Afghanistan Memoir

In a remote enemy-held valley in Afghanistan, a Special Forces team planned to scale a steep mountain to surprise and capture a terrorist leader. But before they found the target, the target found them. The team was caught in a deadly ambush that threatened not only their lives but the entire mission. The elite soldiers fought huddled for hours on a small rock ledge as rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire rained down on them.

While America held its breath in the days immediately following 9/11, a small but determined group of CIA agents covertly began to change history. This is the riveting first-person account of the treacherous top-secret mission inside Afghanistan to set the stage for the defeat of the Taliban and launch the war on terror. As thrilling as any novel, First In is a uniquely intimate look at a mission that began the US retaliation against terrorism - and reclaimed the country of Afghanistan for its people.

The only comprehensive, firsthand account of the thirteen hour firefight at the Battle of Keating by Medal of Honor recipient Clinton Romesha, for readers of Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden and Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell "'It doesn't get better.' To us, that phrase nailed one of the...

In Level Zero Heroes, Michael Golembesky follows the members of U.S. Marine Special Operations Team 8222 on their assignment to the remote and isolated Taliban stronghold known as Bala Murghab as they conduct special operations in an effort to break the Taliban's grip on the Valley. What started out as a routine mission changed when two 82nd Airborne Paratroopers tragically drowned in the Bala Murghab River while trying to retrieve vital supplies from an air drop that had gone terribly wrong.

Kandahar. The ancient desert crossroads and, as of fall of 2001, ground zero for the Taliban and al-Qa'ida in southern Afghanistan. In the northern part of the country, the US-supported Northern Alliance has made progress on the battlefield, but in the south, the country is still under the Taliban's bloody hold and al-Qa'ida continues to operate there. With no "Southern Alliance" for the US to support, a new strategy is needed if victory is to be achieved. Veteran CIA officer Duane Evans is dispatched to Pakistan to "get something going in the South." Foxtrot in Kandahar is his story.

Southern Afghanistan was slipping away. That was clear to then-Captain Rusty Bradley as he began his third tour of duty there in 2006. The Taliban and their allies were infiltrating everywhere, poised to reclaim Kandahar Province, their strategically vital onetime capital. To stop them, the NATO coalition launched Operation Medusa, the largest offensive in its history. The battlefield was the Panjwayi Valley, a densely packed warren of walled compounds that doubled neatly as enemy bunkers.

An investigative journalist uncovers a hidden custom in Afghanistan that will transform your understanding of what it means to grow up as a girl. “An astonishingly clear picture of this resourceful, if imperfect, solution to the problem of girlhood in a society where women have few rights...

Inside the Jihad is the story of a double agent operative working for UK and French intelligence by infiltrating Al Qaeda training camps. During his time in the camps, Nasiri met all of the top terrorist leaders, including Osama bin Laden, and engaged in a wide range of illegal activities. Strikingly well-written and gripping, Inside the Jihad is a terrifying, suspenseful read.

A Thousand Miles to Freedom is a gripping, deeply human true story of one young Afghan girl’s impossible journey across mountains, borders, sea and war zones in pursuit of the freedom she was told she could never have. She was born into a world shaped by conflict, tradition, and the constant threat of violence, she grew up determined to carve a path beyond the limits placed on Afghan girls. From surviving abusive cultural norms to becoming a nurse through sheer resilience, her life is marked by extraordinary courage. But when she is forced into an intolerable arranged marriage, she makes ...

How did DEA agents orchestrate the capture of one of the world’s most wanted weapons dealers? How does an all-female, unarmed group of rangers stop poachers from killing South Africa’s most majestic wild animals? And how did a scrappy crew of soldiers help desperate Afghans escape Kabul during the Taliban’s rapid takeover? Welcome to Heroes Behind Headlines: Only the Brave, where host Ralph Pezzullo takes you on deep dives into extraordinary true stories, told to you by the experts and the brave men and women who lived them.

An account of the day-to-day life and combat experiences of an Afghan interpreter. Readers are introduced to the harsh reality and dangers that many of our Afghan partners face. John’s journey from child into manhood is essential reading for those wishing to understand the dynamic culture and dangers facing US/Afghan interpreters. A vivid and introspective glimpse into the life of a combat-tested interpreter. Safi's story is hilarious, terrifying and sorrowing and he is a true voice of the Afghan war.

NOW A BLOCKBUSTER MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY CLINT EASTWOOD—NOMINATED FOR SIX ACADEMY AWARDS, INCLUDING BEST PICTURE From 1999 to 2009, U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle recorded the most career sniper kills in United States military history. His fellow American warriors, whom he protected with deadly...

“With compelling and candid prose, Berkoff takes us to the front lines as life-or-death decisions are made involving living and breathing characters. You must read this to understand what the war was like for the war fighters.

The Instant New York Times Bestseller by Co-Star of Fox's American Grit and Legendary Ranger Nicholas Irving. Groundbreaking, thrilling and revealing, The Reaper is the astonishing memoir of Special Operations Direct Action Sniper Nicholas Irving, the 3rd Ranger Battalion's deadliest sniper with...

“Never shall I fail my comrades. . . . I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some.” —from the Ranger Creed In early March 2010, General Stanley McChrystal, the commanding officer of all U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan...

You Just Survive is a combat veteran memoir that pulls no punches. These modern war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan sit beside plain spoken accounts of PTSD and trauma recovery, raw combat moments and the quiet battles that follow when the uniform comes off. This is not a sanitized war book. It is a combat veteran memoir told hour by hour, from turret scans in Ramadi and Marjah to patrols that ended with IEDs, mortars, and decisions you carry forever. If you search for modern war stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, you will find the real, unfiltered scenes that define this book. The book ...

The unforgiving Afghan winter settled upon the 22 men of Marine Special Operations Team 8222, call sign Dagger 22, in the remote and hostile river valley of Bala Murghab, Afghanistan. The Taliban fighters in the region would have liked nothing more than to once again go dormant and rest until the new spring fighting season began. No chance of that - this winter would be different.

Two years before the action in Lone Survivor, a team of Green Berets conducted a very different, successful mission in Afghanistan's notorious Pech Valley. Led by Captain Ronald Fry, Hammerhead Six applied the principles of unconventional warfare to "win hearts and minds" and fight against the...

Before the Soviet invasion of 1980, Enjeela Ahmadi remembers her home - Kabul, Afghanistan - as peaceful, prosperous, and filled with people from all walks of life. But after her mother, unsettled by growing political unrest, leaves for medical treatment in India, the civil war intensifies, changing young Enjeela’s life forever. Amid the rumble of invading Soviet tanks, Enjeela and her family are thrust into chaos and fear when it becomes clear that her mother will not be coming home.

This revealing memoir from a 34-year veteran of the CIA who worked as a case officer and recruiter of foreign agents before and after 9/11 provides an invaluable perspective on the state of modern spy craft, how the CIA has developed, and how it must continue to evolve. If you've ever wondered...