{"product_id":"12-strong-the-declassified-true-story-of-the-horse-soldiers-9781501178511","title":"12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers","description":"\u003cb\u003eNow a major motion picture from Jerry Bruckheimer starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon!\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A thrilling action ride of a book\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e)--the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling, true-life account of a US Special Forces team deployed to dangerous, war-ridden Afghanistan in the weeks following 9\/11. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePreviously published as \u003ci\u003eHorse Soldiers\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e12 Strong\u003c\/i\u003e is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9\/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators as they rode into the city. Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed by the would-be POWs. Dangerously overpowered, they fought for their lives in the city's immense fortress, Qala-i-Janghi, or the House of War. At risk were the military gains of the entire campaign: if the soldiers perished or were captured, the entire effort to outmaneuver the Taliban was likely doomed. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"A riveting story of the brave and resourceful American warriors who rode into Afghanistan after 9\/11 and waged war against Al Qaeda\" (Tom Brokaw), Doug Stanton's account touches the mythic. The soldiers on horses combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first-century aerial bombardment technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Moreover, their careful effort to win the hearts of local townspeople proved a valuable lesson for America's ongoing efforts in Afghanistan. With \"spellbinding...action packed prose...The book reads more like a novel than a military history...the Horse Soldier's secret mission remains the US military's finest moment in what has since arguably been a muddled war\" (\u003ci\u003eUSA TODAY\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eStanton, Doug:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Doug Stanton is the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestsellers \u003ci\u003eIn Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eIndianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eHorse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan\u003c\/i\u003e, which is the basis for a Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie by the same name, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon, to be released by Warner Bros. in 2018. He attended Hampshire College and the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop. His writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMen's Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Daily Beast\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eNewsweek, Esquire\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eOutside\u003c\/i\u003e, where he has been a contributing editor. Stanton is a founder of the National Writers Series, a year-round book festival, and lives in his hometown of Traverse City, Michigan, with his wife, Anne Stanton, and their three children, John, Katherine, and Will.","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50622090182930,"sku":"9781501178511","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1ec72c51-d9d2-4309-af0f-28a1df8e7f94.jpg?v=1732586384","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/12-strong-the-declassified-true-story-of-the-horse-soldiers-9781501178511","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}