The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm

The Only Thing Worth Dying For (First Edition Hardcover in Dust Jacket)

The Inside Story of the Green Beret Team That Helped Bring Hamid Karzai to Power in Afghanistan

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: The Only Thing Worth Dying For: How Eleven Green Berets Forged a New Afghanistan
• Author: Eric Blehm
• Publisher: Harper (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), New York
• Publication Date: 2010
• ISBN-13: 9780061661228
• Edition Details: First Edition, Harper hardcover issue, 2010.
• Binding: Publisher's hardcover with printed dust jacket, protected in a clear film cover.
• Physical Format: Large hardcover, approximately 235 x 155 mm.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Boards: The boards beneath the jacket are not described. The spine lettering of the jacket is slightly worn with scuffing, and the jacket edges show some creasing. Corners and edges are only partly visible.
• Interior: The text block appears sound and clean, with pages lightly toned to cream. No foxing, writing or markings. The book opens flat enough, and a photograph appears on the title page.
• The Dust Jacket: Present. The jacket is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover. It shows a lighter band of discolouration across the top title area on the front and a yellowed strip along the spine edge. The spine lettering is slightly worn with scuffing. The back panel carries a patch of residue or a torn sticker near the barcode, and a strip of tape-like film runs along the lower edge. There is some creasing at the jacket edges.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published by Harper in 2010, The Only Thing Worth Dying For tells the story of ODA 574, a team of US Army Special Forces soldiers who slipped into the mountains of southern Afghanistan in 2001 on a mission that seemed close to impossible: to foment a tribal revolt and force the Taliban to surrender.

Led by Captain Jason Amerine, the team worked alongside Afghan allies and helped bring Hamid Karzai to power. Eric Blehm draws on interviews and research to follow the soldiers through the earliest days of the war after 9/11, with an emphasis on the risks and sacrifices involved.

The book is an early chronicle of the Global War on Terror, and a close look at unconventional warfare and nation-building in Afghanistan. It will appeal to readers of modern military history and Special Forces literature.

Author Profile: Eric Blehm

Eric Blehm, born in San Gabriel, California, in 1968, is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in GQ, Outside, Men's Journal, Backpacker and the Los Angeles Times. His debut, The Last Season, won the National Outdoor Book Award and was named by Outside magazine among the ten greatest adventure biographies ever written.

His other books include Fearless, about Navy SEAL Adam Brown, Legend, and The Darkest White, about snowboarder Craig Kelly. He teaches writing and research at his alma mater, San Diego State University.

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