This book immediately put me off, mostly because of the jingoistic, anti liberal, pro Bush point of view, with little tolerance for different ideas. It would have been much better without it, less honest I guess. That being said, Luttrell, like most of the Navy Seals, is much to be admired, his tough, no nonsense, attitude, necessary for a Seal/warrior, putting your life on the line each day fighting enemies like Al Qaeda and the Taliban. And Luttrell's swagger and 'our way or the highway' attitude might have been easier to take back in 2006 when this book was being written and we were not yet aware of what a mess Iraq and Afghanistan have become, a result of our war on terror, with little understanding of unintended consequences especially for the average citizens in those countries who may or may not be better off as a result of our both peaceful and military interference.
As I said, there's much to admire in Navy Seals, their dedication, skill, persistence, loyalty, love of country, willingness to die for it as well as each other. In a sense, they are the best of our young men, true warriors in the traditional sense, not out for glory but dedicated to duty, honor, country. I admire Lutrell's personal courage, toughness, work ethic, physicality. I know, too, that I could not have lasted even one day of the Seal training whose goal is to break the individual, see who would quit, who was not strong enough, tough enough, both mentally and physical, to endure the weeks of training. I wonder how anyone could survive it. The first fifty pages outline Seal training, an important preparation for the later sections of the book
The center of the book describes how Marcus and three other Seals are sent into the Hindu Kush, to search and find a Taliban leader, a dangerous mission to say the least; Marcus even mentions not feeling good about it, not as gung ho as usual on this mission. And the Seals were all correct with their intuition, as they were caught in an ambush, fighting off 120 Taliban for hours As they were fighting for their lives, they managed to send a distress signal to the Seals Headquarters. A copter was immediately commandeered, and sixteen Seals jumped aboard, ready to rescue the Seals. Unfortunately, as they landed, a Taliban blew up the copter with all aboard, the worst loss in the history of the Seals up to 2005.
All this happened, however without Marcus knowledge. He and his crew were too busy trying to survive. Eventually, the odds were too great, and three of the four Seals were killed, with Marcus the exception, either lucky or 'kissed by God,' my definition. In trying to avoid the Taliban, he accidentally slid hundreds of feet, down a mountain side, into a gorge which hid him, from the searching Taliban. Eventually, after crawling for seven miles, he was found by some Pashtun villagers who made the irrevocable decision to help him. This was not taken lightly as it meant that by protecting Marcus from the Taliban, they were putting their lives as well as their families in danger.
The last section describes the amazing hospitality of the Afghans, who dressed Marcus's wounds, hid him when his life was in danger, even stood ready with their guns and lives to defend him. Eventually, a group of Army Rangers rescued Marcus, a result of a signal he was able to send from the village. He was extracted, finally, flown to Germany, then home, with numerous broken bones, a terrible bacteria infection, which took months and many antibiotics to over come.
At the end, he describes the tremendous outpouring of support his parents received during the period when he was missing, as hundreds of friends and strangers, some flying in from all over the US, camped outside his parents house, offering their hopes and prayers. The most poignant section was when Marcus, having vowed to visit the relatives of his killed Seal team, meets with them and recounts his friends' heroics. An amazing story of training, survival, of love for country and Seal teammates, and finally, the unexpected care and hospitality of the 'supposed enemy, the Afghan villagers. A good read.
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