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

By Marcus Luttrell (Author) , Patrick Robinson (Contributor)

After having watched the Hollywood blockbuster movie I decided to grab this book. It took me just one day to read through from the beginning to the very end. I found the The SEAL team, especially their training very fascinating. I now have an even deeper admiration for them. This fast paced book was written by Patrick Robinson, but the voice within it is that of Marcus Luttrell.

Lone Survivor is one man’s version of events leading to him losing three other members of his SEAL team when the mission dubbed ‘Operation Red Wings’ went horribly wrong. The first part of this book which lays down his younger days as a teen is not as exciting. However after about the first 70 pages or so, you better strap yourself down.

The first half also guides you through all the training he had to go through to be a SEAL in Coronado, California. You experience BUD/S and Hell Week, with Marcus. The second half you fly with him to Hindu Kush to search for the right hand man of Osama Bin Laden. As a reader you find yourself right in the middle of this epic battle high up in the mountains of Afghanistan.

Who Is He Marcus Luttrell? Petty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell was born in 1975 and raised in his hometown of Huntsville, Texas. Marcus started training daily to be a navy seal from the age of 12. He enlisted in 1999 and spent eight years in the United States Navy and was given the Navy Cross for his efforts against the Taliban in June of 2005 when he was the lone survivor of Operation Red Wings.

After Operations Red Wings he worked with SEAL Team Five in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Marcus Luttrell left the Navy in 2007 discharged on temporary medical retirement. The Lone Survivor Foundation was started in 2010 and in 2012 he published his first book entitled Service: A Navy Seal At War. He is married to Melanie Juneau and they have two children, Axe and Addie.

I really enjoyed how honest this book feels when you are reading it. The inclusion of the details of the training for these men really gives you a better appreciation for the work they do. The writing is so good that you can actually feel all the anger, anguish and fear as if you were present on those mountains. Another thing I loved was the look into local culture and beliefs especially of the Pashtun Muslims.

There are times when I felt like cheering and others I just wanted to break down and cry. Some sections of the book, especially the battle sequence are very intense. It feels like someone is guiding you scene by scene through an action movie. The action sequences are very well written, you may need occasional breaks to allow you to catch your breath.

The one thing that I thought could have been left out was the exact details up to the exact number of sit ups or log lifts Marcus did during his training. The book could have still been powerful without those statistics. Also there was no need to repeatedly mention that the Liberals were more to blame than the Taliban. Once would have been enough.

Lone Survivor is a riveting true story. Although very sad and tragic, this nail biting action thriller opens our eyes to the state of modern warfare. I personally was left with nothing but the utmost respect for these men. Just from the words in this book you can clearly see and feel how terrifying of an ordeal this must have been. No screenwriters could whip up a fiction script more intense than this one. I was left awestruck by the time I flipped through to the last page. Even if you have seen the movie, I highly recommend that you take the time to read the book too. Read More Reviews Here…

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