Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALs (Unabridged)
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3.6 • 41 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
An “infuriating, fast-paced” (The Washington Post) account of the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon, the startling accusations against their chief, Eddie Gallagher, and the courtroom battle that exposed the dark underbelly of America’s special forces—from a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter
WINNER OF THE COLORADO BOOK AWARD • “Nearly impossible to put down.”—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Where Men Win Glory and Into the Wild
In this “brilliantly written” (The New York Times Book Review) and startling account, Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times correspondent David Philipps reveals a powerful moral crucible, one that would define the American military during the years of combat that became known as “the forever war.”
When the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon returned from their 2017 deployment to Iraq, a group of them reported their chief, Eddie Gallagher, for war crimes, alleging that he’d stabbed a prisoner in cold blood and taken lethal sniper shots at unarmed civilians. The story of Alpha’s war, both in Iraq and in the shocking trial that followed the men’s accusations, would complicate the SEALs’ post-9/11 hero narrative, turning brothers-in-arms against one another and bringing into stark relief the choice that elite soldiers face between loyalty to their unit and to their country.
One of the great stories written about American special forces, Alpha is by turns a battlefield drama, a courtroom thriller, and a compelling examination of how soldiers define themselves and live with the decisions in the heat of combat.
Customer Reviews
Excellent
I remember all the hype in the news. Having served as a Scout for 12 years, I KNEW that the word of several SEALS shouldn’t be dismissed as a “sewing circle”.
As soon as I heard that the sources were active duty SEALS, I started noticing how skillfully the narrative skated around the fact that the whistleblowers were also elite combat vets. They tried to hide the fact that these were SEALS, and only calling out the Navy command.
Gallagher gets to talk out of 2 sides of his mouth. If they were as weak and as disreputable as Gallagher and the media made out,,,how did they pass selection? Gallagher was a BUDS Instructor for several of them. It didn’t make any sense. If they were that weak, why didn’t Eddie see it during the work up or during the deployment?
That being said, the two that hyped everyone else up but flipped their testimony at the last second, were both rotten to the core.
Those two hyped up the others because Eddie had dirt on them. Eddie capitalized on that dirt to get them to flip their testimony. That’s the only part of the story that remains untold. How dirty were they?
Riveting, Fascinating Book
A friend of mine recommended this book, and I listened to it from Dallas to Colorado and then sat in my driveway for another half hour to finish it. Philipps begins with a description of his many sources and exhaustive research. From there, the drama unfolds with all the tension and drama of a page-turning thriller. A must-read!
BIAS BOOK!
The Man In The Arena is based in facts. The Author of this book is knowing leaving out facts.
That’s probably why the author of this book has a defamation lawsuit pending.