The Chosen Few, Gregg Zoroya
The Chosen Few, Gregg Zoroya
10 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
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The Chosen Few
A Company of Paratroopers and Its Heroic Struggle to Survive in the Mountains of Afghanistan

Author: Gregg Zoroya, Admiral William H. McRaven

Narrator: Gregg Zoroya

Unabridged: 12 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Da Capo Press

Published: 05/01/2018

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

The never-before-told story of one of the most decorated units in the war in Afghanistan and its fifteen-month ordeal that culminated in the 2008 Battle of Wanat, the war's deadliest

A single company of US paratroopers--calling themselves the "Chosen Few"--arrived in eastern Afghanistan in late 2007 hoping to win the hearts and minds of the remote mountain people and extend the Afghan government's reach into this wilderness. Instead, they spent the next fifteen months in a desperate struggle, living under almost continuous attack, forced into a slow and grinding withdrawal, and always outnumbered by Taliban fighters descending on them from all sides.

Month after month, rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, and machine-gun fire poured down on the isolated and exposed paratroopers as America's focus and military resources shifted to Iraq. Just weeks before the paratroopers were to go home, they faced their last--and toughest--fight. Near the village of Wanat in Nuristan province, an estimated three hundred enemy fighters surrounded about fifty of the Chosen Few and others defending a partially finished combat base. Nine died and more than two dozen were wounded that day in July 2008, making it arguably the bloodiest battle of the war in Afghanistan.

The Chosen Few would return home tempered by war. Two among them would receive the Medal of Honor. All of them would be forever changed.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Emma on April 13, 2017

This book really pulls on your heart strings, but is SO good! Descriptive, but not too much where you get lost in the detail. Accurately shows the bond of the Chosen Few and the story of their time in Afghanistan...be ready to go through a ton of emotions reading this!! Zoroya did a phenomenal job r......more

Goodreads review by Jason on March 22, 2017

the story is fantastic. the writing is not typical or worthy of award-winning journalist, at least not in my experience reading such books. I cry when I read these books. the disjointed, even ludicrous, writing in this case actually saved me from much of that here, I cynically write. yet nothing can......more

Goodreads review by Forrest on April 17, 2020

This is a detailed account of the deadly Battle of Wanat that took place in the Nuristan Province in Afghanistan on July 13, 2008. It also covers the battle at Outpost Ranch House which took place a month prior. Not only was Wanat one of the costliest battles in Afghanistan, it led to years of inves......more

Goodreads review by Zac on December 28, 2020

There’s no way this should have been a place to have troops. Just like the outpost in “Red Platoon” they were far to exposed. What a battle and what a story. Hearts of Lions.......more


Quotes

"Historians and journalist have penned many books about what Tom Brokaw dubbed 'the greatest generation' those men who came from simple lives to the battlefields of World War II and left a sense that those kinds of men no longer walk among us. Zoroya makes the case that that assumption is entirely incorrect, that we indeed have a new generation of heroic men who fight to overcome the overwhelming odds that are thrown against them."—My Big Honkin Blog

"A searing account of war in Afghanistan...A remarkable story, whose telling raises myriad questions without resorting to polemics. It is unlikely that those who read it will ever utter the phrase, 'Thank you for your service,' quite the same way again...A gripping, exhaustively reported account of modern warfare...[Zoroya] cuts through the fog of war...Zoroya delivers the adrenaline of combat right to the reader's easy chair. His prose is direct and clear, and never upstages the action. He also brings the warriors to life, chronicling their trials and triumphs."—USA Today

"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now producing their own volumes, and this is one of the better ones...Well-researched...The book does an excellent job of telling the entire story of the action...As one of the most highly decorated units in Army history, these men, many of them from broken families and rough backgrounds, are worthy successors to Band of Brothers from previous generations of American fighting men." —New York Journal of Books

"Riveting and heart-rending...Highly recommended for both personal and public library collections."—Midwest Book Review

"The gripping, often heartbreaking story of Chosen Company's time in the Waygal Valley...In a style reminiscent of Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers, Zoroya takes readers beyond the blood and sweat of close combat and into the hearts and minds of the soldiers themselves. The result is an intensely personal and heart-wrenching tale of courage, love, and loss...a vivid portrait of America's war in Afghanistan...brutally honest in the telling, in a way that will affect readers deeply...The Chosen Few is an exceptional book...as revealing as it is enthralling. For military readers, The Chosen Few is a 'must read'; few books are as insightful, especially with respect to the character, courage, and commitment of those fighting for the future of Afghanistan. For readers with preconceived notions of what it means to engage in the 'forever war,' this book is a necessary addition to the bookshelf."—Military Review

"A vivid military story [that] needed telling."—Midwest Book Review

"[Zoroya] has given life to Chosen Company's story. His book...offers a personal look at what the Army soldiers endured in Afghanistan's remote Waigal Valley."

West Central Tribune

"Reveal[s] much about the chaos of close combat and the brotherhood of men under fire."
Military Officer

"Thoroughly researched...As the war in Afghanistan enters its 17th year, The Chosen Few is an admirable reminder of the brutality at the front."—Military Periscope

"Zoroya, like so many great authors in the past, perfectly describes the fighting spirit of America's warriors...Zoroya pulls the reader in...The combat descriptions, as told to Zoroya by the men who experienced it, are gripping...Zoroya's writing is magnificent and powerful...A refreshing change from some of the books on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is that Zoroya is not all rah rah U.S.A. He subtly points out the mistakes and deficiencies of American commanders...A gripping and enduring tribute to the men of the 'Chosen Few.'"—Collected Miscellany