Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

Four U.S. Navy SEALs left their northern Afghanistan base and headed for the mountainous Pakistani border one clear night in late June 2005. Their objective was to apprehend or kill a renowned al Qaeda figure who was believed to be entrenched in a Taliban stronghold surrounded by a small but strongly armed militia. After less than twenty-four hours, there was just one Navy SEAL who was still alive.

This is the tale of Marcus Luttrell, the commander of the fire team and the lone survivor of Operation Redwing, and the intense struggle in the mountains that resulted in the worst death toll in Navy SEAL history. Above all, however, it is the narrative of his comrades who battled fiercely beside him until he was the only survivor—blasted senseless by a rocket grenade, thrown over a cliff, but still living and carrying an arsenal. After suffering severe injuries and being thought to be dead, Luttrell resisted six assassins from al Qaeda over the course of the next four days. He then crawled seven miles into the mountains until being taken in by a Pashtun tribe, who risked everything to shield him from the pursuing Taliban murderers.

Leading Petty Officer Luttrell, a six-foot-five-inch Texan, walks us through the rigorous training regimen of America's military elite and the rigorous rites of passage that the Navy SEALs need. He takes us to a horrific fight waged in the barren highlands of Afghanistan, where the struggling American squad was forced to fall headfirst a thousand feet down a mountain while retaliating with flying boulders and shale. Marcus Luttrell tells one of the most compelling stories of contemporary warfare ever written in this rich, emotional account of bravery, honor, and patriotism. It also serves as a memorial to his comrades, who gave their lives in defense of their nation.