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The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education - War in Iraq
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List Price: $28.95
Our Price: $11.58
Your Save: $ 17.37 ( 60% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.0092
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Penguin Press HC, The
Manufacturer: Penguin Press HC, The
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2009-02-19
Publisher: Penguin Press HC, The
Studio: Penguin Press HC, The
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Editorial Reviews:
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A West Point grad, Rhodes Scholar, and Army Ranger recounts his unique education and struggles with the hard lessons that only war can teach.
One haunting afternoon on Losano Ridge in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Captain Craig Mullaney and his infantry platoon were caught in a deadly firefight with Al Qaeda fighters, when a message came over the radio: one of his soldiers had been killed by the enemy.
Mullaney’s education,the four years he spent at West Point, and the harrowing test of Ranger School, readied him for a career in the Army. His subsequent experience as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford couldn’t have been further from the Army and his working-class roots, and yet the unorthodox education he received there would be surprisingly relevant as a combat leader.
But despite all his preparation, the hardest questions remained. When the call came to lead his platoon into battle and earn his soldiers’ salutes, would he be ready? Was his education sufficient for the unforgiving minutes he’d face?
Years later, after that excruciating experience in Afghanistan, he would return to the United States to teach history to future Navy and Marine Corps officers at the Naval Academy. He had been in their position once, not long ago. How would he use his own life-changing experience to prepare them?
Written with unflinching honesty,The Unforgiving Minute is an unforgettable portrait of a young soldier grappling with the weight of his hard-earned knowledge, while at last coming to terms with what it really means to be a man.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Unforgiving
Comment: I enjoyed Mullaney's "The Unforgiving Minute". He is an exceptional writer and brought the scenes in his autobiography alive. I thought the synopsis provided on the back cover of the book was misleading as it talks almost exclusively of Mullaney's combat experience in Afghanistan. That was NOT the focus of this book - an integral part, yes. But this book really journalizes Mullaney's experiences of coming from a blue-collar background and graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, completing Army Ranger school, attending Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, meeting his future wife at Oxford and some of the difficulties faced in a Catholic/Hindu courtship and finally marriage, his combat experiences in Afghanistan, his assignment to the "Old Guard"(3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, Washington, DC) and finally teaching history at the Naval Academy.
I enjoyed the detail provided in the book on the author's time spent at Oxford (very interesting), his travels around the world while at Oxford, his endeavors to be a scholar-soldier. The pages on Afghanistan were engrossing especially since my son is also an Army officer.
I really felt in many ways that this book was a way for Mullaney to write down his adventures - more of an expanded version of the daily journal he keeps - both so the memories wouldn't be lost but also so that by setting them to paper maybe he could get some insight into some very hurtful time periods in his life and either come to understand them better, lessen their negative impact on his life, or exorcise old demons. I didn't agree with the way he handled some of his personal issues but I am quite sure he would feel the same way if he was able to dissect my life, and I think he is brave to put his life out there for all of us to see. How many of us would be as candid?
He idolized his father and his father hurt him terribly by leaving the family. At least at the time this book was written, he had still not forgiven his father. Hand in hand, he had not forgiven himself (even though it was not his fault) for the loss of a soldier during battle in Afghanistan. He was not able to correspond with the fallen soldier's father, even though the father contacted him. In some ways this young man was very mature, also bright and engaging. But it comes across strongly in the book how rigid in some of his thinking he is, how he expects himself to be perfect and by the same token, others around him. Hopefully he is learning that no one is perfect. We all have our imperfections-it is part of being human.
I would like to read another later autobiography by this young man and see what life lessons he has learned, read more about his marriage and his doctor wife's career, about why he left the service (or why he thinks he did), about his family including more on his brother's Army adventures, about his time working with Obama, etc. As I wrote earlier, he is a very talented writer.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved This Book
Comment: I loved this book so much that after I returned it to the person who had lent it to me, I bought one for myself, from Amazon of course, for my husband to read.
Our sons had attended the Naval Academy so it was interesting to be able to make the comparison of Craig Mullaney's passage through Westpoint.
I thought that the book was well written and it held my interest throughout. At the end I wanted more information about his marriage but it wasn't there. I just loved his descriptions of Oxford and the English people. I was in awe, and am in awe, of anyone who survives Ranger training. It compares with the rigors of SEAL training.
I am so proud of our nation's military men and women. The sacrafice they and their families are not sufficiently appreciated. Read this book and you'll know what I mean. I highly recommend it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Preparation, Commitment and Respect
Comment: Mullaney's moving story offers some insight to the kinds of preparation that is needed to face ambiguity - or even more stressful environments, like war. The keys are preparation, commitment, and respect. Even so, things simply won't go as planned, and when that happens, these three keys provide another skill - the ability to adapt.
As I concluded reading this book, I was taken back to a spring day in 2003, when the story of our wars had moved off of the front page and were buried back on page 23 of the Washington Post - as they were in all newspapers at the time. My walk that day, where I enjoyed the budding spring flowers and trees, may have happended the very day of Mullaney's unforgiving moment - and that our soldiers were in harm's way was the thought in my head at the time.
It's well worth the read - both for a glimpse of what they went through, and for the lessons about strength of character to a captured here.
Customer Rating:
Summary: What I found of great interest was ...
Comment: For my tastes "The Unforgiving Minute" could have, and should have been edited more as I do not care what Craig Mullaney, the author, chose to prepare for dinner while courting his future wife, nor do I care who helped him select the suit he wore for his interview for admission to Oxford University.
What I found of great interest was the physical and mental training he received at both West Point and the U.S. Army Ranger School along with the authors capture and expression of his emotions while leading a platoon in battle in Afghanistan. His experiences unfortunately included personal and lasting guilt when, in battle, the enemy killed one of his men despite the fact that Mullaney was both properly trained and followed this training while under enemy attack and fire.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Miss Labeled and disappointing
Comment: The book is less about combat than an autobiogarphy of a talented young man with great discipline and opportunities. He discloses more of his lack of maturity by turning his back on his father after almost 3 decades of devotion. The book is really the first chapter of the author's life and has nothing to do with the unforgiving minute.
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