Overview
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Aware of U.S. plans to withdraw from the country, knowing their efforts were only a footprint in the sand, the fifty Marines of 3rd Platoon fought in Sangin, the most dangerous district in all of Afghanistan. So heavy were the casualties that the Secretary of Defense offered to pull the Marines out. Instead, they pushed forward. Each Marine in 3rd Platoon patrolled two and a half miles a day for six monthsāa total of one million stepsāin search of a ghostlike enemy that struck without warning. Why did the Marines attack and attack, day after day?Ā Ā
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Every day brought a new skirmish. Each footfall might trigger an IED. Half the Marines in 3rd Platoon didnāt make it intact to the end of the tour. One Million Steps is the story of the fifty brave men who faced these grim odds and refused to back down. Based on Bing Westās embeds with 3rd Platoon, as well as on their handwritten log, this is a gripping gruntās-eye view of life on the front lines of Americaās longest war. Writing with a combat veteranās compassion for the fallen, West also offers a damning critique of the higher-ups who expected our warriors to act as nation-buildersāand whose failed strategy put American lives at unnecessary risk.
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Each time a leader was struck down, another rose up to take his place. How does one man instill courage in another? What welded these men together as firmly as steel plates?
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This remarkable book is the story of warriors caught between a maddening, unrealistic strategy and their unswerving commitment to the fight. Fearsome, inspiring, and poignant in its telling, One Million Steps is sure to become a classic, a unique and enduring testament to the American warrior spirit.
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Praise for One Million Steps
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āWest shows the reality of modern warfare in a way that is utterly gripping.āāMax Boot, author of Invisible Armies
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āA gripping, boot-level account of Marines in Afghanistan during the bloody struggle with Taliban fighters.āāLos Angeles Times
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āOne Million Steps transcends combat narrative: It is an epic of contemporary small-unit combat.āāEliot A. Cohen, author of Supreme Command
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āA blistering assault on Americaās senior military leadership.āāThe Wall Street Journal
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āA heart-pounding portrayal . . . a compelling account of what these men endured.āāThe Washington Post
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āStunning, sobering, and brilliantly written.āāNewt Gingrich
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āOne of the most intrepid military journalists, Bing West, delivers a heart-wrenching account of one platoonās fight.āāBill Bennett, host of Morning in America
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āBing West has reconfirmed his standing as one of the most intrepid and insightful observers of Americaās wars. . . . One Million Steps reveals the essence of small-unit combat, the very soul of war.āāThe Weekly Standard
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āA searing read, but it is one that all Americans should undertake. We send our sons into battle, and few know what our warriors experience.āāThe Washington Times
This book title, One Million Steps (A Marine Platoon at War), ISBN: 9780812980912, by Bing West, published by Random House Publishing Group (June 9, 2015) is available in paperback. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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