The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor - Softcover

Tapper, Jake

Softcover

ISBN 10: 031618540X ISBN 13: 9780316185400

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2013

Synopsis

The heartbreaking and inspiring story of one of America's deadliest battles during the war in Afghanistan, acclaimed by critics everywhere as a classic.
*Soon to be a major motion picture from Millennium Films*

At 5:58 AM on October 3rd, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating, located in frighteningly vulnerable terrain in Afghanistan just 14 miles from the Pakistani border, was viciously attacked. Though the 53 Americans there prevailed against nearly 400 Taliban fighters, their casualties made it the deadliest fight of the war for the U.S. that year. Four months after the battle, a Pentagon review revealed that there was no reason for the troops at Keating to have been there in the first place.

In THE OUTPOST, Jake Tapper gives us the powerful saga of COP Keating, from its establishment to eventual destruction, introducing us to an unforgettable cast of soldiers and their families, and to a place and war that has remained profoundly distant to most Americans. A runaway bestseller, it makes a savage war real, and American courage manifest.

About this title

About the Author:

CNN anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper joined the network in January 2013. The Lead with Jake Tapper, his one-hour weekday program, debuted in March 2013. Tapper was named host of the network's Sunday morning show, State of the Union, in June 2015. Tapper has been a widely respected reporter in the nation's capital for more nearly 20 years. He is also the author of the novel The Hellfire Club.

Review:

"Analyzing the consequences of decisions, large and small, is what makes Tapper's book so important...for those wishing to understand the middle years of the war, they could do no better than to read THE OUTPOST."―Time

"[Jake Tapper] has woven an intricate account about battlefield bravery hamstrung by military bureaucracy...[his] voice is understated, not polemical-just a good reporter letting the facts speak for themselves."―Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times

"[A] fascinating history...Tapper delivers a blow by blow account of [the soldier's] actions, their personal stories, and the tortured, often incomprehensible command decisions that kept them fighting despite inadequate support and an ally, Pakistan, that actively encouraged the enemy."―Publishers Weekly

"One of the most important [books] of the year. Jake Tapper's book is meticulously researched, excellently written and a must-read for everyone who does more than just mouth the phrase, 'I support the troops.' "―Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"Jake Tapper has written perhaps the best book set in Afghanistan to date...He provides a window into the false hopes and visions that enabled this failed experiment, an attempt to create government in spaces that had actively avoided such."―Douglas Ollivant, Foreign Policy

"Brilliant, dedicated reporting by a journalist who goes to ground to get the truth. A sad, real tale about this war, America and the brave warriors who live-and die-at the point of the spear."―Bob Woodward, author of PLAN OF ATTACK, THE COMMANDERS and OBAMA'S WARS

"The power of THE OUTPOST lies in Tapper's development of the main characters ... He juxtaposes dramatic battles, complete with limbs blown off and eyes dangling from sockets, with poignant scenes of wives and parents first learning of the deaths of their loved ones."―Seth Jones, Washington Post

"The seminal work of documentary journalism to emerge out of the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan."―Business Standard

"Mr. Tapper lays bare the poor decision-making that shattered dozens of American lives in the pursuit of an ill-conceived goal."―Wall Street Journal

"A heartbreaking chronicle of the rotation of soldiers asked to oversee an underfunded, often thankless mission."―Huffington Post

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 031618540X
• ISBN 13: 9780316185400
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 704