Into the Fire

A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War

By: Dakota Meyer, Bing West

Narrated by: Zach McLarty

Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

"The story of what Dakota did . . . will be told for generations." (President Barack Obama, from remarks given at Meyer's Medal of Honor ceremony)

In the fall of 2009, Taliban insurgents ambushed a patrol of Afghan soldiers and Marine advisors in a mountain village called Ganjigal. Firing from entrenched positions, the enemy was positioned to wipe out 100 men who were pinned down and were repeatedly refused artillery support. Ordered to remain behind with the vehicles, 21 year-old Marine corporal Dakota Meyer disobeyed orders and attacked to rescue his comrades.

With a brave driver at the wheel, Meyer stood in the gun turret exposed to withering fire, rallying Afghan troops to follow. Over the course of the five hours, he charged into the valley time and again. Employing a variety of machine guns, rifles, grenade launchers, and even a rock, Meyer repeatedly repulsed enemy attackers, carried wounded Afghan soldiers to safety, and provided cover for dozens of others to escape - supreme acts of valor and determination. In the end, Meyer and four stalwart comrades - an Army captain, an Afghan sergeant major, and two Marines - cleared the battlefield and came to grips with a tragedy they knew could have been avoided. For his actions on that day, Meyer became the first living Marine in three decades to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Into the Fire tells the full story of the chaotic battle of Ganjigal for the first time, in a compelling, human way that reveals it as a microcosm of our recent wars. Meyer takes us from his upbringing on a farm in Kentucky, through his Marine and sniper training, onto the battlefield, and into the vexed aftermath of his harrowing exploits in a battle that has become the stuff of legend.

Investigations ensued, even as he was pitched back into battle alongside U.S. Army soldiers who embraced him as a fellow grunt. When it was over, he returned to the States to confront living with the loss of his closest friends. This is a tale of American values and upbringing, of stunning heroism, and of adjusting to loss and to civilian life.

We see it all through Meyer's eyes, bullet by bullet, with raw honesty in telling of both the errors that resulted in tragedy and the resolve of American soldiers, U.S.Marines, and Afghan soldiers who'd been abandoned and faced certain death.

Meticulously researched and thrillingly told, with nonstop pace and vivid detail, Into the Fire is the true story of a modern American hero.

"Sergeant Meyer embodies all that is good about our nation's Corps of Marines. . . . [His] heroic actions . . . will forever be etched in our Corps' rich legacy of courage and valor." (General James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps)

©2012 Bing West and Dakota Meyer (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

" Into the Fire is a deeply compelling tale of valor and duty. Dakota Meyer will not identify as a hero, but he will, I think, accept the title warrior. Dakota's storytelling is precise and, for a Medal of Honor recipient, touchingly humble. With deft prose he drops us smack in the middle of one of the most heinous small unit firefights of the current wars. His insights into military tactics and politics in a war zone are sharp and uncompromising and work as a primer on infantry war fighting for the uninitiated. Dakota was a magnificent marine and he is now an equally magnificent chronicler of warfare and the small group of people who do today's fighting for America." (Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead)

"[Bing] West's greatest strengths are his exceptional personal courage and his experienced perception of combat." ( The Washington Post)

"West [is] the grunts' Homer." ( Los Angeles Times Book Review)

perfection

best first hand account to date.well explained well written could not ask for more out of this book

Rough read, but beyond spectacular.

I type “rough” in my headline not because I thought the book wasn’t well written, but because it is so profoundly emotionally shaking. I had to stop my tractor to steady myself as I listened to the recounting of Meyers experience and actions.

I wish I had been by your side to assist, Brother.

- Prior service Marine Corps
OEF 12.2
Cpl Sluder

Semper Fi

Terrible reader

This guy reads like he’s commentating sports or doing the intro for a racing video game. Great book, great story, bad reader.

Narration wasn’t only ok

Corpsman is pronounced wrong many times among calibers being miss stated and incorrectly abbreviated. But overall the book listens well

wow

God bless the United States of America. God bless the men and women who protect the freedom that so many warriors died for.

Incredible!

I listen to a lot of military books, and most of the time I hear, “redacted,” over and over throughout them.
I can’t believe Dakota was “allowed” to publish his story without the government censorship that so many others have. His experience needed to be told! Only through speaking out and having our veterans HEARD, can true accountability that leads to CHANGE occur.
Thank you, Dakota, speaking out. You’ll never know if/how many lives have been and will be saved due to change in procedures stemming from your story.

Bing West did an excellent job of telling Dakota’s experience with such description that I had a vivid picture in my head.

Zach McLarty was a terrific narrator. I usually don’t like audio books read by someone other than the author if I’ve heard the author speak (or listened to him on many podcasts), but a chapter into the book I forgot that it wasn’t Dakota telling the story.

Great job all around!
THANK YOU!!!

Amazing.

A truely amazing book, i couldn't stop listening to this! Will definitely give it another listen in the future!

Just a regular guy, telling an incredible yet believable story.

Putting one foot in front of the other, and doing the right thing with each step, led a kid, who might have been your average neighborhood boy, do such an extraordinary thing. Because he told the story so humbly and matter of factly, and without all the usual military bravado, he made it seem like something you yourself could have done. Only you couldn’t have, Even in the aftermath, he continued to do the right thing by his comrades in arms. I loved every word of it because it was so believable, and he did what you wished you might have done. But like I said, you couldn’t have.

Quite amazing

The story is incredible, giving insight to a battle, a nation with political differences, and a war hero who was willing to go above and beyond for his friends, his country, and himself.

bada$$ book

I could not believe how great Dakota made this book I'm happy that hes OK and I love it that's it