Roberts Ridge

Author Malcolm MacPherson tells the true story of a top-secret Navy SEAL mission in Afghanistan. The effort ended in a brutal attack by Al Qaeda militants hiding along the mountain of Takur Ghar, which forced Petty Officer First Class Neil Roberts from his helicopter into the arms of the enemy. Based on true stories and eyewitness accounts, the following 17 hours relate in full detail the SEALs' fight to rescue one of their own before it's too late. The reliable Joe Barrett delivers a powerful yet understated narration, which allows the captivating story to almost tell itself. Barrett's respectful approach makes the SEALs and their deathly mission the true stars of the story. L.B. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

June 27, 2005
On March 2, 2002, U.S. intelligence launched Operation Anaconda; having noted a concentration of al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shah-i-Kot Valley, they dispatched MAKO-30, a seven-man navy SEAL reconnaissance team, attempted a helicopter landing on Takur Ghar, the highest overlooking peak. Tasked with calling in air strikes, MAKO-30 found its landing zone to be a well-concealed al-Qaeda camp; the team's Chinook helicopter was driven off by withering ground fire. When SEAL Neil Roberts fell out of the chopper, the others insisted on going back for him. With the team pinned down by enemy fire and facing annihilation, commanders dispatched a quick reaction force of army Rangers to rescue them. Thus began a harrowing 17-hour drama every bit as perilous and courageous as the Rangers' ill-fated Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia; novelist (Deadlock
) and journalist (The Black Box
) MacPherson eloquently captures this gripping tale, based on interviews with many of the survivors and access to the army's after-action report. And while the battle "played no part in the success of Anaconda," and was in fact a distraction for decision makers, the army after-action report cites the troops' "conspicuous bravery" and "countless acts of heroism"—all of which MacPherson captures with aplomb.