I recently watched the film Lone Survivor on a flight and thought it was fantastic. I knew that I immedaitely had to read the book. If you don’t want to break down and cry at the end of this film, then you need to check your pulse.
I do a lot of traveling, so in this case I actually picked up the audio book. The narrator does a great job of inflecting the author’s tone throughout the events that unfoleded.
The author, Marcus Luttrell was a member of SEAL Team 10, and covers his experiences with a specific mission in the summer July of 2005. I learned a lot about the Middle East from this film, but what really stood out for me was traditional Pashtun code of honor called “Pashtunwali.” A village leader stubmled across a dying Marcus Luttrell lying beside a waterfall, Mohammed Gulab decided to help him out, because of this honor code.
This clip from 60 minutes explains it well.
The book is broken into three distinct parts:
- SEAL training
- Operation Redwing (which the movie is based on)
- Marcus’ escape and resuce
Throughout the book, you can really get the sense of desparation the author was going through. Nonetheless, it’s still filled with his sarcasm and humor, even in the face of death.
If you want to read an emotionally charged book this year, I highly suggest taking a look at this. It was an emotional roller coaster, and one I don’t think I will ever forget.
-----------------------@DaveVoyles
