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

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Overview

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 then twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive.


This is the story of fire 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 in 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.

Editorial Reviews

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Author Information

Bio of Marcus Luttrell

Petty Officer Marcus Luttrell joined the United States Navy in March of 1999 and became a combat-trained Navy SEAL in January, 2002. After serving in Baghdad, he was deployed to Afghanistan in the Spring of 2005. He was awarded the Navy Cross for combat heroism in 2006 by President Bush.

Customer Reviews

  • 4 stars out of 5AS FAR FORWARD AS YOU CAN GET...

    Posted December 24, 2008 by Brian, Royal Palm Beach

    Thank You Marcus for your heroic service. Never have I read such a detailed account of what the far-forward special forces feels, sees, smells, and tastes as is written in this book. I can only imagine that this is as close to being there as most of us will ever get...I even feel like I went through 'Hell-Week" as an observer. A must read if you wonder why we still are in this war.

  • 5 stars out of 5Amazing

    Posted January 10, 2009 by Huston Traviss, Des Moines

    More than worth reading . This book was excellent , above and beyond

  • 5 stars out of 5Great Read

    Posted January 23, 2009 by Shayne, Keller

    One of the best books I have ever read. The amazing story and great detail make this book hard to put down. It is hard to not come away feeling a greater sense of patriotism and appreciation for those that serve our country.

  • 5 stars out of 5FANTASTIC!

    Posted March 28, 2009 by Tyler, slc

    Everyone I have recommended this book to has LOVED it!
    Mr Lutrell faced unbelievable odds, and refused to quit!
    True to the SEAL legacy of excellence.

  • 5 stars out of 5One of the Best This Year

    Posted July 31, 2009 by Duane, Amherst, NH

    This was one of, if not THE, best book I have read this year. It was recommended by a work colleague and he was dead on point. It has been a long while since I really enjoyed a non-fiction work, but this was great.

    This SEAL's account of his training and harrowing experience almost bring you into the front line...and make you very glad that there are courageous young men that protect out borders. As Lee Greenwood's song says...it makes you "Proud to be an American!"

  • 1 star out of 5Who can dispute this writers facts?

    Posted August 01, 2009 by Louise Colvin, La Junta, Colorado

    Completely false and political to the right's(Republican)view.

  • 5 stars out of 5Required Reading

    Posted September 08, 2009 by Patriot, Orlando, FL

    Wow, what an incredible and inspiring story. I will forever remember the names of these four men. For me this book was so powerful and motivating I can't really put it into words. You must read this book. This is the type of book that needs to be required reading in high schools. Freedom isn't free and this book explains the sacrifices extraordinary men make for U.S. citizens. (most of whom don't really appreciate it) I'll be purchasing hardback copies to give to friends, family, and others.

Additional Info

Imprint

Hachette Book Group USA

Filesize

588.77 KB

Number of Pages

390

eBook ISBN

0316007560

Excerpt from: Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

1

To Afghanistan ... in a Flying Warehouse

This was payback time for the World Trade Center. We were coming after the guys who did it. If not the actual guys, then their blood brothers, the lunatics who still wished us dead and might try it again.
Good-byes tend to be curt among Navy SEALs. A quick backslap, a friendly bear hug, no one uttering what we're all thinking: Here we go again, guys, going to war, to another trouble spot, another half-assed enemy willing to try their luck against us...they must be out of their minds.
It's a SEAL thing, our unspoken invincibility, the silent code of the elite warriors of the U.S. Armed Forces. Big, fast, highly trained guys, armed to the teeth, expert in unarmed combat, so stealthy no one ever hears us coming. SEALs are masters of strategy, professional marksmen with rifles, artists with machine guns, and, if necessary, pretty handy with knives. In general terms, we believe there are very few of the world's problems we could not solve with high explosive or a well-aimed bullet.
We operate on sea, air, and land. That's where we got our name. U.S. Navy SEALs, underwater, on the water, or out of the water. Man, we can do it all. And where we were going, it was likely to be strictly out of the water. Way out of the water. Ten thousand feet up some treeless moonscape of a mountain range in one of the loneliest and sometimes most lawless places in the world. Afghanistan.
" 'Bye, Marcus." "Good luck, Mikey." "Take it easy, Matt." "See you later, guys." I remember it like it was yesterday, someone pulling open the door to our barracks room, the light spilling out into the warm, dark night of Bahrain, this strange desert kingdom, which is joined to Saudi Arabia by the two-mile-long King Fahd Causeway.
The six of us, dressed in our light combat gear -- flat desert khakis with Oakley assault boots -- stepped outside into a light, warm breeze. It was March 2005, not yet hotter than hell, like it is in summer. But still unusually warm for a group of Americans in springtime, even for a Texan like me. Bahrain stands on the 26 north line of latitude. That's more than four hundred miles to the south of Baghdad, and that's hot.
Our particular unit was situated on the south side of the capital city of Manama, way up in the northeast corner of the island. This meant we had to be transported right through the middle of town to the U.S. air base on Muharraq Island for all flights to and from Bahrain. We didn't mind this, but we didn't love it either.
That little journey, maybe five miles, took us through a city that felt much as we did. The locals didn't love us either. There was a kind of sullen look to them, as if they were sick to death of having the American military around them. In fact, there were districts in Manama known as black flag areas, where tradesmen, shopkeepers, and private citizens hung black flags outside their properties to signify Americans are not welcome.
I guess it wasn't quite as vicious as Juden Verboten was in Hitler's Germany. But there are undercurrents of hatred all over the Arab world, and we knew there were many sympathizers with the Muslim extremist fanatics of the Taliban and al Qaeda. The black flags worked. We stayed well clear of those places.
Nonetheless we had to drive through the city in an unprotected vehicle over another causeway, the Sheik Hamad, named for the emir. They're big on causeways, and I guess they will build more, since there are thirty-two other much smaller islands forming the low-lying Bahrainian archipelago, right off the Saudi western shore, in the Gulf of Iran.
Anyway, we drove on through Manama out to Muharraq, where the U.S. air base lies to the south of the main Bahrain International Airport. Awaiting us was the huge C-130 Hercules, a giant turbo-prop freighter.