First published 2013
General Stanley McChrystal commands all coalition forces in Afghanistan when he walks through a rural bazaar with President Hamid Karzai in March 2010. A Taliban rocket crashes nearby, but McChrystal shrugs and continues meeting townspeople. This moment captures his leadership style throughout a career spanning from West Point cadet to four-star general. McChrystal joined the military during its post-Vietnam struggles and helped transform it into an adaptive force. He led the Joint Special Operations Command from 2003 to 2008, hunting terrorists including Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. JSOC gathered massive intelligence to track and eliminate dangerous targets through complex surveillance operations and difficult interrogations. McChrystal brought similar intensity to Afghanistan, where he built close relationships with local leaders. His memoir examines the intersection of history, leadership, and personal experience, focusing on the remarkable leaders he encountered rather than abstract theories about war and peace.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, military-fiction, memoir, 21st-century, military-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: leadership, military
Setting: Afghanistan
Period: 2003-2008, 2010
464 pages · Hardcover · Portfolio/Penguin Group (USA) Inc.