None Braver

By: Michael Hirsh

Narrated by: Corey Snow

Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

From award-winning journalist and combat veteran Michael Hirsh comes the thrilling inside story of the Air Force's pararescue operations in Afghanistan. The first journalist to be embedded with an Air Force combat unit in the war on terrorism, Hirsh flew from Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, with the 71st Rescue Squadron to their expeditionary headquarters at a secret location in Central Asia.

Unparalleled access to the pararescue jumpers - or PJs - as well as to the courageous men and women who fly them where they have to go, often under enemy fire, allowed Michael Hirsh to uncover incredible stories of courage. Among them: the drama of a plane crash at 10,000 feet in the Hindu Kush mountains, where PJs climb with 100-pound packs through chest-deep snow to rescue the crew; the tension of an unprecedented nighttime combat parachute jump into the middle of an Afghan minefield; and the heartbreak during Operation Anaconda, when seven American fighting men die, including the first PJ killed in combat since Vietnam.

©2003 Michael Hirsh (P)2013 Tantor

Great Book

SrA Jason D. Cunningham will be remembered by one more person. I'd gone into this book wanting to learn more about the missions carried on by the PJs and I'd received much more than I asked for. Awesome book.

Good but not Great

I really wanted this book to be great and kept listening to it with the expectation that it was going to get great. . . unfortunately that was never realized. There is almost an equal amount about aviation and flying than there was about the PJ's. while the men and women who make up S.O.A.R., this book was promised to be about the PJ's...not an all encompassing account of CSAR.

It was written well and I like the author's style, but I was really disappointed with the subject matter which included far too much "fly-boy Stuff" aka aviation and thus not nearly enough about the PJ's. . . supposedly THE subject of the book.

Narrator's performance was very good and I appreciated his familiarity and ease at reading a book about the military complete with volumes of "Military-ese"

Great story

Great story
Jumped around a little to much for me wish spent more time on the story than on back ground.

Awesome. A must listen.

I didn't have any expectations but once the action started to pick up, it got really good. The narrator helped add in some of the suspense which is very important. Overall awesome book. Hooyah.

AWESOME

I want more great story and really good info. easy to follow and keeps you wanting more

Amazing story of commitment and self sacrifice

If you could sum up None Braver in three words, what would they be?

Truely brave men - A must read!

Who was your favorite character and why?

All the PJ's work, eat and sleep in the same units which leads to fantastic rescues and infiltrations/ex-filtrations of gravely injured persons (not just military) as well as some lighter moments when the PJ's are on the ground that will give you a few laughs.

What about Corey Snow’s performance did you like?

Did not notice anything about the narrator - So I guess you can't beat that.

Great book about the PJs

What did you like best about this story?

Great stories of selflessness from the PJ community. There are a lot of really awesome stories contained in this book. You get an appreciation for these men and what they are capable of doing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

That Others May Live

extraordinary from a NYC Paramedic

ok found it exhilarating and I remembered my 26 years with NYCEMS and I cried.

Edge-of-Your-Seat and Sobering

What made the experience of listening to None Braver the most enjoyable?

Hirsh humanizes the soldiers and Snow brings their humanity to life

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jason Cunningham for always thinking of others

Which scene was your favorite?

When a PJ trainer goes to the extreme of rappelling down a building to catch trainees talking.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The pain of a family having to bury their loved one.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys story about people whose job it is to save others, for people who are interested in real military accounts, and for people who find helicopters interesting, Nothing is over-explained, everything is relevant, and there are no "boring parts." The narrator has the right timbre for the subject matter and does a great job giving the people life - the very reason we buy audiobooks.

Not what I expected

What was most disappointing about Michael Hirsh’s story?

I did not get the sense that the author respected the military and wrote the book as a reporter covering a news story.

Any additional comments?

The title of this book does not fit the book. The book is just a collection of brief stories from a reporter who happened to interview some of the participants. Based on the stories I am not sure if the PJ's interviewed held back, or if the author just didn't do a good job. After I completed the book I felt that I had wanted more. I am not often critical, but in this case there are many other books that cover our bravest warriors that you may want to consider before you pick this one up.