Last night, I finished Marcus Luttrell and Partrick Robinson’s book, “Lone Survivor”. It was rather interesting. Marcus Luttrell is a Navy SEAL that during Operation Redwing was as the title says (and not giving away much of the story) the lone survivor.

Overall, it was a very quick read.  The book reads in a very personal fashion from Luttrell’s perspective.  He makes no attempt to hide his opinions about politics, news corporations, nor how awesome the Navy SEALs truly are.

The aspect I enjoyed most about his retelling of his story is that he includes more than just the facts of Operation Redwing.  He talks about growing up, surviving BUD/S and touches on a few other missions him and his SEAL team went through.  This in addition to his personal account of Operation Redwing, when his team was MIA, he tells the story of his family and friends back home, that he only found out later upon returning home.

Many times through the telling of his story, especially in Afghanistan, I found myself questioning the details of his story.  ”How could this possibly have happened?  How is he not dead right now!?!”  But a lot of these questions go by the wayside when you remember the training they went through.  He only touches the surface of the amount of training he had, and it is seriously impressive.

The story isn’t all that “deep” really.  In fact, it is really just the story with one man’s opinions on paper.  Don’t expect to be analyzing the mental state of US Navy SEALs nor the Taliban or al Qaeda, but do expect to be entertained, captivated, and appreciative.

Here is the summary from the back of the #1 National Bestseller, Back Bay Books, Paperback edition:

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: to capture or kill a notorious al Qaeda leader. Less than twenty-four hours later, only one of those Navy SEALs remained alive. This is the story of fire team leader Marcus Luttrell 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 the men who fought ferociously beside him until he was the last one left. Luttrell recalls their valiant efforts in one of the most powerful narratives every written about modern warfare - a stirring tribute to his teammates, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.