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"On a clear night in late June 2005, four U.S. Navy SEALs left their base in northern Afghanistan for
the mountainous Pakistani border. Their mission was to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader
known to be ensconced in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but heavily armed force. Less
than twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.
This is the story of team leader Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Redwing, and the desperate
battle in the mountains that led, ultimately, to the largest loss of life in Navy SEAL history. But
it is also, more than anything, the story of his teammates, who fought ferociously beside him until he was
the last one left -- blasted unconscious by a rocket grenade, blown over a cliff, but still armed and still
breathing. Over the next four days, badly injured and presumed dead, Luttrell fought off six al Qaeda
assassins who were sent to finish him, then crawled for seven miles through the mountains before he was taken
in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to protect him from the encircling Taliban killers.
A six-foot-five inch Texan, Leading Petty Officer Luttrell takes us, blow-by-blow, through the brutal training
of America's warrior elite and the relentless rites of passage required by the Navy SEALs. He transports
us to a monstrous battle fought on the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered American team
plummeted headlong a thousand feet down a mountain as they fought back through flying shale and rocks.
In this rich, moving chronicle of courage, honor, and patriotism, Marcus Luttrell delivers one of the
most powerful narratives ever written about modern warfare -- and a tribute to his teammates, who made the
ultimate sacrifice for their country."
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