One Bullet Away: The Making Of A US Marine Officer

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The most eloquent & personal story of a young man at war since Geoffrey Wellum's FIRST LIGHTUntil a winter evening in 1998 Nathaniel was just another history student on a comfortable career trajectory of high school to college to white collar job Then he went to a lecture by a Wall Street Journal reporter who had just published a book on the US Marines It brought forth a latent desire to break free of the 'seat belt & safety goggle safety-first' culture to be a warrior He passed the gruelling selection course & joined the Marine Corps on graduation Posted to a Marine Regiment in the wake of 911 he took part in the invasion of Afghanistan then led a platoon of their elite Recon Battalion during the invasion of Iraq This is not a book about the Iraq invasion as such it is an articulate & deeply thoughtful young man's account of what it means to fight in the frontline to risk not just death or injury but psychological harm He reveals some of the awful dilemmas war can bring horrible problems to which there is no 'right' answer but a decision had to be made quickly -- by him alone In combat you are just one bullet away from death -- or promotion But this doesn't focus the mind it makes it freeze up -- unless your training is so thorough that you overcome exhaustion & terror ' Nate' took 65 men to war & came home with all 65 He proved himself an excellent officer & won promotion but resigned in 2003 to write this book & attend Harvard Business School