Lawrence of Arabia meets Sebastian Junger's War in this unique,
incendiary, and dramatic true story of heroism and heartbreak in
Afghanistan written by a Pulitzer Prize-nominated war correspondent.
Army Special Forces Major Jim Gant changed the face of America's war
effort in Afghanistan. A decorated Green Beret who spent years in
Afghanistan and Iraq training indigenous fighters, Gant argued for
embedding autonomous units with tribes across Afghanistan to earn the
Afghans' trust and transform them into a reliable ally with whom we
could defeat the Taliban and counter al-Qaeda networks. The military's
top brass, including General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Forces in
Afghanistan, approved, and Gant was tasked with implementing his
controversial strategy.
Veteran war correspondent Ann Scott Tyson first spoke with Gant when he
was awarded the Silver Star in 2007. Tyson soon came to share Gant's
vision, so she accompanied him to Afghanistan, risking her life to embed
with the tribes and chronicle their experience. And then they fell in
love.
Illustrated with dozens of photographs, American Spartan is their
remarkable story--one of the most riveting, emotional narratives of
wartime ever published.