First published 2021
James Patterson and retired First Sergeant Matt Eversmann gather the voices of American service members who fought from Vietnam through Iraq and Afghanistan. These soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines break their usual silence to reveal what combat actually feels like. They describe the weight of the uniform, the chaos of firefights, and the grief of losing brothers and sisters in arms. Eversmann brings credibility as a Ranger who served in the Mogadishu battle depicted in Black Hawk Down. The book emerges from hundreds of original interviews, capturing stories typically shared only among veterans themselves. These accounts strip away civilian assumptions about military service. They show the raw reality of deployment, the bonds forged under fire, and the complex experience of returning home. Admiral William McRaven calls these the stories America needs to hear about its remarkable young service members. The collection offers readers genuine understanding of what military sacrifice means.
Genres: war, military-fiction, non-fiction, military-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Afghanistan, Iraq, Mogadishu, Vietnam
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
416 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, war