Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts

The American Military in the Air, at Sea, and on the Ground

By: Robert D. Kaplan

Narrated by: Don Leslie

Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this extraordinary audiobook, Robert D. Kaplan lets listeners experience up close the American military worldwide in the air, at sea, and on the ground. Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts provides not only a ground-level portrait of the Global War on Terrorism on several continents, but also a gritty firsthand account of how U.S. soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen are protecting sea-lanes, providing disaster relief, contending with the military rise of China, fighting the war in Iraq, and crafting contingency plans for war with North Korea and Iran. 

Expanding on Kaplan’s acclaimed Imperial Grunts, Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts shifts focus to the Pacific and completes his analysis of army Special Forces and the marines, while also taking listeners into the heart of the myriad tribal cultures of the air force, surface and subsurface navies, and the regular army’s Stryker brigades. Kaplan goes deep into their highly technical and exotic worlds, and he tells this story through the words and perspectives of the enlisted personnel and junior officers themselves. 

This provocative and illuminating audiobook not only conveys the vast scope of America’s military commitments, but also shows us astonishing and vital operations right as they unfold - from the point of view of the troops themselves. 

©2007 Robert D. Kaplan (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic Reviews

"Kaplan combines the travel writer's keen eye for detail and the foreign correspondent's analytical skill to produce an account of America's military worthy of its subject." (Publishers Weekly)

Tedious is the Best Description

I was expecting a lot more from the previous reviews. This is a very long book but it never goes into much detail, rather the author skips around the globe visiting various military operations. He barely touches on each before it's on to the next destination. This is one of the few audio books I've purchased that I finally gave up on from sheer boredom. The writing did not grab me and there never seemed to be any point to the narrative. Good bedtime reading.

Little dry

A lot of good information on the military and where military is going but it's a little drawn out in the explanations.

Great Detail, Brings Life and Understanding to Air

I loved the attention to detail in this book -- how the author talks about his wife, family and the difficult of serving one's country on deployed. I loved the intricate details about the boring, often repetitive nature of the job and the sheer chaos of intense moments.
I think I was just a little too close to the story having lived a lot of this life myself that the story didn't hold me through. I just lost interest. I hope that's not the case for other readers who may never have experienced the military or a deployment. This is a real life, accurate account of the lives of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.

The story is over before you want it to be

Kaplan's excellent overview takes you into places you didn't know existed on the map of American influence. While the myriad and diversity of military missions are interesting, Kaplan tells a deeper story of the gamut of human characters who do this work. It's their stories that make you unable to put down the book. Highly recommended.

If You Liked Imperial Grunts

Just as much quality thinking and great writing as Imperial Grunts. Don't let the other reviews deter you!!!