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Strategy & Weapons of War, War Narratives, U.S. Armed Forces - Biography, Navy & Naval History, General & Miscellaneous Military History, United States Armed Forces, Middle Eastern Conflicts, Iraqi Politics, United States History - 21st Century
Service: A Navy SEAL at War by Marcus Luttrell β€” book cover

Service: A Navy SEAL at War

by Marcus Luttrell, James D. Hornfischer (With)
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Overview

Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. So many had given their lives to save him-and he would have readily done the same for them. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family, nation, and freedom.

In Service, we follow Marcus Luttrell to Iraq, where he returns to the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Al Anbar Province. There, in six months of high-intensity urban combat, he would be part of what has been called the greatest victory in the history of U.S. Special Operations forces. We also return to Afghanistan and Operation Redwing, where Luttrell offers powerful new details about his miraculous rescue. Throughout, he reflects on what it really means to take on a higher calling, about the men he's seen lose their lives for their country, and the legacy of those who came and bled before.

A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute to the warrior brotherhood, to the belief that nobody goes it alone, and no one will be left behind.
Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell returned from his star-crossed mission in Afghanistan with his bones shattered and his heart broken. So many had given their lives to save him-and he would have readily done the same for them. As he recuperated, he wondered why he and others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family, nation, and freedom.

In Service, we follow Marcus Luttrell to Iraq, where he returns to the battlefield as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Al Anbar Province. There, in six months of high-intensity urban combat, he would be part of what has been called the greatest victory in the history of U.S. Special Operations forces. We also return to Afghanistan and Operation Redwing, where Luttrell offers powerful new details about his miraculous rescue. Throughout, he reflects on what it really means to take on a higher calling, about the men he's seen lose their lives for their country, and the legacy of those who came and bled before.

A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute to the warrior brotherhood, to the belief that nobody goes it alone, and no one will be left behind.

Synopsis

From the mountains of Afghanistan to urban sniper hides in Iraq, Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell has seen the worst of war at the sharp end of battle. In 2006, the "lone survivor" of Operation Redwing returned to combat as a member of SEAL Team 5 to help take on the most dangerous city in the world: Ramadi, the capital of war-torn Anbar Province. It was there that he took part in what has been called the greatest victory in the history of the U.S. Special Operations forces.

Luttrell's eye-opening narrative also offers powerful new details about his time in Afghanistan and his miraculous rescue. After returning from that star-crossed mission with shattered bones and a broken heart, he thought of the men who had given their lives to save him-and how he would have readily done the same for them. He wondered why he and others, from America's founding to today, had been willing to sacrifice everything-including themselves-for the sake of family, nation, and freedom.

A thrilling war story, Service is also a profoundly moving tribute to the warrior brotherhood and to the belief that nobody goes it alone.

About the Author, Marcus Luttrell

Marcus Luttrell became a combat-trained Navy SEAL in 2002 and served in many dangerous Special Operations assignments around the world. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Lone Survivor, and is a popular corporate and organizational speaker. He lives near Houston, Texas.

James D. Hornfischer is the author of the New York Times bestseller Neptune's Inferno, as well as Ship of Ghosts and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, which won the Samuel Eliot Morison Award and was a Main Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club. He lives in Austin, Texas.

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Editorials

American Thinker

Marcus Luttrell, with James D. Hornfischer, has written another emotional story that the reader will not want to put down.

Library Journal

In the No. 1 best-selling Lone Survivor, Luttrell told the story of his tour of duty in Afghanistan, when he was forced to make a decision that ended tragically. Here he crisscrosses generations and service branches to clarify why people make the choice to serve their country. With a ten-city tour; bound to be big.

Kirkus Reviews

A Navy combat veteran showcases the deadly operations in Iraq, promoting American military duty as ennobling in the service of humanity. In something of a sequel to his first book (Lone Survivor, 2007), Luttrell chronicles his missions preserving democracy for America. Much of this book, co-authored by Hornfischer (Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, 2011, etc.), is set in Ramadi, an especially bloody Iraqi outpost. During their time in Iraq, his SEAL combat brothers killed perceived enemies, suffered countless wounds, and died at a rapid pace, making the narrative occasionally difficult to follow. In some chapters, battle tactics predominate, and the sentences are quick and graphic. Other chapters aren't as violent, as Luttrell explains why some men answer the call of war no matter the risk to themselves or their loved ones. The author seeks to explain the honor of military service to the vast majority of readers who have never experienced it. Luttrell is mostly silent about questions of whether inserting U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan ever made sense in terms of American foreign policy. He followed his military commanders because of his belief in their knowledge and motivation. Though George W. Bush appears in the book multiple times, Luttrell seems unable to grasp the ferocity of the opposition the president faced at home and abroad. Toward the end of the book, the author departs from Iraq and expands on his earlier book by discussing the war in Afghanistan, and he devotes a chapter to military wives, who understandably worry every day about their men in combat. An action-packed, occasionally reflective saga of contemporary military service.

Book Details

Published
May 7, 2013
Publisher
Little, Brown & Company
Pages
364
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780316185387

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