Junger spent 5 months off an on of a 15 month deployment embedded with Battle Company, 2nd Battalion of the 173rd Airborne in the Korengal Valley in the eastern province of Kunar in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, and this book is part of the result. A heartfelt and well researched book about the life of these young men fighting for our country. This is now my favorite of Jungers books (I haven't read A Death in Belmont), the story of the soldiers of Battle Company are fairly told and, being based on actual interviews with his subjects, has a personal touch that The Perfect Storm, was lacking. The impact of war on the men and the positive and negative aspects of their combat experience puts a powerful "small picture" face on the war in Afghanistan that you don't often hear about on the general coverage of the war.