Review: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (with Patrick Robinson)

5 stars for Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell (with Patrick Robinson).

After wrapping up my last book with a theme centered on Military and War, I undergo a reading hangover, one which is not too overwhelming but nevertheless a feeling I rather do without. In-between that and this, I actually try reading 2 other books, one written by an author who tops the international bestseller lists and the other by a New York Times bestselling author. Sadly, in both instances, my heart is not in my mind and I find myself unable to enjoy the stories and make myself finish reading. It is then that I realise I am still hang-up over my last Non-Fiction book titled Forward into Hell. It has affected me more than I fathom it to be and I actually crave for more of such a story. Not that I am a sadist who take pleasure in reading on tragedies of war, but that it is an eye opener to pore over the true account in black and white. With that, I decide to cure the aftereffect by reading yet another Non-Fiction on Military and War, Lone Survivor this time.

Lone Survivor is a candid first person account of the war fought in the high mountains of northeast Afghanistan in the summer of 2005. As connoted by title of the book, the writer is as a matter of fact, the last man standing to return from this bloody warfare. Penned by Marcus Luttrell, a petty officer first class and a team leader in the United States Navy SEALs, trained in weapons, demolition and tactics, reconnaissance techniques and unarmed combat, a sniper as well as the platoon medic, he shares the never-ending guilt he bornes as sole survivor in his engagement of the Operation Redwing, the much dreaded position he undertakes as essential bearer of the final bad news to families of his deceased teammates, and most essentially, his eyewitness account of events leading to the near wipe out of the 4-man SEALs team. Lone Survivor is a book written as a tribute to Luttrell’s comrades (SDV Team 1 and SEAL Team 10) who died in their line of duty, in their fight for their country and its belief; a book dedicated especially to his three American buddies who died fighting in valor in the face of adversity to protect Luttrell and the teammates.

The first 2 chapters (approx 18%) of the book feel very much like reading a story on modern-day history. Luttrell writes much about the history and geopolitical tension and warfare among the Middle East countries, about Taliban and their brutal, repressive and draconian ruling of Afghanistan, about Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda movement, about the US-led coalition attack against Afghanistan following the terrorist attack on U.S. World Trade Center on 9/11 in 2001. These events seem to have happened long ago, yet in actuality, have taken place only within the last 30 to 50 years. Not such a long time ago after all.

With History lessons done, Luttrell moves on to talk about himself, his family, his early childhood days, and factors leading to him becoming a Navy SEAL candidate. He shares extensively on the finer details of the SEAL's gruelling and rigorous training program, notably the Hell Week, and how he pushes on and overcomes all the hurdles thrown at him, be it physically or mentally, and finally emerges as a member of an elite force within the U.S. Navy -- a Navy SEAL (SEa - in the water, Air - on the water, Land - out of the water).

After the detailed explanation of what a Navy SEAL is and what it takes to be one, which in my opinion is essential to better understanding of the later events, Luttrell proceeds to tell his eyewitness account of the war fought in Afghanistan, in the very same mountains where the Taliban has sheltered the members of al Qaeda, shielded the followers of Osama bin Laden while they plotted the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia on 9/11 in 2001. In-between, Luttrell also talks about the Rules of engagement (ROE) and what he thinks of these rules laid down by politicians: "in a global war on terror when you have rules, the opponents waste no time to use it against us. The terrorists will stop at nothing because they do not have rules of engagement". His stand is that the modern U.S. combat soldiers go into combat against the terrorists with unnecessary extra fear and danger: the fear of rules of their own nation's making judging against them, the fear of American media and their effect on American politicians. And precisely due to these ROE, Luttrell makes a non military decision, one which irrevocably leads to a lifetime of regrets.

Lone Survivor is an epic representation of the brutality, severity, and ruthlessness of war. It is powerfully and admirably well written by Marcus Luttrell with so much emotion involved: patriotism, pride, indignation, fury, grief, guilt, and regret, that I actually cry reading it. It is a book worth all the time set aside to slowly devour, digest and appreciate.

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition
Publication date: 12 Jun 2007

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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.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

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