Product Description

Until 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 and safety goggle, safety-first' culture: to be a warrior. He passed the gruelling selection course and joined the Marine Corps on graduation. Posted to a Marine Regiment in the wake of 9/11, 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 and 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 and terror. 'Nate' took 65 men to war and came home with all 65. He proved himself an excellent officer and won promotion, but resigned in 2003 to write this book and attend Harvard Business School.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18311 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

KIRKUS
'One can hardly imagine a finer boots-on-the-ground chronicle of this open-ended conflict, no matter how long it may last.'

Review
'if you need entertainment on a long flight and want to read a first-hand account of operations in Iraq then read this book.' (Ian Gardiner HERALD ON SUNDAY )

'We get action, and rather more of it than Swafford was able to offer: with almost Hollywood-style scripting, Fick passes the terrifying training programme in time for 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan.' (Mark Simpson THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

'Nathaniel Fick is the best and most eloquent writer to have emerged from the conflict so far......and excellent book which is timely and thought-provoking (Alstair Mabbott THE HERALD )

Harrowing...deserves close reading and serious discussion. The Washington Post (THE WASHINGTON POST )

Fick's descriptive and exacting writing...guarantees One Bullet Away a place in the war memoir hall of fame. (USA TODAY )

'One can hardly imagine a finer boots-on-the-ground chronicle of this open-ended conflict, no matter how long it may last.' (KIRKUS )

The book's enormous power derives from the quality of Fick's writing and intensity of his moral vision.' (Ben Shephard The TLS )

USA TODAY
Fick's descriptive and exacting writing...guarantees One Bullet Away a place in the war memoir hall of fame.

Customer Reviews

definately worth reading
Nate Fick decided to join the USMC from an ivy league college in New England, not traditionally the Corps biggest recruiting area. Moreover, he did so after attending a lecture by a journalist who praised the unit so we are not dealing with ignoramous, but instead an intelligent man. His timing meant he served in Afghanistan in Nov 2001 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

I bought this book as I had read "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright and enjoyed it immensly. Fick was the platoon commander that journalist Wright was embedded with during the invasion of Iraq and Wright spoke well of him. There are a myriad of combat memoirs available now and I am somewhat cynical of many of them. However, based on the high praise of a neutral, I gave this book a go and was glad of it.

He paints a vivid picture of trying to lead men against an uncertain enemy, living with the reality that they sometimes shoot the wrong people and trying to do the best in tough circumstances. What stood out most for me was his opinions of his superiors, which are generally not favourable (and shared by Wright incidently). He is outraged at the indifference of his superiors to the death of innocents and their apparant delight of the war for the promotion opportunities it brings.

He is also very open and frank about the fear he felt in combat and thankfully steers away from any chest beating or self agrandisment, which makes the book a better read.

His opinions on the war would have carried some weight but, perhaps wisely, he gives none, preferring to stick to the story rather than the politics. The book and his attitudes to the situation are summed up in an incident he reacalls at the end while he is applying for places on post grad courses shortly before discharge. The admissions secretary of a major institution asks him to explain some comments attributed to him in Wright's book where he displays an apparent bloodlust. He sees no reason to explain himself to one who has not seen combat, merely saying he does not enjoy killing. For me this passage neatly described the book quite well. Clearly a devoted leader trying to do his best by his men who is at ease with the knowledge he did the best he could.

Given he now has a Harvard MA to go with his fine combat record, it would not surprise me if we see him scouted by politicians in future. While I suspect Fick would view this with some distaste, at least he has enough expereince of war not to delight in it.

In some ways the same story as Generation Kill but written without as much swearing or Jennifer Lopez references but a fine memoir of combat leadership nonetheless.

One Bullet Away
Nate Fick book on the making of a Marine Officer [and un-making since he has now left the USMC] charts the career of a young man in the Corps from pre 9/11 through the build up for Afghanistan and Iraq and the subsequent wars that follow.

This book is well written and Fick is obviously an intelligent man, it is also most striking in its difference to how Britain viewed these operations and how American sees them. If the British and American are a common people divided by a common language then we have never been more divided in how we see the operations in the Middle East.

US sees itself at war[2001-03], and 9/11 as another Pearl Harbour, and Nate brings this home with some thoughtful observations, such as how many Rifle Platoon Commanders in the USMC serving in 1941 where still alive in 1945, probably not many.

Fick moves through his basic training and gives a good insight into how the USMC turns out its low level command, if the US Military is the new Prussian Army [see BAR 139 Spring 2006] then the USMC is the Imperial Guard, with its traditions and ethos based on our own Royal Marines, but with the usual heavy slice of American Gung Ho, however the USMC does produce some very capable men as this book proves, can we learn something from the USMC possibly.

Anyone with an interest in the last two wars in the Middle East will find this an interesting read, especially those on Op Telic 1 [and in 1 PARA like myself in particular, since the cancelled operation onto Qalat Sukkar airfield is covered in detail. Oh what might have been!] If there is a criticism of this book it's the lack of detailed maps and glossary of USMC terms, if you are in the military you should have no problem although your average civvy might struggle.

Well worth a read, especially if you are about to deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq as a Platoon Commander.


G Long

Gripping and thoughtful
I first heard Nathanial Fick on Radio 4 one morning talking about his experiences in Iraq and the aftereffect it had on him. The most striking thing that I recall from that interview was that in the months following his return from active service, he would unconsciously swerve between lanes when going under motorway bridges to avoid grenades and snipers.

This book charts Fick joining the US Marine Corps as a well-educated and thoughtful young man, being groomed into a fighting machine, and then leading young troops into battle in the recent Iraq conflict. At times it is painful to contrast Fick's high ideals of what his corps and his country represent with the stark reality of senior officers who make plans that'll make them look good to the top brass, even if it means putting more "grunts" at risk.

From a tactival perspective, it also changes the common perception that the Iraqi insurgency is no more than a disorganised rabble. Several times Fick and his men are caught up in complex combined-arms assaults and more often than not it is only fast thinking and decisive action by his NCO's that saves the day.

I think I will reserve 5 stars for books that span a slightly longer timespan or go in to more depth; relative to the autobiography of someone liked Col Tim Collins, Fick spent a relatively short time in the USMC. But I am certainly glad that someone of his intelligence served in the military, and glad that someone with real leadership qualities is now back in the world of intellectuals...