One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
by Nathaniel C. Fick
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Book Summary Information
Author: Nathaniel C. FickEdition: Paperback
Published: 2006-09-07
ISBN: 0618773436
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
Book Review: From scholar to Marine, a memoir
Summary: 5 Stars
There is a great divide in America between those in the military and those who are not. Nowhere is that divide more total than in the elite universities, where virtually no one knows anyone in the military or has any sympathy for it. This book is a very rare bridge between those two worlds. Fick graduated from Dartmouth in 1998, became an elite Marine officer, fought in Afghanistan and Iraq and then went back to graduate school. This is his memoir.
The primary subject of the book is the training that a Marine officer goes through, the transformation from an ordinary person into a warrior. It is extremely well written. The pace is relatively slow, and the reader is able to go along with Fick on his emotional journey from Ivy League student to Marine officer.
Fick happened to finish his training as an officer, just as 9/11 was happening. He thus jointed the military, when we were still at peace, and was a very junior officer, just as the war was starting. He gives an excellent account of some of the early fighting -- and early mistakes -- in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was rotated out of Iraq, just after Saddam fell, however, so his account is limited to the early war, before the counter-insurgency started. In short, a very valuable, well worth reading for many reasons, but very out of date, for those wanting to understand the Iraq War.
Summary of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
If the Marines are "the few, the proud," Recon Marines are the fewestand the proudest. Nathaniel Fick's career begins with a hellish summer
at Quantico, after his junior year at Dartmouth. He leads a platoon
in Afghanistan just after 9/11 and advances to the pinnacle-Recon-
two years later, on the eve of war with Iraq. His vast skill set puts him
in front of the front lines, leading twenty-two Marines into the deadliest
conflict since Vietnam. He vows to bring all his men home safely, and
to do so he'll need more than his top-flight education. Fick unveils the
process that makes Marine officers such legendary leaders and shares
his hard-won insights into the differences between military ideals and
military practice, which can mock those ideals.
In this deeply thoughtful account of what it's like to fight on
today's front lines, Fick reveals the crushing pressure on young leaders
in combat. Split-second decisions might have national consequences or
horrible immediate repercussions, but hesitation isn't an option. One
Bullet Away never shrinks from blunt truths, but ultimately it is an
inspiring account of mastering the art of war.
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