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Valor
Unsung Heroes from Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front
by Mark Lee Greenblatt
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Pub Date May 08 2014 | Archive Date Jul 18 2014
Rowman & Littlefield | Taylor Trade
Description
Valor
features the thrilling stories that are the fruit of Mark Lee
Greenblatt’s interviews with brave American servicemen from
twenty-first-century wars. These soldiers, sailors, and Marines have
risked their lives several times over for their country as well as for
their fellow troops and civilians. Still, until now, their stories have
largely gone unnoticed by the public, perhaps lost in the frenzied and
often nasty debate surrounding those conflicts. As the author writes,
“This generation does not have an Audie Murphy. I set out to change that
with this book.”
Detailing incredible and evocative
feats—including an Army pilot who rescued two fellow pilots from a
deadly crash in hostile territory and strapped himself to the
helicopter’s exterior for the flight to the hospital—Greenblatt provides
glimpses into the minds of these men as they face gut-wrenching
decisions and overcome enormous odds.
However, this book is much
more than tales of riveting action. Each chapter goes beyond linear
combat stories to explore each hero’s motivations, dreams, and the
genuine emotions that were evoked in the face of extreme danger. Readers
will be transported to a variety of settings—from close-quarters urban
fighting in Iraq to mountainside ambushes in rural Afghanistan to a
midnight rescue in the middle of the Atlantic—as they accompany the men
who do not see themselves as heroes but as patriots in the line of duty.
Mark Lee Greenblatt is
an attorney based in the Washington, DC, area specializing in criminal
and ethics investigations. Mark is involved in several community service
activities, including serving as vice president of the Marian
Greenblatt Education Fund, a foundation created in honor of his mother
to honor excellence in education. He received his undergraduate degree
from Duke University and his law degree from Columbia University. He was
also a Senior Managers in Government Fellow at the Kennedy School of
Government at Harvard University. Mark has earned a black belt in tae
kwon do and was the drummer in The Fiasco, widely considered the
greatest rock-’n’-roll band since The Beatles. He lives with his wife
and two sons in Bethesda, Maryland. To learn more about Mark and the
heroes profiled in this book, visit www.markleegreenblatt.com.
A Note From the Publisher
You are viewing unedited page proofs. Quote only from finished book. Contact publicity@rowman.com for more info.
Advance Praise
The stories in Valor
capture very powerfully the extraordinary courage, selfless service,
and sacrifice that our young men and women have demonstrated repeatedly
in the wars of the post–9/11 period. Valor’s
accounts of extraordinary heroism in Iraq and Afghanistan reinforce the
increasingly widespread conviction—with which I strongly agree—that the
young men and women who have served our country ‘downrange’ in the past
decade truly are America’s New Greatest Generation.
— General David H. Petraeus, US Army (ret.)
Valor
is an absolutely gripping foray into the realities of modern warfare.
This book, the best collection of war stories from the all-volunteer
military, is a priceless oral history. In its pages, Mark Lee Greenblatt
offers us a glimpse into the lives of men who choose to move to the
sound of the guns. The heroes in Valor
show the highest form of love for their fellow soldiers and Marines.
While our society too often raises self-interest to a high art form,
Greenblatt helps show us the moral superiority of a truly selfless
citizenry.
— Thomas
A. Kolditz, Brigadier General (ret.), US Army; professor emeritus, US
Military Academy West Point; and author of In Extremis Leadership
It’s
obvious from these incredible stories that we certainly do still have
the spirit of Audie Murphy in our military. The daring accounts featured
in Valor give us strength and hope for our future as a nation.
— Sammy L. Davis, Sergeant First Class (ret.), US Army, Medal of Honor Recipient
Valor
is composed of stories where the rubber meets the road in combat. The
warrior ethos—never leave a buddy behind, do anything and everything to
protect your brother warriors—is undeniable in each man’s story. This
book serves as a reminder that, amid the glamour of today's technology,
the individual soldier, sailor, and Marine remain the linchpin to our
success on the battlefield today.
— H.C. “Barney” Barnum Jr., Colonel (ret.), US Marine Corps, Medal of Honor Recipient
I
was privileged and honored to lead US troops in combat in both Iraq and
in Afghanistan, and saw the best of them every day under the most
demanding conditions in our military history. They were—they
are—America’s new Greatest Generation, and they were precious to me
beyond words. I’ve stood next to their broken bodies as they desperately
clung to life. I’ve walked innumerable sets of their honored remains
onto the backs of our transport aircraft for the flight home to
heartbroken families and a grieving nation. Sadly, little of the
literature of these wars has celebrated the individual heroism of these
young actors in their moments of truth . . . until now. In Valor,
Mark Lee Greenblatt has honored this incredible service, and, in doing
so, has performed a great service for America. In his words, crafted
with marvelous eloquence, Mark has captured the raw, gut wrenching
emotion of battle and its aftermath in all its forms; and in doing so,
has erected the ultimate monument to America’s veterans, including the
fallen, the wounded, and their precious families. We owe him; indeed all
America owes him, a great debt of thanks.
— General John R. Allen, US Marine Corps (ret.), commander of US and coalition forces in Afghanistan 2011–2013
Military
heroes will always be a part of America, but they are increasingly
unknown to the public. They continue to do amazingly brave things as if
they were all in a day’s work. As Greenblatt has shown, humility and
valor seem to coincide when the stakes are mortal. Heroes don’t only
save lives and accomplish seemingly impossible feats at great risk to
themselves—their stories can also inspire us to face lesser dangers and
fears in our own lives.
— Howard
T. Prince, II, Brigadier General (ret.), US Army, recipient of a Silver
Star and two Purple Hearts; University of Texas at Austin
What
Mark Lee Greenblatt has deftly shown are genuine reflections of what
ordinary men accomplish when placed under extraordinary circumstances. Valor has established, in my mind, that these men have proven themselves as the new greatest generation.
— Jim Livingston, Major General (ret.), US Marine Corps, Medal of Honor Recipient
With
these dramatic accounts of heroism—in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq
and in a daring rescue of a civilian from a storm in the Atlantic—Mark
Greenblatt gives us a close-up view of the uncommon valor that is common
among America's military today, as it has been throughout our history.
Such heroes are often reluctant to discuss their remarkable deeds, but
Greenblatt has managed to persuade some of them to talk not only about
what they did, but about their emotions at the time, why they
volunteered for this dangerous duty, and—most awe-inspiring—what makes a
person risk his own life to save another. Valor
is an eloquent tribute from someone who grew up hearing tales of Audie
Murphy and the Second World War to the heroes of another Great
Generation.
— Ambassador Paul Wolfowitz, former deputy secretary of defense
Marketing Plan
● Seek top newspaper coverage including The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The Baltimore Sun
● Target reviews in Atlantic, Weekly Standard, and Vanity Fair
● Approach CNN, MSNBC, FOX and C-SPAN for interviews
● Author events in Maryland/D.C. areas
● Outside PR assist through Ratner Publicity
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781589799523 |
PRICE | $22.95 (USD) |