Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
9th out of 130 books
—
288 voters
One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer
If the Marines are �the few, the proud,” Recon Marines are the fewest and the proudest. Nathaniel Fick’s career begins with a hellish summer at Quantico, after his junior year at Dartmouth. He leads a platoon in Afghanistan just after 9/11 and advances to the pinnacle—Recon— two years later, on the eve of war with Iraq. His vast skill set puts him in front of the front lin...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
September 7th 2006
by Mariner Books
(first published October 3rd 2005)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
"Soldiering has one great trap...To be a good soldier you must love the army. But to be a good officer you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love. This is...a very hard thing to do. No other profession requires it. That is one reason why there are so few good officers. Although there are many good men."
-- Michael Schaara, The Killer Angels
My friend overnighted this book to me when I told him I was joining the National Guard. He told me to read it before making a decision. He h...more
-- Michael Schaara, The Killer Angels
My friend overnighted this book to me when I told him I was joining the National Guard. He told me to read it before making a decision. He h...more
17 likes · like · see review
view all 3 comments
As a retired Marine officer myself, I believe this may be the best job I've seen yet of getting inside the mind of a Marine leader. Nathaniel Fick is smart, caring, conscientious, brave, and introspective. Upon leaving the Corps he went to grad school with the goal of getting into politics, and I hope to hear his name a lot in the years to come - he has much more to give our country.
Incidentally, in another book titled Generation Kill, you can get the perspective of a reporter attached to Lt. Fi...more
Incidentally, in another book titled Generation Kill, you can get the perspective of a reporter attached to Lt. Fi...more
I've read this book twice now and I have enjoyed it both times. The author is very good at his narration, and is neither ultra gung-ho nor cynically going through the motions. Mr. Fick is a Marine; a thoughtful Marine and one whose sense of duty is deeply held and not the product of jingoism or testosterone laden "hoo-rah" culture.
In short, I enjoyed the heck out of this book and would heartily recommend it. There are plenty of books that delineate and define how the strategic battles of the Afg...more
In short, I enjoyed the heck out of this book and would heartily recommend it. There are plenty of books that delineate and define how the strategic battles of the Afg...more
This book is a memoir; the author became a marine officer after graduating from Dartmouth in the late 90s and though he began serving in peacetime, he managed to be among the first marines into both Afghanistan and Iraq. The details about training are interesting, but the dramatic and honest look at the drive towards Baghdad at the beginning of the conflict is riveting--the details and the action will keep you reading late into the night. Highly recommended for both the good writing and the impo...more
Nate Fick seems like a classy guy and this is a classy, classy book. After graduating with a degree in Classics from Dartmouth, Fick joined the US Marine Corps as an officer candidate. While his friends when to med school, law school or became “consultants” (as Fick points out, what exactly can a 22-year-old consult on?), he became a peacetime officer who was abruptly thrust into wartime after September 11.
After serving in Afghanistan, Fick joined the infamously-tough First Reconnaissance Battal...more
After serving in Afghanistan, Fick joined the infamously-tough First Reconnaissance Battal...more
http://www.andalittlewine.blogspot.com/2012/08/book-review-one-bullet-away-by.ht...
In his memoir One Bullet Away, Nate Fick shares his story of joining the Marine Corps as an officer, and deploying just before the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Fick's story, told in ways that are both too glib and too frank, confuses the hell out of me.
I understand the call to serve. I understand the frustration that clearly mounts as he is thrust into war zones, in Afghanistan and again in Iraq, that his trai...more
In his memoir One Bullet Away, Nate Fick shares his story of joining the Marine Corps as an officer, and deploying just before the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Fick's story, told in ways that are both too glib and too frank, confuses the hell out of me.
I understand the call to serve. I understand the frustration that clearly mounts as he is thrust into war zones, in Afghanistan and again in Iraq, that his trai...more
One Bullet Away is perhaps the most detailed and complete record of a combat tour in Iraq that I have yet read. Fick must have kept daily notes or a diary. In fact the accumulation of day to day details becomes a bit repetitious and almost tedious at times. Lt Fick's dedication to his trade and affection and concern for his men become obvious in the course of his narrative, and you cannot help but admire him for any number of reasons. He is articulate and thoughtful throughout the book, a reflec...more
My discovery of One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer was a bit of an interesting genesis. When the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, a number of journalists embedded with military units to report on the war. Rolling Stone's Evan Wright joined the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of US Marine Corps for the invasion, which provided material for articles in the magazine, a book called Generation Kill, and eventually an HBO mini-series by the same name. I enjoyed the series, which led me to...more
Good. Standard Lieutenant reading. Some real lessons to be taken from here, like how and when people will pee in a wetsuit. If you can't find a copy, go to Quantico. Every TBS barracks room will have at least two. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone interested in knowing a little about the Marine Corps, training, modern warfare or even just a look at humanity and Rules of Engagement. Nathaniel Fick does a wonderful job detailing his experience, and manages to not step on Evan Wright’s work,...more
Nate is one of my favorite characters in Generation Kill, so when I realized that he had written a book of his very own that treated on some of the same events, I snapped it up immediately. I like Nate because he is an officer and a gentleman, a Dartmouth classics major who joined the Marine Corps in a fit of idealism, and one of only two competent officers portrayed in Generation Kill. Why I love Nate can be best understood first hand.
The rules of engagement harked back to my college classes on...more
Many people go to war. Many people write books. Only a few people go to war and write books about it, and among those books, One Bullet Away is a masterpiece. Insightful, well-crafted, bring into focus the mind and soul of a modern warrior, and the endless screw-ups of war. This book is probably the best way to get a sense of the Marines, short of joining up.
Nathan Fick takes us from OCS in the peaceful days of 1998, through the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. In the process, he discuss the e...more
Nathan Fick takes us from OCS in the peaceful days of 1998, through the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. In the process, he discuss the e...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I first read about Nate Fick in Evan Wright's Generation Kill. I admired his intelligence and leadership then despite being covered rather briefly. Much to my delight I found this book at my favorite source for books these days (besides Goodreads of course) which is the "$1.00 bookstore" in downtown Long Beach. I was not aware that Nick wrote his own account. When I saw this book it immediately shot to the top of my list despite my large volume of books to read.
Nick shares with us his decision...more
Nick shares with us his decision...more
I had seen this book, but avoided it for a while because it is hard to find military autobiographies that are insightful and meaningful and not just a vehicle for "hoo-ahh!" Then I stumbled upon the HBO miniseries "Generation Kill" (which was great) and was amazed to discover that "Lt. Fick" was the author of this book. As one of the more admirable characters depicted in the film, I was eager to read his book. I was not disappointed.
Fick rarely shrinks away from the war itself and his role in it...more
Fick rarely shrinks away from the war itself and his role in it...more
this has been my favorite book this year, which is hard to say after all the great books ive read. it is a war book about a man that joins the marines. the book is from his point of veiw and shows what is going through his head as a soldier. i like that because it is like he is writing a letter to someone and then receiving all his thoughts and his personality. when he was setting up a spot near the enemy and he could have gone farther but then just did his orders, i would have thought that he w...more
Compassionate warrior, very identifiable. Just the right mix of action and reflection when war memoirs tend to be dominated by one or the other. Focuses on personal growth, coming of age vs. being politically charged or polarizing (never really gives an opinion of the war).
You may be familiar with Nathan Fick because a Rolling Stone reporter stayed with his platoon for awhile. Or because of his role in Generation Kill. Or maybe not at all because, though you have lots of political opinions about the two wars the US in engaged in, you've either ignored the service members fighting them or thought of them in the same tired cliches used since liberals commented on the Vietnam War most of them never served in. This is a great book if you'd like to read a bit about wha...more
It saddens me (as a former Marine) to read about one of the most elite units in the Marine Corps being so damn dysfunctional - meaning seeing how the officers in First Recon behaved during this deployment: not the author, but officers at the company and battalion level. Normally the higher echelon officer do not participate in missions. They normally manage administrative responsibilities. But still, to see such incompetence and stupid antics is disheartening.
What really makes for a great read i...more
What really makes for a great read i...more
One Bullet Away chronicles the experiences of Nate Fick from the time he decided to enlist as a US Marine until his return from war. You quickly become engrossed in his story of the making of a Marine officer, his training as a Recon Marine and his active tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is an extremely well-written memoir which easily captures the thoughts and emotions of both Nate and the Marines he served with.
I discovered this book after watching the miniseries Generation Kill and then rea...more
This is an extremely well-written memoir which easily captures the thoughts and emotions of both Nate and the Marines he served with.
I discovered this book after watching the miniseries Generation Kill and then rea...more
A bunch of reviews have been written for this book. I'm just going to say a few things:
1. Fick, through his Marine Corps career got put at a historical junction. He participated at the beginning of OEF and was part of the spearhead of OIF I in RCT-7. He was at the beginning of where we are now this his book was historically worthy.
2. Fick wanted to communicate the values of the infantry officer to the reader with the right assumption that "grunts" would be reading his book - this made it profess...more
1. Fick, through his Marine Corps career got put at a historical junction. He participated at the beginning of OEF and was part of the spearhead of OIF I in RCT-7. He was at the beginning of where we are now this his book was historically worthy.
2. Fick wanted to communicate the values of the infantry officer to the reader with the right assumption that "grunts" would be reading his book - this made it profess...more
I couldn't put this book down, but I didn't want it to end. Captain Fick gives equal attention to the tactical and logistical challenges of war, and the moral and ethical ones. A classics major with all the historical and philosophical lessons and ideas of a first-rate liberal arts education in his thinking, he is also a highly trained warrior. He shows a belief in and dedication to the highest ideals of the Marine Corps, with a practical grasp of all the ways in which the reality can and someti...more
I took a course in college called Gulf Wars. It covered the Persian Gulf War and OIF. Since I was in the first class offered, the reading list was rather small. Only three books. All three were fantastic. Later on, a friend of mine took the same course and One Bullet Away was one of the books added.
I figured I would pick up a copy just to stay fresh. Sure enough, it was worth every page. Nathaniel Fick gives a great perspective of an already educated man becoming a United States Marine and taki...more
I figured I would pick up a copy just to stay fresh. Sure enough, it was worth every page. Nathaniel Fick gives a great perspective of an already educated man becoming a United States Marine and taki...more
One Bullet Away is Nathaniel Fick’s memoir of being a US Marine Corps officer during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. His unit in Iraq was memorably profiled by Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, which was subsequently turned into a series on HBO. I haven’t read Generation Kill yet or seen the miniseries, but Fick emerges from the pages of his own memoir as a thoughtful, compassionate and admirable young man (not that he would ever refer to himself as any of those things; his work is marked by...more
Mar 25, 2012
Sineala
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
e-books,
non-fiction
Like many other people, I read this immediately after reading and then watching Generation Kill, because I thought it would be interesting to get a different perspective on the same events. Fick writes well and is certainly very articulate, and I enjoyed reading about his upbringing and motivations and training. But I didn't really enjoy his writing on his deployments, which is the bulk of the book; it was overly technical and not very gripping. I think the same events as presented by Evan Wrigh...more
This book is a great read. It shows the difference between theory and reality. It shows the grey areas of war (yes American soldiers can do some shit on a battle field that will seem wrong-but when the other side is shootiong you shot back and shit happens). Before you ever offer an opinion on the US in the Middle East read this book with your mind open and try to understand what he is saying. If you get a chance to see him do an interview. Watch and listen. When they say the Best and Brightest...more
Fick is a red blooded dude who joined the Marine Corps so he could struggle his way into the toughest jobs inside an already tough organization. This is red meat for those who served, and well-written enough to carry along everyone else. The story covers Fick’s training, and takes the reader through the early days of the March 2003 invasion. Elements of distrust, signs of poor leadership and acts of laziness that cause Fick to question the value of what he was doing at times read better knowing...more
Maybe it's because I was a grunt Marine (1954-1957) but I found this book a bit too gung ho. I read 'Generation Kill' well before this book and could better relate to it. Since the Vietnam war I have steadily taken a more dim view of our military adventures and I whole heartedly disapproved of the Iraq war which I firmly believe was totally foolish and could have easily been avoided.
At the same time I took up this book I also started reading 'House of War; The pentagon and the disastrous rise o...more
At the same time I took up this book I also started reading 'House of War; The pentagon and the disastrous rise o...more
Read it straight through. Odd when a character from a video file has a story of his own to tell. How tempting is to be him though? Is this for non-paragons who didn't deduce cushy think tank work and micro-celebrity from Dartmouth undergrad, Infantry Officer, Recon Officer, Harvard post-grad? When you're a bullet away but a step ahead, getting in on the generational struggle while still getting yours in, I guess you can claim a book to your name also. I ain't mad it like that tho. None of his me...more
i think this book captures pretty well the internal conflict one feels as an officer. on the one hand, you want to support your chain of command, but on the other, you want to be loved by your joes and be seen as a good leader by your led. lt fick eventually sees during the opening days of the second gulf war that most of the time, anyone above the rank of captain is a blithering fucking idiot and that the real backbone of the army (and marines) are the one, two, and three-stripers, not the fagg...more
This book was amazing. As someone aspiring to become an officer, Captain Fick offers a clear view into what it is like to be a officer in the USMC. He does his job to the best of his ability and watches and cares for his men. He also clashes with his incompetent CO on a regular basis, and had he not, his men could have been put into harms way and perhaps killed. He helps draw the line between the officers who administrate and those who fight, and shows man of the cons of the prior. This book has...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Nathaniel Fick was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1977. He graduated with high honors from Dartmouth College in 1999, earning degrees in Classics and Government. While at Dartmouth, Fick captained the cycling team to a US National Championship, and wrote a senior thesis on Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War and its implications for American foreign policy.
He was commissioned a second lie...more
More about Nathaniel Fick...
He was commissioned a second lie...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Do nothing but be prepared to do anything.”
—
5 people liked it
“VJ had gone to the Naval Academy, where he competed as a powerlifter and developed a distaste for military customs such as short hair and addressing people by rank.”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
