Thank You for My Service

By: Mat Best, Ross Patterson, Nils Parker

Narrated by: Mat Best

Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

The unapologetic, laugh-your-ass-off military memoir both vets and civilians have been waiting for, from a five-tour Army Ranger turned YouTube phenomenon and zealous advocate for veterans

Members of the military’s special operations branches share a closely guarded secret: They love their jobs. They relish the opportunity to fight. They are thankful for it, even, and hopeful that maybe, possibly, they’ll also get to kill a bunch of bad guys while they’re at it. You don’t necessarily need to thank them for their service - the pleasure is all theirs.

In this hilarious and personal memoir, listeners ride shotgun alongside former Army Ranger and private military contractor and current social media phenomenon Mat Best, into the action and its aftermath, both abroad and at home. From surviving a skin infection in the swampy armpit of America (aka Columbus, Georgia) to kicking down doors on the outskirts of Ramadi, from blowing up a truck full of enemy combatants to witnessing the effects of a suicide bombing right in front of your face, Thank You for My Service gives listeners who love America and love the good guys fresh insight into what it’s really like inside the minds of the men and women on the front lines.

It’s also a sobering yet steadying glimpse at life for veterans after the fighting stops, when the enemy becomes self-doubt or despair and you begin to wonder why anyone should be thanking you for anything, least of all your service. How do you keep going when something you love turns you into somebody you hate? For veterans and their friends and families, Thank You for My Service will offer comfort in the form of a million laughs and counsel as a blueprint for what to do after the war ends and the real fight begins.

And for civilians, this is the insider account of military life you won’t find anywhere else, told with equal amounts of heart and balls. It’s Deadpool meets Captain America, except one went to business school and one went to therapy, and it’s anyone’s guess which is which.

©2019 Mat Best, Ross Patterson, and Nils Parker (P)2019 Random House Audio

If Deadpool was a ranger...with less cancer

One of the best fusions of military, dark humor, and life lessons I've read. extremely easy to get through with great narrative performance by Mat Best himself.

Grab a towel. For more than one reason.

You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be disgusted to your very core, and you'll be turned on. Usual all at the same time.

Thank you

My new favorite book. Engineers build the road so you can lead 😘 Thank you for sharing and love my BRC.

Greatest Book Ever!!

This is a phenomenal book for not only veterans, but those who haven’t served or h e someone who has served to understand what it really like for those who served outside the wire getting their hands dirty so the rest of the country doesn’t I’ve too. It’s a perfect mix of drop dead laughter and great insight. This book is beyond 5 stars, but that’s all I am aloud to give, so it will just have to do. Great work Mat.

Outstanding.

Just wow. Thank you for putting this together. It is amazing. Thank you for all you do.

Should Have Been 200 Pages Longer

A great book that would have been magnificent if only it had been longer. Mat’s narration is so electric, I had an awkward boner within seconds of hearing his voice. Maybe that’s just me...

Great story, great message

The story was great, I enjoyed getting the insights of an army ranger about his deployments. Some of the humor in the beginning seemed forced and over the top. As the book went on it mellowed out a bit and seemed more natural. The recording quality was solid and Matt did great. However, some of the editing was strange and there were awkward pauses between sentences sometimes. Overall I really enjoyed the book and it was worth the read.

Awesome Book

This book is fantastic! Matt lays out his life with pure candor (he must have a very cool and understanding mom!).

It’s really cool to see where he came from and how he evolved over time from an emo kid to a warfighter to a successful entrepreneur.

Set aside some time or a long drive because you won’t want to stop listening to this one!

Great stuff

I’ve been following Mar Best for quite some time now so I may be biased in this review. His story is amazing, not only is he honest, veterans all over from any branch can relate and understand some of the things he talks about. If you’re a veteran, well, you’ll enjoy this one, emotions of every caliber the whole way through.

I know more about his sex life than I need to know

The book was great until the umpteenth time he talked about f*****g someone. Other than that I really enjoyed the book. I disagree with some of his criticisms of the military and politics, but working with veterans who have PTSD, I get it. I really appreciate his companies and his "By veterans, For veterans" mentality. I am a civilian but have devoted my life to helping veterans, spreading awareness, I am interested in his ongoing relationships with his brothers, but maybe that's another book.