Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson and Peter Welch (2007, Hardcover)

Synopsis
In 2005, Marcus Luttrell and his four-man Navy SEAL team were in the mountains along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan hunting down a dangerous al Qaeda leader. The mission, Operation Redwing, suddenly came into jeopardy when they stumbled into a group of goat herders. They had two choices: kill the unarmed men, a violation of the rules of engagement, or let them go, risking discovery. Luttrell voted to let them go--a decision he has regretted ever since. Soon the team was surrounded by 80-100 al Qaeda warriors and not only did Luttrell's comrades die, but a quick-response helicopter carrying 16 other soldiers was also shot down. Luttrell himself was badly wounded, but managed to crawl seven miles to a Pustan village, where the villagers, obeying their ancient customs of hospitality, and risking a massacre at the hands of al Qaeda, hid Luttrell and nursed him back to health. In his best-selling memoir, Luttrell tells the harrowing account of the worst disaster in Navy SEAL history and his own miraculous survival.

Key Details
Author:	Patrick Robinson, Marcus Luttrell, Peter Welch
Language:	English
Publisher:	Little, Brown & Co
Format:	Hardcover
ISBN-10:	0316067598
ISBN-13:	9780316067591

Additional Details
Edition Number:	1

Size
Length:	390 pages
Thickness:	1.2 in
Weight:	22.4 oz

Publisher's Note
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.