Malcolm MacPhersonROBERTS RIDGE: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan

"Roberts Ridge" is the story of the battle for Takur Ghar, a mountain peak that dominates Afghanistan's Shahikot valley. The American military chose to invade that valley (Operation Anaconda) to trap and root out Taliban and Al Qaeda forces that, unknown to them, were deeply entrenched in the surrounding mountains. Relying on technological means, American commanders determined this strategic high ground was - against all military wisdom - unoccupied by the enemy. One helicopter after another tried to deliver assault, and then rescue, teams on what was actually a heavily defended enemy bunker complex. The book is primarily about what happened on that mountaintop over the course of about 17 hours.I put this book down thinking I had just finished two books, one subpar and the other outstanding. The early sections of "Roberts Ridge," are very weak and in fact caused me to stop reading it for a while. One problem is evident right away: the author drops you right into the action of the first helicopter going onto the mountain, with barely any context at all. He provides a very brief introductory section on the grand plans of Operation Anaconda, but no lead up of events to this insertion. In fact, about 1/3rd of the book goes by before the author backtracks and provides the context that would've helped make more sense of the action. I understand wanting to grab the reader's attention with action right off, but the author waits far too long to explain the twisted circumstances that led to Takur Ghar.For that issue alone, I would highly recommend that a potential buyer first read "Not a Good Day to Die," which gives all the context on the battle that you'll ever need. That brings me to my second criticism. Once he does delve into the background of the events, the entire section feels either hurriedly written or badly edited. He skips around and glosses over what a reader of "Not a Good Day..." knows are critical points. Some of the transitions between section are head-scratchingly abrupt. What was there felt, to me, like the author summarizing - badly - what he just read in "Not a Good Day..." Since I read that book just before this one, some of the dialogue and descriptions in the contextual sections sounded overly familiar. Presumably, "Not a Good Day..." had not been released while MacPherson was doing his research (indeed, it's not cited as a source here), so I'm not in any way accusing him of plagiarism, but rather it seems the two relied on many of the same sources, leading to what seems like a lot of repetition.Just as MacPherson described one of the Rangers developing sharply-focused tunnel vision once the bullets start flying, the author does the same. The accounting of the battle on the ground as it unfolded covers the bulk of this book and is by far the best part. The author did numerous interviews with many of the participants and these first-hand accounts really pay off by bringing the reader down into the firefight. You get into the heads of some of the Rangers and other troops on the scene - what they were doing and feeling and why. Even though I knew what happened, it made for exciting reading. It is the skill with which the combat is told that saves this book for me.One of the things I liked about this that I didn't like about "Not a Good Day to Die" was that he finishes the book out by exploring what happened after the battle. He tells you, in brief, about the outcomes of some of the main characters, and, more importantly, what the meaning of the battle was and what impact it had. He concludes that Takur Ghar was irrelevant to the success of Anaconda, but that the battle for it drew an inordinate amount of resources and attention away from the main effort. In other words, the assault was done for no military gain and was in fact a failure for the Americans, despite overall success in the battle. His conclusions were drawn largely from an after-action report and study done by the military, from which MacPherson quotes at length and is even included in part at the end of the book.Because of its problems, I hesitate to recommend this book, but if you gloss over the weak parts and watch the guys in combat like a circling Predator drone, you'll enjoy it a lot more.

I really wanted to like this book as those who fought there did so with great courage and skill and made such incredible sacrifices. However, I felt the author let them down in two primary areas-a lack of background for the original insertion decision and the decisions made from afar during the fight.I was also disappointed with the very limited indexing. There are also some critical inconsistencies in the book.The Seals came to the area looking for a mission on very short notice. It was apparently not their decision, but from far up the food chain and thousands of miles away in a flat land. There was a failure to appreciate the need to adapt to the altitude.Control of Takur Ghar was not seen as essential in the plan for the operation prior to the arrival of the Seals. However, the author appears to start with the premise that control was essential, but in the end accepts the view that it was not essential.The decision imposed on the Seals to make a direct aerial assault on the position after experiencing delays, rather than delay 24 hours, was an imposition from above. One of the grave risks of the new information age is that those (both military officers and politicians) receiving satellite, UAV data and perhaps battlefield video will abandon their roles of strategic planning and information dissemination in favor of making tactical decisions without situational awareness. It's a recipe for disaster.There's a reason that a great football coach is down on the field while the spotters and perhaps those who recommend plays are high above the stadium.In some respects the limitations of the book are a reflection of that lack of shared information and situational awareness which plagued the fighters during the events. According to Blaber (The Men, The Mission and Me) he was in contact with the Seal team during their fight and also in contact with the AC-130. This account treats Blaber as being out of contact which appears most unlikely given his role in the overall operation. He was uniquely qualified to provide the Rangers with much needed situational awareness.Overall it is a worthwhile read but I recommend reading three other books Not A Good Day To Die , The Mission, The Men and Me , and First In to get a better perspective on the war in Afghanistan in 2001-02

Well written that made you feel like you were there, in the middle of the action. Liked the photos of the men who were on the ground, in this battle. Knowing that the men in the story were real, live soldiers made me grieve those that killed.

An enthralling account of the battle and subsequent rescue missions attempted on an isolated mountain top peak in Afghanistan by American Special Forces & Ranger units in March 2002.The book follows the rescue trail after an initial attempt to insert an American SEAL unit on Takur Ghar mountain goes horribly wrong. The initial insertion attempt leads to a Chinook being shot down and the horrifying predicament of a SEAL operative who falls from the loading ramp of the helicopter onto the snow topped peak. Another Chinook is shot down going to the aid of the SEAL operator and it is only after a series of lengthy and vicious fire fights that a 3rd helicopter is able to be sent in to eventually lift the survivors from the mountain.The book describes the horror of `hot LZ' ambushes in detail along with the intensity of the fire fights involved in this incident. It also gives an insight into the complexities and dangers of Special Forces and mountain warfare operations in modern warfare.A gripping one session read if you have the time....excellent!

A good read. Just as it says on the front page - "Impossible to put down". The story is fair, as it shows that the plan was less than perfect. And the coordination and various units involved was less than ideal. All heroes of the book are presented in a personal way (the author has done some extra effort in this area), which makes them look more human, normal, one of us.The American equipment is high tech. The Afghanis are wearing pajamas and flip-flops in the area cover with snow. And still they are giving the US elite troops the fight of their life.If there was a plan for a next good war movie (the last one was "Black Hawk Down") - this would be the scenario. Gripping and highly recommended.

This is a good book, profiling a series of errors that cause the death of numerous american soldiers. It reads well and keeps you interested all the way through. SEALS are supposed to secure a mountain top for observations during op ananconda { see not a good day to die} however as they reach the top they are fired on and one of their men falls out of the chinook just before it crash lands in the valley below.What follows is the story of the attempted rescue of neil roberts. i read a lot of military type books and this right up there with the best of them, its not very long but thats down to the length of the action rather than anything being omitted,

Time over time this book shows no matter how special special forces are if they are given poor information and a lack of communication from the powers above together with wrong or failing equipment the mission will fail. Years later after this book was written the true heroics of Chapman will come out after close inspection of the footage taken from the predator drone.

I'd echo the good reviews already here.Don't bother with the DVD tho - it doesn't do the book justice.A film is a must-do - Ridley Scott take note !