The Outpost
An Untold Story of American Valor
Published on 13. November 2012
Book
Hardback
688 pages
978-0-316-18539-4 (ISBN)
Description
At 6:00 a.m. on the morning of October 3, 2009, Combat Outpost Keating was viciously attacked by Taliban insurgents. The 53 U.S. troops, having been stationed at the bottom of three steep mountains, were severely outmanned by nearly 400 Taliban fighters. Though the Americans ultimately prevailed, their casualties made it one of the war's deadliest battles for U.S. forces. And after more than three years in that dangerous and vulnerable valley a mere 14 miles from the Pakistan border, the U.S. abandoned and bombed the camp. A Pentagon investigation later concluded that there was no reason for Outpost Keating to have been there in the first place. THE OUTPOST is a tour de force of investigative journalism. Jake Tapper exposes the origins of this tragic and confounding story, exploring the history of the camp and detailing the stories of soldiers heroic and doomed, shadowed by the recklessness of their commanders in Washington, D.C., and a war built on constantly shifting sands.
Reviews / Votes
The Outpost is a mind-boggling, all-too-true story of heroism, hubris, failed strategy, and heartbreaking sacrifice. If you want to understand how the war in Afghanistan went off the rails, you need to read this book. - Jon Krakauer - author of Into Thin Air and Where Men Win GloryThere have been many books written on the subject of America's seemingly endless engagement in Afghanistan, but none better than The Outpost. - Jeffrey Goldberg, The Atlantic
Brilliant, dedicated reporting by a journalist who goes to ground to get the truth. A sad, real tale about this war, America and the brave warriors who live-and die-at the point of the spear. - Bob Woodward - author of PLAN OF ATTACK, THE COMMANDERS and OBAMA'S WARS
Analyzing the consequences of decisions, large and small, is what makes Tapper's book so important...for those wishing to understand the middle years of the war, they could do no better than to read THE OUTPOST. - Nate Rawlings - Time
Jake Tapper has written perhaps the best book set in Afghanistan to date...He provides a window into the false hopes and visions that enabled this failed experiment, an attempt to create government in spaces that had actively avoided such. - Douglas Ollivant, Foreign Policy
[Jake Tapper] has woven an intricate
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
integrated: 16 pages of photos & maps
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 53 mm
Weight
956 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-316-18539-4 (9780316185394)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions
Book
10/2013
Back Bay Books
€24.00
Article is exhausted; no reprint
Additional editions
E-Book
11/2012
Little, Brown and Company
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Jake Tapper is the senior White House correspondent for ABC News. He is the host "Political Punch with Jake Tapper," a web show the gives an inside look at the White House, and appears regularly on "Good Morning America," "Nightline," and "World News with Diane Sawyer." Prior to joining ABC News, he was the national correspondent for Salon.com and was a columnist for TALK Magazine. He has written for The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and The Weekly Standard, among many other publications. He is author of Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. He lives in Washington, D.C.