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    The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education
    The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education
    The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education
    Audiobook13 hours

    The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education

    Written by Craig M. Mullaney

    Narrated by Todd McLaren

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Craig M. Mullaney's education had been relentlessly preparing him for this moment. 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. Years later, after that unforgettable 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, and he had put his education to the test. How would he use his own life-changing experience to prepare them?

    The Unforgiving Minute is the extraordinary story of one soldier's singular education. From a hilarious plebe's-eye view of the author's West Point experience to the demanding leadership crucible of Ranger School's swamps and mountains, to a two-year whirlwind of scintillating debate, pub crawls, and romance at Oxford, Mullaney's winding path to the battlegrounds of Afghanistan was unique and remarkable. 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? A fascinating account of an Army captain's unusual path through some of the most legendary seats of learning straight into a brutal fight with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, The Unforgiving Minute is, above all, an unforgettable portrait of a young soldier grappling with the weight of his hard-earned knowledge while coming to grips with becoming a man.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 20, 2009
    ISBN9781400181568
    The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education

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    Reviews for The Unforgiving Minute

    4.5/5

    8 ratings7 reviews

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    • 4/5
      A bit long winded at times on what I consider insignificant details, but very entertaining overall.
    • 5/5
      A really personal and in-depth biography of a true warrior and scholar I could not stop listening to it. On a personal note no the chapters overlap each other and kind of kills the dramatic pause for effect
    • 3/5
      An interesting memoir - but less about the 'Unforgiving Minute' than about his 'Soldier's Education'. Great detail about his West Point and Oxford days, his training at Ranger school, and his budding relationship with his future wife - followed by a cursory overview of his tour in Afghanistan, and rather obscure lessons learned. Mullaney shares his difficulty with losing two soldiers, but reveals little of the details of the engagements where they died, what went wrong, how he could have done anything differently, or why he tortures himself. Perhaps the details are still too personal, or maybe he wants us to experience the same fog of war that he did - but the hub of his life is the Unforgiving Minute, and in the book it passes meekly.Ultimately he realizes the reality of the paucity of control any individual can impose on the chaos of combat and moves beyond his guilt, and we are glad to see him at peace. Thanks for a good read Captain, hope to hear more from you in the future.
    • 5/5
      5530. The Unforgiving Minute A Soldier's Education. by Craig M. Mullaney (read 6 Feb 2019) This is the story of the author's life at West Point (class of 2000), in Ranger training,.,at Oxford, and in Afghanistan. It is exceptionally well-told and the account of his time in Afghanistan is at times vivid and exciting. The author is very gungho and his account is often poignant and evokes one's whole-hearted admiration. I have not read a memoir of the Afghanistan war which tells as well what the war there is like--often dull but at any time likely to to be deadly. The account also tells of his personal life as he went through his military time--including teaching at the Naval Academy.
    • 4/5
      Craig Mullaney's memoir reveals such a personable and erudite young man. His experiences are told with humour and great humility, despite his rather extraordinary achievements. There is also a lot of pain in this book, from the loss of his men in battle to the loss of his father through estrangement; only one of these feels fairly resolved by the end, and understandably so. Also of interest is the way in which Mullaney immerses himself in Hindu culture out of both intellectual interest and love for his wife, and seems to mesh this well with his unshaken Catholic faith.As when reading the work of his contemporary Nathaniel Fick, I could not help but think that if not the world but at least most of the military in the world were staffed by fellows like them, I would feel a lot better.
    • 5/5
      i really loved this book. a memoir about a man's time at west point, oxford, and in the army. beautifully written. a lovely coming of age story. highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      The Price of a SaluteIn this incredibly candid and open memoir, Craig M. Mullaney delivers an astonishingly honest account of a life in the military, in academia, and leading soldiers into the field of battle. What struck me the most about the book was Mullaney's openness about his emotions and his insecurities about his own limitations. Too often war memoirs read more like a military recruitment guide, instead, Mullaney gives us a glimpse of the moral dilemmas he faced and the psychological implications of being at war. Far from some simplistic "men follow orders or they die" bravado -- the Colonel Jessups stereotypes we often place on the people of the military -- soldiers are real people with feelings and anxieties who are afraid of the same things we all are. These are the people who are out there, vulnerable and human. We as a society often take for granted what we ask them to do, the price of a salute. While most reviews I've read have been positive, there are some criticisms of the book which I won't deny. While reading the book, there are many things I probably would have done different myself, but the point is, that this is Mullaney's memoir. He did things the way he thought best. Instead of second-guessing his actions and judging him for his perceived failings, we should praise him for his honesty and his service. The book is free of the political ramifications of war, and rather focuses on the philosophical aspects of just war theory and the fog of war.Overall, I highly recommend "The Unforgiving Minute" mostly because of Mullaney's openness. Rarely does a war memoir contain so much reflection into the actions on and off the battlefield. All the relationships contained also add a touch of humanity which serve to enrich the narrative.