Though the 53 soldiers stationed there prevailed against nearly 400 Taliban fighters, their casualties made it the deadliest fight of the war that year. Four months after the battle, a review revealed that there was no reason for the troops at Keating to have been there in the first place.

In The Outpost, Jake Tapper gives us the powerful saga of COP Keating, from its establishment to eventual destruction, introducing us to an unforgettable cast of soldiers and their families. This modern classic of military history is an indictment of the management of the war in Afghanistan, and a thrilling tale of true courage in the face of impossible odds.

Reviews

‘For those wishing to understand the middle years of the war, they could do no better than to read The Outpost’ Time

‘Brilliant, dedicated reporting by a journalist who goes to ground to get the truth. A sad, real tale about this war, America and the brave warriors who live-and die-at the point of the spear’ Bob Woodward, author of Fear

‘There have been many books written on the subject of America's seemingly endless engagement in Afghanistan, but none better than The Outpost’ Atlantic

‘The Outpost is a mind-boggling, all-too-true story of heroism, hubris, failed strategy, and heartbreaking sacrifice. If you want to understand how the war in Afghanistan went off the rails, you need to read this book’ Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild

"The power of The Outpost lies in Tapper's development of the main characters … He juxtaposes dramatic battles, complete with limbs blown off and eyes dangling from sockets, with poignant scenes of wives and parents first learning of the deaths of their loved ones’ Washington Post

‘Tapper lays bare the poor decision-making that shattered dozens of American lives in the pursuit of an ill-conceived goal’ Wall Street Journal

‘A heartbreaking chronicle of the rotation of soldiers asked to oversee an underfunded, often thankless mission’ Huffington Post

‘The seminal work of documentary journalism to emerge out of the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan’ Business Standard

About the author

Jake Tapper began his job as Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent for CNN in January 2013. Prior to that, Tapper was named ABC News' senior White House correspondent on November 5, 2008 – the day after the 2008 presidential election. For an unprecedented three years in a row, the White House Correspondents' Association has awarded him the prestigious Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure.