Review of Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton

True Story of U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan Who Fought on Horseback

Jun 23, 2009

Best-selling author Doug Stanton tells of the heroics of American Special Forces in Afghanistan who rode to war on horseback against Taliban soldiers.

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, by Doug Stanton, recreates the events of post 9/11 for the brave men who entered deep into Taliban territory and carried out a courageous and inspiring mission. Using untested strategies and alliances, in a combination of age-old tactics and modern warfare, the soldiers succeeded in more than just completing their mission; they laid groundwork for future policy in international affairs.

U.S. Special Forces Joined With the Afghanistan Military to Defeat the Taliban

This well-researched and documented account shows how a small group of special ops soldiers worked with local military officials and set a common goal of fighting against Al-Qaeda. By learning how to adapt to local culture, they gained information and support from the Afghans.

Pointing lasers at the enemy while riding on horseback across desolate terrain in a juxtaposition of Wild West and Science Fiction, taking off and flying helicopters at higher altitudes than ever before, fighting hypoxia, and dealing with a weather formation called the “Black Stratus”, were only a few of these soldiers’ challenges. In spite of tremendous odds against them, they accomplished feats in Afghanistan that are remarkable attestations to the edges of human endurance.

Using information obtained through personal interviews and first person accounts, as well as visiting locations where the battles took place, Stanton brings to light previously untold details about what happened in Afghanistan in the early days after the destruction of the World Trade Center.

The culmination of the story begins with the battle at the Qala-i-Janghi fortress where the Horse Soldiers were outnumbered, and fought bravely for days. Stanton chronicles the discovery of John Walker Lindh among the Al-Qaeda prisoners, and the circumstances surrounding the death of Mike Spann, the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan army hailed the elite Special Forces soldiers and CIA operatives serving in this mission as liberators as well as friends. They endured some of the fiercest fighting in the war. Some of the American soldiers were injured, were awarded Purple Heart Medals, and returned to the area to continue to serve their country.

Stanton is the author of In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors, which spent time on the New York Times Bestseller List and has been optioned for a motion picture. He is also a contributing editor of Men’s Journal, and a former contributing editor for Esquire, Sports Afield, and Outside. He writes about travel, entertainment, and adventure, and taught writing at the college level.

Doug Stanton continues to prove his talent for investigative journalism in Horse Soldiers. He brings together the many discrete stories of the people who lived this dangerous mission into one cohesive and stirring tale of extreme courage in the face of danger.

Stanton reveals how these acts of heroism affected family, friends, and the public back home in the United States. He interweaves their stories with the tales of their families, and how their wives and parents supported them in their mission. This account deepens the meaning of the phrase, “duty, honor, and country.”

Doug Stanton, Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, NY, Scribner, A Division of Simon and Schuster, Inc., 2009.

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