This Man's Army: A Soldier's Story from the Frontlines of the War on Terrorism [Hardcover]

Andrew Exum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 2004

This Man’s Army follows one extraordinary young man’s transformation from Ivy League student to twenty-first-century warrior. Soldier X vividly brings to life his journey through ROTC training, the grueling trials of the elite Ranger School, and into the treacherous terrain of the Shah-e-Kot Valley in Afghanistan. There he leads his men to root out the hardcore remnants of Osama bin Laden’s forces, and must confront and kill an Al Qaeda fighter. On his return to the United States, Soldier X must face how media coverage has distorted public perception of the war back home as he seeks to make peace with the man he had become.

In the tradition of Tim O’Brien’s If I Die in a Combat Zone, This Man’s Army is a gripping story of a young man’s introduction to the horrors of war, reported with brutal honesty and compelling insight. By turns harrowing and inspiring, it is the first account of combat from a new generation that is rising to confront the grave threat that faces our civilization and our way of life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The American war in Afghanistan has been overshadowed by the war in Iraq. But since October 2001, American soldiers have been fighting the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan under often brutal guerrilla war conditions. The author of this war memoir, an active-day army officer, has had his identity embargoed until the book's publication. The book is a fast-paced, first-person look at the war through the educated eyes of a 25-year-old Ivy Leagueâ€"schooled Army Ranger who fought with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan in 2002 (and also in Iraq). The narrative, which confines its battle sequences to Afghanistan and contains a fair amount of reconstructed dialogue, follows the standard war memoir formula. It opens in the battlefield, then flashes back to a chronological rendering of the author's life, including the required depiction of the rigors of military training, complete with bellowing, sadistic drill instructors. Then comes the author's overseas deployment, beginning with a hurry-up-and-wait stint doing "long and boring" convoy escort work in Kuwait. X doesn't arrive in Afghanistan until nearly the exact half-way point of this not-long book. The narrative ends with his homecoming, his readjustment difficulties and his thoughts on the institution of war and the burdens of those who fight in wars. Along the way X provides an often perceptive, informed look at what it's like to be in today's military, as well as the experience of combat in southwest Asia. X also puts his education (a double major, English and Classics, he informs us) to good use, sprinkling references to Shakespeare, Graham Greene, Walker Percy, Don DeLillo, Joseph Heller and Reinhold Niebuhr, among others, throughout the narrative.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From The New Yorker

Two years ago, at the age of twenty-three, Exum led a platoon into combat in Afghanistan. He wasn't a typical soldier: an Ivy League graduate with a double major in classics and English, he voted for Gore and read Kant during downtime in Ranger training. Nevertheless, he excels in depicting the ordinary, unglamorous side of warfare—whiling away months of boring duty by pulling puerile pranks, instigating fistfights, and pasting porn pictures on the backs of official maps. Short on revelation, this memoir qua military history is largely a polemic on behalf of the Army grunt. Exum is as unsparing in his disdain for Pentagon "desk jockeys" and overweight staff officers as he is for peaceniks and "holier-than-thou" reporters. "No matter a war's outcome," he concludes, "the soldier never wins."
Copyright © 2005 The New Yorker

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; 1st Printing edition (June 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592400639
• ISBN-13: 978-1592400638
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,543,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New World Man, August 1, 2004

By 

Paul Kaizar (Costa Mesa, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Man's Army: A Soldier's Story from the Frontlines of the War on Terrorism (Hardcover)

I ran across Andrew Exum on Book TV while channel surfing. I had no idea who he was or what he authored. I was about to switch the channel to ESPN or HBO like any good male should do but I heard the words "war" and "army." So, I continued watching. Besides being extremely fair when questioned (or baited) about his politics (I think we all are sick of bias these days), Exum was extremely intelligent, organized and compassionate. I think his compassion struck me the most - especially since I just returned from a short trip on the 405 freeway where I felt like choking a few people in the cars next to me.

I picked up his book later at the local Borders and finished reading it the next day. I was thoroughly impressed with not only what such a young man accomplished to date but his struggle with physical, religious, social, academic and political forces constantly poking at him from different directions. All of this while serving as an American at war.

Not unlike his appearance on Book TV, Exum's story has an inspiring undertone of compassion as well. Here is a guy who escaped the comfort of an easy life, graduated from a no doubt difficult stint and Penn, enrolled into ROTC as the only way to pay for his higher education, went through Ranger School twice, served the U.S. on the battlefield and then writes an excellent book. I would be proud to do just one of those things. But, Mr. Exum does them all. And, he does them with kindness, courage and thoughtfulness.

It is a testament to his humanity when, in the book, he tells of being extremely upset (for good reason I might add) at one soldier who developed self-inflicted traumatic seizures during a mission. This is the only time where I questioned Exum's compassion. Funny thing is, as you continue reading, Exum realizes the same thing and later kicks himself for it.

The other thing I'd like to note about this book is the humor. I found myself rolling in laughter at some of the antics Exum and his men get into. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone but there is a lot of fun woven into Exum's story. One instance that comes to mind involves someone's testicle inadvertently hanging out of a tear in the pants at an inopportune time. Another is when Exum describes one of his soldiers in that he would trust him with his life but not with 20 bucks.

Exum is no saint. But, neither am I or my friends. However, we came to realize that love and compassion will never let you or your buddies down. And, throughout the book, Exum continues to say that he is not the only person serving in our armed forces who is this way. There are people from all walks of life, filled with hope, fear, compassion and intelligence fighting for their buddies and the rest of us every minute of every day.

Exum reminds me of the song by Rush called "New World Man". I look forward to reading more about his life as I would call him a leader of New World Men in these turbulent times ahead.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Andrew Exum soldiers, June 8, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: This Man's Army: A Soldier's Story from the Frontlines of the War on Terrorism (Hardcover)

Truthful account of what is going on in Afghanistan at a time when the public is hearing so many untruths about the War on Terrorism.
Captain Exum lead his men, not just gave orders. But just as important to this mother, brought her youngest son safely home.
This is the story that "Gregory" could not talk about when he returned home, but now tells us he is proud of both his deployments to Afghanistan.
Thank you Captain Exum for taking care of our sons and helping them become the men they are.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Authentic Story from "This Man's" Perspective:, June 7, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: This Man's Army: A Soldier's Story from the Frontlines of the War on Terrorism (Hardcover)

"This Man's Army" belongs on the shelf with the defining war memoirs as well as (and maybe more importantly) on the shelf with the great American "coming-of-age" works. The effortless tone and pacing of the book succeed in communicating the flavor of the war in Afghanistan, but that is only part of the story. The book is ultimately about an individual and his experiences as an American, a Southerner, a son, a student, a child, an individual - and, obviously, as a soldier. In this account of modern American army life as a Ranger, Exum translates an intense experience that few have shared with stories, emotions, and explanations to which all can relate. Written with an eye for the true texture of experience, humor, and reflection, this book is an authentic and engaging one that "reads itself." Exum artfully skirts the edges of war-buddy cliche in telling his story in a way that is as warmly familiar as it is refreshingly original. An excellent read.