One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick

One Bullet Away by Nathaniel Fick

Until a winter evening in 1998, Nathaniel was just another history student on a comfortable career trajectory of high school to college to white collar job. Then he went to a lecture by a "Wall Street Journal" reporter who had just published a book on the US Marines. It brought forth a latent desire to break free of the 'seat belt and safety goggle, safety-first' culture: to be a warrior. He passed the gruelling selection course and joined the Marine Corps on graduation. Posted to a Marine Regiment in the wake of 9/11, he took part in the invasion of Afghanistan, then led a platoon of their elite Recon Battalion during the invasion of Iraq. This is not a book about the Iraq invasion as such: it is an articulate and deeply thoughtful young man's account of what it means to fight in the frontline, to risk not just death or injury, but psychological harm. He reveals some of the awful dilemmas war can bring, horrible problems to which there is no 'right' answer, but a decision had to be made quickly - by him alone. In combat you are just one bullet away from death - or promotion. But this doesn't focus the mind: it makes it freeze up - unless your training is so thorough that you overcome exhaustion and terror. 'Nate' took 65 men to war and came home with all 65. He proved himself an excellent officer and won a promotion, but resigned in 2003 to write this book and attend Harvard Business School.

'if you need entertainment on a long flight and want to read a first-hand account of operations in Iraq then read this book' -- Ian Gardiner HERALD ON SUNDAY 'We get action, and rather more of it than Swafford was able to offer: with almost Hollywood-style scripting, Fick passes the terrifying training programme in time for 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan.' -- Mark Simpson THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Nathaniel Fick is the best and most eloquent writer to have emerged from the conflict so far...and excellent book which is timely and thought-provoking -- Alstair Mabbott THE HERALD Harrowing...deserves close reading and serious discussion. The Washington Post THE WASHINGTON POST Fick's descriptive and exacting writing...guarantees One Bullet Away a place in the war memoir hall of fame. USA TODAY 'One can hardly imagine a finer boots-on-the-ground chronicle of this open-ended conflict, no matter how long it may last.' KIRKUS The book's enormous power derives from the quality of Fick's writing and intensity of his moral vision.' -- Ben Shephard The TLS

After receiving a BA in classics from Dartmouth in 1999, Nathaniel Fick passed the US Marines officer training course and joined the Corps just before 9/11. He saw action in Afghanistan and Iraq in the elite First Recon Battalion (the Marines' equivalent of the Navy SEALs or British SBS). Among the first US soldiers to enter Baghdad in the Iraq war, he left the service after being promoted to captain. He is now in a joint degree programme at Harvard Business School and Kennedy School of Government.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780297846598
ISBN 10	0297846590
Title	One Bullet Away
Author	Nathaniel Fick
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Orion Publishing Co
Year published	2006-03-09
Number of pages	400
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable