Down Range by Taylor Moore

Down Range by Taylor Moore--342 pages 

#1 in the Garrett Kohl series.  Garrett is working as an undercover DEA agent in Afghanistan when his commander orders him home to Texas along with a special package he is to look after.  Normally a peaceful respite for him, he discovers that his home town has been taken over by a band of criminals.  Garrett tries to resolve things peacefully, but the criminals have other ideas.  They might just be surprised who they are up against.  Did I mention that he is also a hardened Green Beret!  I enjoyed it very much and look forward to the second one "Firestorm: A Novel".

The Fighters by C. J. Chivers

The Fighters: Americans in Combat in Afghanistan and Iraq by C. J. Chivers-374 pages

Chivers is a journalist and former Marine Corps officer who profiles several dedicated military personnel throughout the long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The book details the pain these individuals experienced and the frustrations of battling an enemy they often can not engage directly. The book clarifies the circumstances conventional forces face in current conflict zones and the effects on U.S. personnel afterwards.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller-214 pages (Kindle Edition)

Travis Stephenson returns from a year of Marines deployment in Afghanistan to a different home. He has nightmares and probably PTSD because of a traumatic experience involving the death of his Marine best friend Charlie. He falls in love with someone unexpected from his past named Harper Gray. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, although (understandably, since he is a Marine) it has a bit more cursing than I would like.

Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor by Clinton Romesha

Red Platoon by Clinton Romesha -368 pages

In 2009, Sergeant Romesha was stationed at Outpost Keating in one of the most remote, mountainous areas of Afghanistan along the border with Pakistan when it was attacked by two to three hundred Taliban fighters. The outpost was only occupied by one company of U. S. troops and some unreliable Afghan soldiers and police at the time because it was in the process of being dismantled. Outpost Keating was surrounded on all sides by sheer peaks, allowing the attackers to rake the base with machine guns, and rocket propelled grenades. The base could only be supplied by helicopter, and the landing zone was outside the base perimeter. The book gives a vivid picture of the fight, and the eight Americans who lost their lives. Constant air support, and the tenacity of Romesha and his comrades kept the base from being overrun. The author was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.

The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm

The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm --375 pages

This book recounts the mission of a small team of Green Berets who took exiled Hamid Karzai back into Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks as part of an operation to depose the Taliban. Their mission gained allies and momentum until higher ranking officers inserted themselves -with tragic consequences. An airstrike was mistakenly called in on their position, killing several Americans and Afghans. The mission resumed, but it could have been carried out, the author contends, with far fewer casualties if the team had been left in control of the operation.

The Kite Runner, a graphic novel, by Khaled Hosseini

 The Kite Runner, a graphic novel, by Khaled Hosseini, 136 pages

Do I feel embarrassed that I read the graphic novel adaptation of a best-selling novel because I've never been able to get through the book?  Maybe a little bit.  But I only read it because it was turned into a movie, which is probably an even worse reason.  Whatever- that's this month's challenge!  And I'm glad I didn't read the whole book- I probably would've understood Afghani culture better, but I also would have been really devastated when all of these majorly devastating events happened.  I'm not in a place where I can handle emotional novels, you know?  So without giving too much away, this book has excellent artwork, there are sad things that happen, and the Taliban is pretty awful.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - 367 pages

Mariam lives in the countryside near Herat, Afghanistan, with her mother, in a mud hut.  Once a week her father visits, who is a wealthy man from Herat and not married to her mother.  Jalil, her father, has several wives and other children by these wives.  When Mariam is a teenager she decides to run away from her home with her mother and go to live with her father.  She is not welcomed and is returned to the country only to find her mother has committed suicide.  Jalil takes her in but his wives do not like this arrangement and find a man to marry her, Rasheed from Kabul.  The story continues about her life in Kabul with Rasheed and the hardships she endures.  The book is very interesting and gives us some insight into the society of Afghanistan during the Taliban dominance.

Gentlemen Bastards: On the Ground in Afghanistan with America's Elite Special Forces - Kevin Maurer

Gentlemen Bastards: On the Ground in Afghanistan with America's Elite Special Forces - Kevin Maurer, 256 pages

The Green Berets have long been one of America's premiere fighting forces focusing on counter insurgency techniques as their primary fighting tool.  In the early stages of the war in Afghanistan the Green Berets helped put the Taliban on the run by unifying Northern Alliance fighters.

Now nine years later, the author Maurer sets out to write the update to the classic books on the exploits of the Green Berets in previous wars.  But he finds out that the mission of the Special Forces has changed primarily to raids instead of building relationships to strengthen the indigenous forces ability to fight for the themselves.  This book celebrates the fighting men of the Special Forces and their dedication to the mission even when bureaucracy gets in the way of success.  Maurer brings the reader to the battlefield with vivid and honest descriptions of the people he encounters and relationships formed while embedded with the Green Berets.