Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers' Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan Free Audiobook Download by Tony Brooks

There was a certain point where the spirit of Marcus Luttrell was broken, or at least that's what he told his father. The young Navy SEAL had been on extended leave when Bin Laden was killed, and during this time he had been reading a book by a man named Tony Brooks. Brooks describes the moment in his writing when Luttrell realizes that his team has failed to search for any sign of fellow SEALs who were lost in Afghanistan with him. Brooks' story is one that needs to be told.

Take one of the most renowned and celebrated stories in military history, one that has captivated the public's imagination, and in just a few words, let me tell you how it ends. Marcus Luttrell was an American Navy SEAL who served for decades as a sniper. On June 28th, 2005, during Operation Redwing, his team was tasked with locating and killing a high-value target. They completed their mission successfully and evacuated themselves when they believed their target had been killed. But no one knows what happened after that: not the members of Marcus Luttrell's team or their superior officers on the ground, not even the men they were sent to kill. Now, eleven years later, the events surrounding this mission unfolded into four seasons

The story is told in a very personal and intimate way, using Marcus Luttrell's own words. It begins with Luttrell being captured by the Taliban who beat him and threw him into a hole in Afghanistan, where he would be buried up to his neck for days. The author details how the Ranger team found out what happened and began the search for Luttrell. Many of the men on this team were killed during the mission, but they never stopped searching for Luttrell. One of their most significant victories was when they found his arm jerking back and forth inside the wreckage of a helicopter crash site, so they knew he was alive.

The book is indeed compelling in its telling and can be a joy to listen to, but it's not without flaws. Mr. Brooks' writing is informative but sometimes repetitive, with lengthy descriptions of some events that only seem to serve as padding so he can get his point across. I also felt the book was a little drawn out in the middle. The title, too, may mislead some readers unnecessarily.

[Tony Brooks] is the author of "Leave No Man Behind: The Untold Story of the Rangers' Unrelenting Search for Marcus Luttrell, the Navy SEAL Lone Survivor in Afghanistan."