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Jun 16, 2011

Terri rated it:

Flawless. Utterly flawless. Books like this rarely come along - the books that should exceed the 5 star Goodreads rating system. Horse Soldiers, by far and away, is one of those books.
The story in itself is astounding. That a group of Special Forces guys would be dropped into Afghanistan with the express intention of assisting the Northern Alliance by calling in bombs on targets. So yes, that story in itself is fascinating, and inspirational, but you then have to add into the equation the f More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 26, 2011

Spencer rated it:

This was a fascinating book that left me with two takeaway points. (1) Afghanistan is one of the most incredibly complex, dangerous, nuanced, barren, afflicted, difficult places on earth. It is hard for Americans, who live with such far-reaching freedom and ridiculous affluence, to even imagine that a place like this exists. Unless, of course, you are one of the brave and dedicated members of our armed forces (like those in this book) who have spent time fighting there. (2) The best way to f More...

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Nov 18, 2011

Alyce (At Home With Books) rated it:

Horse Soldiers is the story of the first group of Special Forces soldiers to arrive in Afghanistan; the story of those who prepared the way for the arrival of the rest of the US troops. Their goal was to utilize and incorporate the existing rebel Afghan troops in the defense against the Taliban.

This book was informative in that I learned quite a bit that I didn’t know about the first soldiers who went into Afghanistan. It was nice to not only learn about their preparations for their More...

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Jul 29, 2011

Bill rated it:

Special Forces lead the way... This was interesting to see how effectively a well trained group of men adequately supported by airpower can turn the tide of a conflict. Great insight into the shadow warriors. The section on the errant bomb during the battle for Qala-i-Jangi was especially moving. Knowing how easily things can go wrong in a conflict, I was surprised that the operations of TF Dagger did not receive more casualties. I appreciate the sacrifice of these soldiers and their Northern Al More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2011

Paul rated it:

In the aftemath of the tragedy of 9/11, a Special Forces team was sent into Afghanistan to help overthrow the oppressive Taliban.

This was a small group that went in under total secrecy. Its hard to believe but only a very few top ranking military and political people knew of their incursion. Their families, although they were used to secrecy, were told nothing other than they were going on a mission.

The mission was highly unusual in that the Special Forces were to work More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 24, 2010

Billbob rated it:

Having read Sebastian Junger's WAR, I was hungry for more Afghan information. This book is another must read for those who are trying to understand what we are really involved in in Afghanistan. Doug Stanton explains what it was like to be among the 50 Special Forces men who won the initial war in Afghanistan by bringing in hi-tech techniques to assist the horse soldiers of the Northern Alliance in defeating 50,000 Taliban fighters. Now we are back and are losses are going up.

War ( More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 18, 2010

Tim rated it:

A birthday book! One that once started, had to be finished. It is the story of the first three months after September 11, 2001, when Osama bin laden was identified as the overall ideological leader of the strike, the Afghanistan Taliban refusing the US request/demand for his capture and handover(indeed he was made an honorary Afghan citizen by the Taliban government sometime in October or November, 2001), and when a war began.

A military book, it describes the details of how US spec More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2009

Gary rated it:

At first glance the title conjures images of mid-nineteenth century cavalry chasing bands of Native Americans across the western plains. Quite to the contrary, one discovers this is the true story of American Special Forces inserted in Afghanistan immediately after the events of 9/11. Their mission was to assist a loose coalition of Afghani warlords, known as the Northern Alliance, in recapturing key territory conquered by the Taliban, and to locate and bring to justice the Terrorist, Osama Bin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 15, 2009

Leo rated it:

Gives an account of how we got into the Afgan war. With a hand full of 5th Brigade, Special Forces Soldiers,most of them veterans over 30 years of age, we worked with the Afgans to defeat the Taliban and AlQaida. Nevertheless, we abandoned that front and went to war in Iraq. Most of those were killed in Iraq and are now resting in Arlington. Now we are back to the Afgan war which is spreading and we have over 60,000 soldiers and they want to send more.
WHEN WILL WILL WE REST FROM WARS??

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jul 29, 2010

Craig rated it:

This book contains a riviting account of two US "Special Forces" teams (14 men) who were sent into Afganistan shortly after the terroist attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. They worked with CIA agents already in place. Linking up with Afganistan forces opposed to the Taliban, the book details how these teams worked with the Afgan warlords to rout tens of thousands of Taliban soldiers from northern Afganistan, and eventually (through their successors) from other parts of the co More...

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May 06, 2011

Steve rated it:

Long story made short: After 9/11 we invaded Afghanistan in search of Osama bin Laden. The Taliban was in power and gave safe harbor to al-Qaeda and other terrorists. The "tip of the spear" was a small, mobile detail of Special Forces operatives working in concert with CIA paramilitary officers. This is the story of how these men joined forces with the Northern Alliance and took on and defeated the enemy...on horseback.

This riveting story was diligently researched by Dou More...

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May 27, 2009

Carmaletta rated it:

This book was a difficult read. At times, I felt like I was trudging through a high school or college text book with the information piling on top of me until I couldn't breathe. Other times, however, I felt like I was in the middle of a story with a real narrative that pulled me along. Obviously, the narrative parts were easier to read, but at the same time, they gave me pause and made me stop. I found myself actually reading it like this was a story, some kind of historical fiction, which More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2009

Bob rated it:

This is a non-fiction account about a group of Special Forces teams and CIA operatives who are sent into Afghanistan following 9/11. Their mission was unpublicized and they were to operate with a confederation of anti Taliban warlords acting as advisors and providing air support during conflicts with the Taliban. They lived as the did, eating what they ate and moving by horseback or on foot for the most part. Despite being well trained they endured a good bit of hardship that was a daily li More...

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Jul 21, 2009

Jacqui rated it:

What an amazing untold story of the American Special Forces in Afghanistan following 9/11. They were welcomed as liberators. People lined the streets thanking this small band of Americans for freeing them from Taliban rule.

How'd they do it? Riding horses shoulder-to-shoulder with the indigenous Northern Alliance soldiers, using Civil War strategies for mounted attacks. They worked with the embedded Afghani soldiers. They considered their wisdom and experience. They fought with them More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 03, 2009

charlie rated it:

A lot of reporting about our military's activities over the last few years has been about the scandals of poor civilian planning, under resourcing and many shameful tales of horrific moral judgement. It's important to read periodically a book which conveys the other side of our military - the skills, determination, courage and dedication of the guys on the ground.

At the same time, it´s hard to separate your admiration for the characters and their story in this book versus the book i More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 15, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

I ride horses, which is why this book first caught my eye; the idea of Americans fighting in Afghanistan on horseback fascinated me. I admit that I am embarrassingly ignorant about anything other than the most general details of the war there, and when I read the subtitle of the book I said to myself, “Rode to what victory in Afghanistan?”

I’ve seen several reviewers complain about the number of pages devoted to the men and what they were doing on September 11, 2001, that it took too More...

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Jun 02, 2009

James rated it:

'It was OK' is really the best I can do.

The characters were too numerous to follow a narrative, the details too sound-byte-ish to follow the procedural.

But perhaps the worst infraction that a flash-in-the-pan, not-intended-to-be-on-bookstore-shelves-two-years-from-now book, can commit: it was easy to put down. Easy to set aside, easy to get distracted from.

That said, I give it an 'OK' and not something worse, because it did have it's interesting bits. Not th More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 18, 2011

Marks54 rated it:

This is an account of the efforts of the US special forces/CIA teams that infiltrated Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks and teamed up with the warlords of the Northern Alliance to defeat the Taliban and the terrorists in around three months. It is a largely journalistic account, describing what the teams did, how they prepared, how the battles went, etc. Some of this materials was already accounted in magazines at the time, especially a NYT magazine story I seem to recall. It is very well wri More...

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Sep 15, 2009

Mark rated it:

Like Ambrose, McCullough, and Lord, Stanton has produced a readable, entertaining historical account of US actions in Afghanistan following 9/11. Not only is this an account of historical importance, but it is a lesson in what a handful of dedicated, professional, Special Forces and CIA operatives can accomplish with the correct will and direction and the importance of "cultural awareness" in the application of war. It is also an account of our "professional soldier" class th More...

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Feb 09, 2010

Elisif rated it:

This was a very interesting book, and a very satisfying read. Better than other military books I've read because it is written by a journalist who did LOTS of interviews, including Afghanis. I was hoping this would be a horse book as well as a military book, but not so much a horse book. Yes, they do ride horses, and that is significant in that modern warfare is not usually fought from horseback, but there isn't much else about the horses themselves. But it was a very interesting book about More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 04, 2011

Hilmi rated it:

Buku ini mengisahkan pengalaman dua buah kumpulan kecil dari Pasukan Khas ke-5 Tentera Darat Amerika Syarikat (AS) membantu Pakatan Utara menentang Taliban di utara Afghanistan. Kedua-dua kumpulan ini diutus tidak berapa lama selepas peristiwa bersejarah 11 September 2001. Pengalaman mereka yang bermula dari pertemuan mereka dengan panglima-panglima perang Pakatan Utara sehingga pembebasan bandar Mazar-i-Sharif direkodkan di dalam buku ini. Selain itu,diselitkan juga pengalaman peristiwa berdara More...

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Apr 14, 2010

Russ rated it:

I don't know as much as I should about the war in Afghanistan, which is one of the reasons I read this book. It's not a broad historical perspective on the conflict, but rather a close look at the initial Special Forces and CIA actions in Afghanistan. It follows multiple soldiers and is, at first, a little overwhelming. I had difficulty remembering who all of the men were. Stanton hits his stride after a couple of chapters, though, and the story becomes very compelling as it incorporates Norther More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 05, 2011

William rated it:

First hand account of the Special Forces which assisted in capturing Mazar-I-Sharif during Operation Enduring Freedom. This is a fascinating story about warefare which incongruously combines laser guided GPS smart bombs with 18th century cavalry charges. It has all the feel of a big time action novel, made more attractive by the fact that it is a true story. But action and "behind the scenes" information aside, the thing that sticks out most from Mr. Stanton's book is the heroic and More...

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Aug 23, 2011

Ann rated it:

A fascinating look at the crucial part our Special Forces played in the initial war in Afghanistan. The sacrifices that these men made were monumental. Their experiences were like stepping back hundreds of years in time but fighting an enemy with modern weapons of war !! The idea of inserting a handful of highly trained guys (some of whom were proficient in the language) into the wilds of Afghanistan, joining forces with the Northern Alliance, and fighting a war on their terms was initially s More...

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Oct 28, 2009

Jeff rated it:

Horse Soldiers tells the story of Special Military Forces that are dropped into Afghanistan with the sole purpose of aiding an outnumbered and outgunned Northern Alliance. These soldiers had to be very nuanced, demonstrating respect and the support of the Northern Alliance leaders, while showing their force in the field of battle. This included dropping guided bombs from B-52s from 20,000 feet in the air. It's an excellent example of the use of guerilla warfare in battle, gaining trust of the ex More...

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Jan 09, 2012

Jill rated it:

Amazing research and storytelling.

http://larsgyllenhaal.blogspot.com/2011/...
Interesting interview with the author, where he draws a parallel with the American Civil War.

Quotes from the Epilogue

p. 345.

" The epic success of the Horse Soldiers, as they were dubbed, was stunning, by both historical and contemporary standards. The campaign is, in fact, a template for the way the present war - and future ones - should be fought. Instead of lar More...

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Sep 06, 2009

Thomas rated it:

Egadz. The first third of this book is not just a rehash of September 11th, it is multiple rehashes, interlaced with physical descriptions of the soldiers. My advice: skip all the way to the first appearance of General Dostum.

After further reading, I offer this further advice: skip the end, too. In fact, I was disappointed overall. The title didn't catch the nature of the book. Most of the content is old news. The exposition builds no interest in the soldiers profiled. We never real More...

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Aug 12, 2009

Beth rated it:

The only reason I didn't give this one five stars is because at times the telling of the tale was rambling and a little confusing. But in all, this is a tour de force -- a riveting account of the early days of the war in Afghanistan and the largely unsung heroes in Special Forces who went in under cover and rode on horseback with the Northern Alliance in their fight against the Taliban.

Stanton did meticulous research and hundreds of interviews in putting this together. Horse Soldiers More...

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Jul 06, 2011

Alden rated it:

This book could have been covering the most interesting story ever told, held the secret to life itself and it wouldn't mean a thing. It was horribly written. 100 pages into the book and the main characters still haven't stepped foot on Afghanistan soil. There is so much mundane detail about every single person introduced in the story (whether or not they are an important person to the plot or not) that it bogs down over and over again. Every time the book seems to be picking up another person g More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Oct 22, 2010

Beth rated it:

I can imagine this book being made into a movie. It's the story of the first U.S. soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan after 9/11. A few elite Special Forces teams were sent into Afghanistan in secret to work with Northern Alliance warlords to defeat the Taliban. Because of the country's extreme terrain, the Afghan soldiers rode horses to fight. The U.S. soldiers, some of whom had never ridden a horse before, were expected to ride along. Staying in caves under very primitive conditions, th More...

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