This book is a must read for any one. I was in the military and things like this happen more often than you would think. It is not always the smartest person that makes the decisions.They should have found out who planed to put the outpost in that valley and court marshalled him. to loose all those men for nothing, a lot like Viet Nam. What a waste.

It is so sad to read of such brave young men sent off to fight a senseless war in a senseless place and for so many to lose their life and for what, why? These solders are true hero's who were put in the line of fire on an outpost that served no purpose without the support from the generals who sent them there. The writing is excellent as well is the narration. A must read and more importantly a reminder to honor those who are sent to serve under fire.

yes

write my first review

The story sheds light on the poor planning of the military. The story is all over the place with way to many characters to follow

Great listen and narrator! The amazing courage and drive of our American soldiers in places that the odds are completely against you every single day.

This is by far the best audiobook I have experienced.

The ability of the narrator to take you into the scenes and make you feel part of every moment these guys experienced, was intriguing. It is hard to put into words how the author and narrator made you feel like you knew these guys and were right there during their darkest moments. It was bone chilling and heart wrenching.

Rob Shapiro did an outstanding job narrating this book. His voice was calm and yet it felt as if his sensitivity to the material was so thoughtfully handled as he caressed each word in honor of each and every soldier in the book.

I will have to say that from the beginning of the book to the very last page moved me and many times I cried so hard it hurt, I laughed at their jokes and whit at the most inappropriate moments and I got angry at how these guys were put in such a ridiculous place and yet no one in the upper echelons of the Army would make the necessary changes, especially when all the money was being fed to the war in Iraq.

There are many moments that will stay with me in this book, forever. The loss of the brave soldiers who fought so vigilently and died for thier country. The courage of each and every one of the troops who served in each of the Outposts, especially Keating. The entire book from beginning to end impacted me and makes me angry how our media has just blown over this war from the very beginning and only gave notice to what was happening in Iraq or even what Paris Hilton was doing.

The final battle moved me the most as well as the fate of Faulkner, who like me, is a North Carolina native. That tore me apart.

What have we learned from this war and what have we sacrificed? Will it be in vain? Would it have been different had Bush put more resources into eliminating the same bad guys who attacked us on 9/11 and not put so much emphasis into Iraq, what the heck was he and Rumsfeld thinking? If these guys had of had the manpower and airpower they needed, would the outcome have been different? Had the Generals in the Army given more energy into listening to the concerns and needs of these guys at each of the Outposts, especially COP Keating, would things have turned out differently? Would the guys who died in each of the attacks had a different outcome and still be alive. Had the VA been more staffed to handle PTSD and TBI's, would Faulkner still be alive.

A complete list of failures our Government committed in this tragedy should never be forgotten and I have to give it to Obama, he really has shown me a different side that I did not know existed. Additionally, rewarding the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Clinton Romesha this year was a nice end to such a tragic day.

Depth of the author's research and amount of detail he includes in the book.

Reads like something Barry Eisler or Lee Child might have written as fiction

Not relevant

Yes, but it is too long to do so. Took me a couple weeks to get through it.

Well worth the money and the time spent reading it. I'm just really upset that the events in the book actually happened. Hard to believe our military would do that to our own people.

I started this thinking it would be gripping, interesting and a learning experience. I quit it after hearing the endless accounts of how the soldiers are maimed, unable to be attended in a timely manner, and about the idiocy of the management of the military from the top down. I saw the young man receive the President's medal of honor recently and felt it was my duty to see the tale to the end since this young man was in the same area the book details. I have now had all I can possibly stand of this account of a hater that hates the military and all that it represents, the details of the blood and guts, the monotone reader and wish I had the time back I have invested.

Doubt it.

Awful, monotone.

Very informative story

The final battle for COP Keating

First one

No

The story made me feel as thought I was stantioned at the COP from start to finish

I was in Afghanistan from 06-08. The culture of the Army is "I will fight were I am told to fight, and I will win where I fight" and Afghanistan tested that culture and expounded on why it doesn’t always benefit the Soldiers.

I'm not sure if someone who wasn't there would understand some of the underlying themes in this book. If you are listening to the book for the battles or for an understanding of how we fought the war, this is a pretty good account. However, if you experienced the war, it will just validate how under manned and under resourced we were. I personally got sick to my stomach listening to this book but it was a rewarding experience at the end.

Having never read (or listened) anything that Mr. Tapper had written I figured this would just be another "reporters eye view" of the war. What I found was a jewel that is so powerful I wish every man or woman who might have the power to send our armed forces into battle be required to read it.

More than once I was brought to tears as Mr. Tapper described the gut wrenching emotions of those who waited at home, and of the incredible personal sacrifice these soldiers were (and are) willing to make for one another on a battlefield whose tactical goals have become so muddled by politicians there can be no good result.

Woven into the fabric of this book is a look at the frustrating bureaucracy that has evolved due to the United States attempts to mix politics and the use of military force. The blatant disregard for the most basic rules of tactical planning and execution cast a dark shadow over the senior military officers who were at the root cause of this tragedy. It is hard for me, as a veteran, to understand how we can put men and women in harms way and then hobble them with ridiculous rules of engagement.

War is a very nasty business and needs to be fought with overwhelming force, violence and clear tactical goals. After Desert Storm I believed our leadership, both military and political, had relearned the key lessons of World War II, that being that you simply cannot fight a limited war and expect any good result. It is apparent they have not.

Mr.Tapper does a brilliant job of making that point over and over again in each of the many battle segments.

This is a great book and I hope that it will become required reading for both political and military leadership as a tool to remind all of the horrible costs our soldiers must pay when leadership forgets the basics.

Buy it, read it, and tell your friends about it. The more Americans who become enlightened about what this war has evolved into the sooner, I would hope, we will be able to make the decision to fish or cut bait.