Lone Survivor forever changed my perspective on war. Just looking at the title gave me an ominous feeling that I was not going to be reading about a light-hearted topic. Sure enough, the book was packed with battle scenes from the war and very tough emotional scenes. For instance, when Marcus and his regiment of Navy Seals fought the Battle of Murphy's Ridge (named after the commander), all three of Marcus's buddies were killed in the battle. I cannot even begin to understand how depressed he must have felt. His regiment was extremely beneficial to him, providing him support and protection in an unknown, rugged terrain. However, I was extremely proud of Marcus's efforts to pull himself together and continue the mission: to find and capture a Taliban leader, Sharmak. This whole book is chock full of examples of Marcus's valor as a Navy Seal fighting in Afghanistan. I definitely cannot begin to compare myself to him, especially after reading about the tireless training.
I also chose this book because it was about Afghanistan, a country that I do not know much about in terms of geography and culture. And this book weaves the Afghan culture in with the war. Marcus actually received hospitality and shelter from the local tribesmen, under a system of
lokhay. In fact, under this system, the locals promise to oppose and fight against their own countrymen (Taliban) to aid the opposition force (America).
I would rate this book a 10 out of 10 because of its exhilarating and interesting first-hand experience in the Afghan War.
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