Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War - Hardcover

Dakota Meyer; Bing West

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0812993403 ISBN 13: 9780812993400

Publisher: Random House, 2012

Synopsis

In September of 2009, several hundred Taliban ambushed a company of Afghan soldiers and their Marine advisors. The enemy had the company pinned down, with only one exposed road leading in and out of the village. Twenty-one-year-old Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer disobeyed his commanding officer and took command. Without reinforcements or artillery support, he charged forward down the only road five times under withering fire. He killed a dozen Taliban and rescued 18 Afghans and Americans. The company finally rallied and the enemy pulled back. When the story finally became known, Dakota was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States highest honour. Yet the story of that day remains mired in controversy even now. For a man to charge into fire once requires grit; to do so five times is beyond comprehension. Dakota s performance was the greatest act of courage in the war, because he repeated it and repeated it. In this fast-paced narrative of non-stop action, we hear the story from Dakota s own perspective, and come to know our narrator as a true American hero: a young man raised on a cattle farm in Kentucky with uncompromising morals and a fierce determination to do what s right.

About this title

Review:

"A story of men at their best and at their worst . . . leaves you gaping in admiration at Medal of Honor winner Dakota Meyer's courage."--"National Review" "Meyer's dazzling bravery wasn't momentary or impulsive but deliberate and sustained."--"The Wall Street Journal"" " "[A] cathartic, heartfelt account . . . Combat memoirs don't get any more personal."--"Kirkus Reviews" "A great contribution to the discussion of an agonizingly complex subject."--"The Virginian-Pilot"" " ""Black Hawk Down "meets" Lone Survivor.""--"Library Journal"""Into the Fire" is a deeply compelling tale of valor and duty. Dakota Meyer will not identify as a hero, but he will, I think, accept the title warrior. Dakota's storytelling is precise and, for a Medal of Honor recipient, touchingly humble. With deft prose he drops us smack in the middle of one of the most heinous small unit firefights of the current wars. His insights into military tactics and politics in a war zone are sharp and uncompromising and work as a primer on infantry war fighting for the uninitiated. Dakota was a magnificent marine and he is now an equally magnificent chronicler of warfare and the small group of people who do today's fighting for America."--Anthony Swofford, author of "Jarhead""The story of what Dakota did . . . will be told for generations."--President Barack Obama, from remarks given at Meyer's Medal of Honor ceremony"Sergeant Meyer embodies all that is good about our nation's Corps of Marines. . . . [His] heroic actions . . . will forever be etched in our Corps' rich legacy of courage and valor."--General James F. Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps "[Bing] West's greatest strengths are his exceptional personal courage and his experienced perception of combat."--"The Washington Post" "West [is] the grunts' Homer.""--Los Angeles Times Book Review"

About the Author:

Dakota Meyer was born and raised in Columbia, Kentucky, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2006. A school-trained sniper and highly skilled infantryman, Corporal Meyer deployed to Iraq in 2007 and to Afghanistan in 2009. In 2011, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his unyielding courage in the battle of Ganjigal. He now competes at charity events in skeet and rifle competitions. He also speaks frequently at schools and veterans' events to raise awareness of our military and remains dedicated to the causes of our veterans. For the families of fallen troops, he has raised over one million dollars. Bing West, a Marine combat veteran, served as an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. He has been on hundreds of patrols in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. A nationally acclaimed war correspondent, he is the author of "The Village; No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah; The Strongest Tribe: War, Politics, and the Endgame in Iraq; "and" The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan. "A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, West has received the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation award, the Colby Award for military nonfiction, the Veterans of Foreign Wars News Media Award, and the Marine Corps University Foundation's Russell Leadership Award. He lives with his wife, Betsy, in Newport, Rhode Island.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0812993403
• ISBN 13: 9780812993400
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336