About the book
Nathaniel Fick, who served as a captain in the Marines' First Recon Battalion, recounts how the Corps made him an officer and what he saw in combat. His training starts at Quantico in the summer after his junior year at Dartmouth. Soon after 9/11 he commands a platoon in Afghanistan, then reaches Recon, a unit for which just one Marine in a hundred qualifies, as war with Iraq approaches. He learns to hit a target a mile off, goes seventy-two hours without sleep, and swims with Navy SEALs. Fick also weighs the gap between the ideals he was taught and how the military works in practice. For nonfiction, it took Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers Award.
Peter Attia counts it among the books he has read most, and James Mattis included it on the favorite books list printed in Call Sign Chaos. Ramit Sethi called Fick's story of leading a platoon in Afghanistan after 9/11 harrowing and full of lessons for any leader.
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This book has 3 recommendations
Peter Attia (Founder/Attia Medical)
[One of] the books I’ve read the most.
On James Mattis’s Call Sign Chaos (Jim Mattis and Bing West), Appendix B: Mattis email and list of favorite books
Ramit Sethi (Founder/GrowthLab)
If it wasn’t obvious already, I love stories of awe-inspiring military leadership, and One Bullet Away is no exception. Fick’s account of leading his platoon in Afghanistan immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks is harrowing and gives any leader lessons to learn from.
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Often recommended alongside
- Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson (2 shared recommenders)