Lone Survivor: The Incredible True Story of Navy SEALs Under Siege

by Marcus Luttrell

Patrick Robinson (Secondary Author)

In June 2005 four US Navy SEALs left their base in Afghanistan for the 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 than twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs was alive.
This is the story of team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing. Blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still breathing, Luttrell endured four desperate days fighting the al-Qaeda assassins sent to kill him, before finding unlikely sanctuary with a Pashtun tribe who risked everything to protect him from the circling Taliban killers.

• ISBN10: 0316067598
• ISBN13: 9780316067591
• Publish Date: 2 August 2007 (first published 12 June 2007)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 13 February 2012
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[charlton]

I thought the book was great.He talks about his family in east Texas and why he wanted to become a SEAL.Then he talks about the training one has to go through to actually become a SEAL,and there is a lot.In fact there is a real brotherhood.
When they arrive in Afghanistan there are multiple missions creating a familial bond.
They make such a bond back at training.But when they go through the hell in the Afghan mtns. they become closer than ever.
The book is moving and heart-wrenching.
I would suggest it to anyone who has interest in history or military history.

[daltonlp]

This book is notable for its lengthy account of SEAL training - not just the infamous "Hell Week", but the preceding "Indoc" phase, and the role-specific training following graduation.

It is also a depressing account of at the war in Afghanistan, viewed through the lens of a single disastrous mission. Strategic ineptitude, tactical blunders, and environmental blindness are constant themes. The battle is described with multiple breaks in the action to blame liberal americans for the debacle. The scale of cognitive dissonance is something to behold. It's a surreal internal conflict between soldiers fighting a war, and the nation they fight for.