The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor: Includes PDF

Tapper, Jake

ISBN 10: 1619692619 ISBN 13: 9781619692619

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company, 2012

Synopsis

At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was viciously attacked by Taliban insurgents. The 53 U.S. troops, having been stationed at the bottom of three steep mountains, were severely outmanned by nearly 400 Taliban fighters. Though the Americans ultimately prevailed, their casualties made it one of the war's deadliest battles for U.S. forces. And after more than three years in that dangerous and vulnerable valley a mere 14 miles from the Pakistan border, the U.S. abandoned and bombed the camp. A Pentagon investigation later concluded that there was no reason for Outpost Keating to have been there in the first place.THE OUTPOST is a tour de force of investigative journalism. Jake Tapper exposes the origins of this tragic and confounding story, exploring the history of the camp and detailing the stories of soldiers heroic and doomed, shadowed by the recklessness of their commanders in Washington, D.C. and a war built on constantly shifting sands.

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: Little, Brown & Company
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1619692619
• ISBN 13: 9781619692619
• Binding: Audio CD
• Number of pages: 18