I loved this book, I could not put this book down. This was incredible, I don't mean to gush but when I finished this book I had this feeling of disappointment because it was done. Buy it, you will love it. I also read Generation Kill which was also good but this was much better.

This book should be required reading in secondary schools. It provides a look at the brave endeavors of our nation's
military leaders and how they had the 'right stuff' to get themselves there and through their tough deployments in
Iraq and Afganistan.

One Bullet Away is perhaps the most detailed and complete record of a combat tour in Iraq that I have yet read. Fick must have kept daily notes or a diary. In fact the accumulation of day to day details becomes a bit repetitious and almost tedious at times. Lt Fick's dedication to his trade and affection and concern for his men become obvious in the course of his narrative, and you cannot help but admire him for any number of reasons. He is articulate and thoughtful throughout the book, a reflection of his education at Dartmouth, where he studied the Greeks and Romans. The one thing that bothered me here was the fact that, although I understand Fick was raised Catholic and was, like me, an altar boy, there is almost no mention of God or of praying during these extremely stressful and often frightening days. There is one mention of attending Mass, but otherwise nada. They say there are no atheists in foxholes, but I wonder. Was Fick the exception. It would be interesting to talk with him about this. But maybe that's just me. This is a darn good book. I'm glad the author survived and made it back home to tell the tale. I will recommend his memoir highly. - Tim Bazzett, author of SOLDIER BOY: AT PLAY IN THE ASA

I apparently disagree with most other reviewers of this book. I am currently listening to One Bullet Away. I am 1/2 way through disc 8 of 8 discs. While I applaud the author for his service to our country, essentially nothing has happened so far. I've been waiting in disbelief for seven discs, as I've heard all about his path to the Marines, lots of detail about his training, a brief stop in Afghanistan where nothing happened, and then a lot of waiting around in Iraq. I presume there will be some finishing flourish, but the whole thing could have been wrapped up in an 8 page magazine article. I've read or listened to many war narratives, and usually find them interesting. This, on the other hand, has not added anything useful or novel to military history.

I found the book authentic in the details, accurate in its descriptions of marine semper fi, and very well written. One will understand Iraq and Afghanistan far better after reading this book.

I recently spent a year studying in Tokyo, Japan. Amidst all the hustle and bustle I took off for a stay at a Buddhist temple out further West. While there I ran into a Navy Corpsman who had served alongside Marines in Fallujah and we quickly became good friends. As we talked, serving became more and more something I wanted to do. Being away from your home country must have a way of doing that...

On my train ride home, I began to consider the Marines above all else. Then I decided that since I was already going to graduate from college in a year, I might as well make use of my degree and apply for Officer Candidate School. It was decided. I got home, checked my email and had a recommendation for this book. Imagine the CHANCES! [not really, in hindsight, since Id recently bought the book Generation Kill off amazon as well, but hey...]

This book is truly an introspective look at what it takes, what you have to give, and everything else in between about being a Marine. Nathanial Fick has an amazing ability to tell such personal stories. I often found myself stopping at a chapters end and saying "Wow..." His writing style is nothing less than superb. From knowing when to give great detailed accounts, to also knowing when a simple 5 word sentence will do, the book is crafted in such a logical and meaningful way that I have to recommend this book to anyone considering serving, have served, or just want an amazing read. Full of emotional accounts of issues with higher ups, camaraderie with fellow Marines, engagements with the enemy, and plenty of late night personal thoughts, there's no reason not to read this book as it surely has something for everybody.

For me, it was the right book at the right time.

This is my first book review, so I hope I gave some decent insight instead of rambling on and on...

This is a well written account of one man's journey from student to warrior and, in less detail, to civilian. He does a great job of conveying what he was thinking and why during his years as a JO in the Marine Corps. It's a thoughtful and insightful piece.

If you want to know what it takes to become a Marine Officer, read this book. If you want to know what it means to be a Marine and go to war, read this book. If you want to know what it is like for a Marine veteran to come home, read this book. Wonderfully written and a compelling account of the Afghan and Iraq invasion from a Marine officer who was in the middle of it. A Must read.

The Margin

This book was hard for me to review. Not because of the war and hardships the war brought but because of the memories it provoked. This review isn't about me, although I was a recon Marine in 1963, it is about another war in another place with the same calibre of men. Fick discribes his experiences very well. His education and life experiences prior to the Marine Corp helped him articulate something almost unexplainable, the Marines, reconnaisance and war. ONE BULLET AWAY is more than a story about the making of a Marine Officer, it is a perspective on part of our history not very many have the privilege of understanding.

Marvin Wiebener, author of The Margin and the soon to be released THE MORIAH RUSE.
[...]

This book won the highest accolades from Amazon reviewers that are Marines or former Marines because of its veracity and fidelity. But One Bullet Away will engross you far beyond anything you may have experienced in a long time, particularly if you are not a Marine (like me).

I both read and listened to this work of art and preferred the audio version on CD. Andy Paris was superb as narrator, capturing the voices and personalities of the real Marines. My favorite character mastered by Paris was a particular drill instructor.

Here you can find the perfect escape literature whether for a late summer vacation or more likely lack of one. The fact that Nathaniel Fick's story is true will in no way inhibit you from experiencing respite, escape and renewal that we all need from time to time.

What Nathanial Fick, a warrior philosopher, has achieved is to make the reader/listener "feel like a Marine," and my goodness this is a powerful and exhilarating way to feel when you're daily life is far from that of a Marine. Instead of the market forces that guide so much of your daily life, you get the social forces of Marine culture.

Fick's story begins with his decision to go into the Marines and become an officer after college graduation. Unlike his peers, he eschewed plans to establish a money-making career in order to do something difficult, sort of a personal journey to fulfill ideals of the sort associated more with the ancient Greeks than anything familiar today. This was during a time when the housing boom was heating up and college graduates generally had high expectations of achieving immediate wealth.

Initial entry training into the Marine Corp is where you, the reader/listener, begin to feel transported to this other world where the rules and the values are different. You get indoctrinated into a new system while experiencing extreme deprivations and hardships. You're completely unmoored from your old life system, and now you're hooked and can't put the book or CD player out of sight.

At this point you know you're early in the book and that Fick is going to become a Marine, but you don't know if you're going to make it, and so you hang on. And Fick just doesn't stop. He decides to go further and become an elite Recon Marine and training just gets more and more difficult.

Along the way, we keep finding out what we're becoming as we find out more about the Marines. Unlike elite military personnel from the other branches, Recon Marines do not dress differently or get treated differently than other Marines, because the Marines do not want to establish status differentials among themselves. Fick's got us in another world here. The mores of Marine culture are starkly different from what we've experienced, challenging our patterns for decision-making.

This culture has an esprit de corps more powerful than what we've experienced until now. Fick shows how this is supported by elite training, loyalty to one's unit and the quality of leadership. Once in Iraq, with all the dangers, we begin to experience camaraderie and a profound sense of belonging. So in the midst of extreme danger and a seemingly never-ending series of violent encounters, Fick has us feeling self-confident because we are Marines (that's the escapism part since few of us are Marines in the real world).

But Fick then takes us down a lonely path. His unit is so far out in front that he starts receiving flawed orders from the chain of command. There is just no answer for these situations. Fick has to balance the heavy weight of responsibility for the welfare of his men against the discipline of the leadership structure. We are made to feel how command in a real war in profoundly lonely. Nothing until now has prepared us for this experience.

At the end of the story, we re-enter the society with which we are familiar, and Fick still has us hanging on every word. Integration back to our world is difficult in some ways, but One Bullet Away has surreptitiously been leading to a strong and sweeping conclusion.

One Bullet Away ends up critiquing our society, which debased its values while Marines were fighting and dying for their non-market values in a hostile place far away. At that time, the war had disappeared from news headlines, replaced by the then dominant theme of euphoria from wealth-building via the housing boom. Americans turned further toward consumption, dramatically increasing the trade deficit as the good times appeared endless.

Paul (Jerry) Bremer had been sent to Iraq as the top American authority in May 2003. Bremer's decisions in this capacity are widely believed to have been motivated to ensure that the war would continue through the 2004 election, thereby assisting Bush II's reelection.

Recall, Bush I lost his 1992 reelection campaign despite having been wildly popular after the First Gulf War. The Bush family took it hard. In some ways this is reminiscent of Winston Churchill losing his reelection campaign after WWII ended. Political leaders are famous for being devastated when they lose an election after having won a war.

The Bush II team was not going be subjected to the same possibility - losing an election after winning a war. Ironically, the early success of the Marines contributed to their fear that the war would end too early. That is why they "Did a Bremer" on the military.

"Doing a Bremer": Bremer unilaterally, without consulting any military leaders in Iraq, made a series of decisions to rejigger the war. The effect was to make the war last at least through the 2004 election. Simultaneously on the home front, mortgage liquidity was pushed out hard using every method available. This liquidity was needed to keep the public enamored with newfound wealth as homes shot up in value.

The 2004 election results came in as planned but not without an enduring cost to the nation, particularly the families of those that serve in the military. The author, Nathaniel Fick, naturally felt that he had to do something in the interests of his men concerning this massive betrayal. This culminated in Fick's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 28, 2008.

This book won the highest accolades from Amazon reviewers that are Marines or former Marines because of its veracity and fidelity. But One Bullet Away will engross you far beyond anything you may have experienced in a long time, particularly if you are not a Marine (like me).

I both read and listened to this work of art and preferred the audio version on CD. Andy Paris was superb as narrator, capturing the voices and personalities of the real Marines. My favorite character mastered by Paris was a particular drill instructor.

Here you can find the perfect escape literature whether for a late summer vacation or more likely lack of one. The fact that Nathaniel Fick's story is true will in no way inhibit you from experiencing respite, escape and renewal that we all need from time to time.

What Nathanial Fick, a warrior philosopher, has achieved is to make the reader/listener "feel like a Marine," and my goodness this is a powerful and exhilarating way to feel when you're daily life is far from that of a Marine. Instead of the market forces that guide so much of your daily life, you get the social forces of Marine culture.

Fick's story begins with his decision to go into the Marines and become an officer after college graduation. Unlike his peers, he eschewed plans to establish a money-making career in order to do something difficult, sort of a personal journey to fulfill ideals of the sort associated more with the ancient Greeks than anything familiar today. This was during a time when the housing boom was heating up and college graduates generally had high expectations of achieving great wealth.

Initial entry training into the Marine Corp is where you, the reader/listener, begin to feel transported to this other world where the rules and the values are different. You get indoctrinated into a new system while experiencing extreme deprivations and hardships. You're completely unmoored from your old life system, and now you're hooked and can't put the book or CD player out of sight.

At this point you know you're early in the book and that Fick is going to become a Marine, but you don't know if you're going to make it, and so you hang on. And Fick just doesn't stop. He decides to go further and become an elite Recon Marine and training just gets more and more difficult.

Along the way, we keep finding out what we're becoming as we find out more about the Marines. Unlike elite military personnel from the other branches, Recon Marines do not dress differently or get treated differently than other Marines, because the Marines do not want to establish status differentials among themselves. Fick's got us in another world here. The mores of Marine culture are starkly different from what we've experienced, challenging our patterns for decision-making.

This culture has an esprit de corps more powerful than what we've experienced until now. Fick shows how this is supported by elite training, loyalty to one's unit and the quality of leadership. Once in Iraq, with all the dangers, we begin to experience camaraderie and a profound sense of belonging. So in the midst of extreme danger and a seemingly never-ending series of violent encounters, Fick has us feeling self-confident because we are Marines (that's the escapism part since few of us are Marines in the real world).

But Fick then takes us down a lonely path. His unit is so far out in front that he starts receiving flawed orders from the chain of command. There is just no answer for these situations. Fick has to balance the heavy weight of responsibility for the welfare of his men against the discipline of the leadership structure. We are made to feel how command in a real war in profoundly lonely. Nothing until now has prepared us for this experience.

At the end of the story, we re-enter the society with which we are familiar, and Fick still has us hanging on every word. Integration back to our world is difficult in some ways, but One Bullet Away has surreptitiously been leading to a strong and sweeping conclusion.

One Bullet Away ends up critiquing our society, which debased its values while Marines were fighting and dying for their non-market values in a hostile place far away. At that time, the war had disappeared from news headlines, replaced by the then dominant theme of euphoria from wealth-building via the housing boom. Americans turned further toward consumption, dramatically increasing the trade deficit as the good times appeared endless.

Paul (Jerry) Bremer had been sent to Iraq as the top American authority in May 2003. Bremer's decisions in this capacity are widely believed to have been motivated to ensure that the war would continue through the 2004 election, thereby assisting Bush II's reelection. Some blamed Bush I's loss of his 1992 reelection campaign on the fact that the first war in Iraq had ended prior to that election. Ironically, the early success of the Marines contributed to the fear that the war would end too early.

USAF Capt chiming in here.

I'm making my way through a bunch of books on the current conflicts and waited a while to read this one. Actually, I waited one book too long to read this as I read Evan Wrights "Generation Kill" first, which was a big mistake. Fick's story is well written, up until he gets to Iraq. All of the chapters on OCS and Recon training were entertaining and kept me turning pages, as did the final chapter. The problem with the section on Iraq (which is about 50% of the book) is that GK describes all of the same events but in a much more engaging fashion. If I had read OBA first I wouldn't have noticed, and then I would have enjoyed reading GK's account of these events later but having already read GK Fick's bland descriptions of those events seemed to drag on and on without adding anything to what I already knew.

He was rarely specific and many of the issues with the command staff that were described in GK weren't even mentioned in here. I was particularly interested in reading his perspective on his relationship with his CO's Gunny, who he seemed to have major issues with in the GK book and series but he never even mentions that there was an issue here which was disappointing.

Bottom line is that this is a good book, but you will spoil it if you read Generation Kill first as it just doesn't hold a candle to that story.

I want to become a Marine Officer later in life and I learned a lot from this book.It first starts off about officer training at OCS and TBS and goes into his account of pre war, during war and aftermath. Nathaniel Fick is a very admirable man and it was sad to see him leave the Marine Corps.

I can't stand guys like Fick. I've spent my entire professional career as a writer and this guy does it better w/out hardly any training. His book is a gripping narrative account of what war is really like. Fick is multi-talented.

I am enjoying reading this book. It is very informative as to the making of a Marine officer.

OMG.... Where was this book before? Why did I not notice this? I had no clue about this book until I came across it accidentally in my neighborhood's bookstore a few days ago and started reading. Once I started, I couldn't stop. My respect for the US Marines is now doubled. No tripled. no no, it is beyond words and numbers. The book is the story of a college graduate who knows in his heart he wants to be somebody, a warrior, a character larger than life. So he joins the Marines. And what a fine choice. The book is written so eloquently and intelligently that it is hard not to read it. It's a fine fine book. I am hopeful that Mr. Fick writes more books and I will be his reader. I liked this book and the style of it. If you want an exciting book about the US Military and the US Marines in particular, get this one. Do not miss it. You may not agree with Mr. Fick's politics or beliefs but this is a story that should be told/read. Loved it and highly recommend it. 5/5

There's little more I can add to what other reviewers have already said of Nate Fick's One Bullet Away. All I can say is that, of the scores of military novels, memoirs, and histories that I've read over the years, One Bullet Away is one of the best, if not the best. Fick combines obviously well-read literacy, a sharp mind, and the thrills and action of the best fictional novels into a compelling meditation on leadership in the modern military. I came away from this book not only more informed about the boots-on-the-ground experience of the Iraq War, but wanting to be a better person and a stronger leader.

Highly recommended.

Fick describes his training and experiences in combat with One Bullet Away. He, as the reluctant warrior, provides insight into his transformation from college student to Marine Officer. This book is a great read for anyone interested in military history and modern leadership.

I'm thankful that this was an assigned book for a college class. Very enjoyable, even for the causal reader! Met Nathaniel Fick, great guy, powerful speaker, extremely knowledgeable in the content of foreign affair matters.

If you like Generation Kill, then this is a must read. It shows another perspective of the entire war, plus how Lt. Fick came to be. Expertly written, and easy to follow (even for us Former Marines). A definate must read.

Received some time ago, it isn't in the same great condition anymore. No problem with shipping, and it was in excellent condition.

Most of us believe that we make reason-based decisions, and, most of us do much of the time. "One Bullet Away" is a masterful book, not only because it explores, as it does, Nate Fick's decision to go from a classics-major Dartmouth graduate into the most rigorous unit of the Marine Corps, but also because Fick explores decision-making under great stress when those decisions can be the proverbial difference between life and death. All-too-often, though, the decisions Fick and his colleagues in the field of fire are cabined by career-focused strategies of those higher in the chain of command.

"One Bullet Away" is a must-read, not only for those in our civilian society curious about the men and women who help preserve our freedoms, but also for our policy makers, both civilian and military. Sadly, many of our civilian leaders forget or ignore the precious lives they destroy in carrying out policies that are the fruit of flawed decision-making or just plain callous disregard. And this is true despite all the sanctimonious genuflections to "service and sacrifice" for the children and siblings of others (why is it that the children of President George W. Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld, and the like, cannot also serve at States-side veterans hospitals, helping to repair the wounded whom their fathers put into harm's way?).

In a very real sense, Fick's book is but a replication on a smaller scale of H.L. McMaster's superb "Dereliction of Duty," the story of how, with the complicity of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara lied to the American people and to the Congress about our entry into and senseless escalation of the Vietnamese war. Fick's tale is more personal and thus more powerful; it is a story he tells with great sensitivity and insight.

Although starting out as a true believer in the impressed "wisdom" of the chain-of-command, Fick's faith gradually dissipates. He writes half-way through the book how seeing the misuse of the selfless devotion of the incredibly courageous Marines under his immediate command planted "the kernel of a growing unwillingness to watch those Marines mistreated or wrongly employed by those with more power than experience" or ability. It is why, in the end, by-then Captain Fick eschewed further climbs up the military hierarchy.

"One Bullet Away" is a gripping revelation of faith accepted and lost. Those in government who send him and those like him into the jaws and fire of death should read the book well, and again. Perhaps then they will at least think before they sacrifice the lives of others on ill-thought-out missions expended for dubious policies.

Mr Fick has the Character, Courage, and Integrity this country needs now, to shape the future for the next generation.

"A terminal LtCol in the US Marine Corps"

'One Bullet Away' by Nathaniel Fick

Nathaniel Fick's literary debut does not disappoint. The author's engaging narrative recounts his decision to join the US Marine Corps in 1998, through Officer Candidate School, Recon Training and eventually tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively.

'One Bullet Away' is a solid boots on the ground portrait which reveals the good, the bad and insane of war: from incompetent commanders to maddening postwar planning tactics to unparalleled bravery displayed daily by the grunts to the soul wrenching effects of battle. Fick's idealism is challenged by the realities of battle, however, his solid decision making and focus on keeping his Marines alive and safe while still accomplishing his missions makes for an interesting study.

Anyone looking for an excellent war memoir from someone who was in the "bang bang" or wants to get a better feel for what makes a US Marine should definitely pick up this book. Moreover, this book clearly illustrates the importance of smart decision making and being disciplined enough to always consider the consequences of ones actions. It's a smart and informative read that is as captivating as it is poignant. Mr. Fick, along with many other brave military men and women, has a fairly amazing story to tell and told it well.

In a time when many people already consider the war in Iraq pure hubris and stretching of muscles by a superpower gone mad, it is refreshing indeed to read true, honest stories from the men who fought the war.

The good intentions, the fears, the disappointments and triumphs all paint a picture that is very different from the cynical jeering presented to us from almost all media outlets.

While Nate Fick's "One Bullet Away" dedicates a lot of its 369 pages to events that occurred before the war and made Captain Fick the man he is today, the book really earns its keep during the section dedicated to Fick's combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The action is frenetic, the musings are deep and the humor is warm. A very well written book that is a pleasure to read and kept me powering through in three mammoth sittings. Deserves to be held up there with other legendary chronicles of a modern warrior's life.

For any possible purchasers, also consider Evan Wright's "Generation Kill" as a companion piece. Both books deal with the same unit, giving you two separate views on the same events and thus a better overall picture.

Amazingly written by "one of the few and the proud" to inform the readers of the honor, courage and commitment that it takes to be a leader of one of the finest fighting force on the planet.

Bottomline up Front: Author held back making this a disappointing book that had the potential to be great!

I had a lot of hope for this book, me being of somewhat a similar background, same age, same upper-middle class back ground, while also a military officer, however this book did'nt deliever and infact at the end I found it very disappointing.

The beginning of the book was great, i would give it a solid 4-5 stars, when he is talking about going through the Marine Corps OCS and how his view on life changed after going through that. That should be a required read for anyone thinking of trying to become an officer, having been through combat I found much of his commentary on being an officer and what it takes to be an officer, resoundingly true and accurate.

The book started going downhill on his commentary about War. I don't need to get into it too much other than to say it was bland and boring, his views of Afganistan were okay, but when it came to Iraq, I found I was longing more.

One of the reasons I picked up this book was that I had read Generation Kill a few times, and though I loved that book I figured some of the commentary provided by Evan Wright was skewed because he was with the younger NCOs/PFCs and did'nt have all the facts surrounding the orders that were given. Though Fick says in both books that the heart of the Marines is the NCO corps I was longing to understand better some of the overall rational behind the orders that were given.

Instead, Fick glosses over many of the major mistakes that Wright points out, I'm assuming since this came out after Generation Kill that Fick was somehow trying to protect those officers that made the mistakes. I was getting to a point where I thought that Wright perceptions were wrong, then in the final part of the book where it talks about the CO leading PT and the Company's response, it was clear that Fick had covered alot of what happened up to "protect the innocent."

Let me be clear, the book was an good read, I just found myself thinking that Fick did a dis-service to any young person/enlisted troop that wants to be an officer someday. Instead of pointing out some of the flaws in the decision making of the supierior officers he instead glosses over those facts and makes it seem like it's a big deal. You could tell at times that Fick was holding back on what happened during a particular sitation. This could have been a book that would be required reading for any of my young Lts or Cadets that I meet in stead I'm going to tell them to read the first back and be done with it.

The final 15-20 pages or so were a good overall commentary on the war and why he got out. Once again, i felt he was holding back, but it at least ends on a plus note.

Final thought, if your interested in this book/time period in Iraq, I would first read this book and then Generation Kill, it will shed light on alot of the issues Fick just touches on.

Dear Amazon:

I am a WW2 veteran and I have many books about various segments of that war. Most of them are very good and inform and transport me back to that era. "One Bullet Away" is my first book on the Afganistan/Iraq conflict and the author is eqaually as fine a writer as the authors of the many WW2 books in my library.

I have purchased books and music from Amazon and I have nothing but praise for your service and product.

Herman C. Carlson

A very good book. Hats off to Fick and all the men and women serving in our military.

I bought this book after watching Generation Kill on HBO and have to see if is a very well written and very interesting book.

This book is a fantastic read, the only word that can describe the heart, soul, and energy of this author. You can feel the pride, the confusion, and the frustration with every word written by Capt. Fick. It was one of those books that you wish would never end. A must read.

I bought Generation Kill when it first came out. Lt. Fick came across as the type of leader you would want if you had to go into combat. Finding that balance between following ambitious orders and not callously risking Marines lives can't be easy. One Bullet Away is more proof that ordinary people can do extraordinary things under difficult circumstances. It seems that the company grade officers and front line troops are much more aware of the ramifications of bad command and political decisions. Maybe we should reverse the Command structure and let the Lieutenants and Captains plan and conduct our operations... I certainly hope that Nate Fick plans on a political career after Graduate School. We need leaders like him.

I'm applying for OCS myself, so I'm going through absolutely as much Marine Corps literature as I can. This book was most valuable for me in its relation of Fick's life before the Corps and during OCS. Somewhere along the way, though, he really just lost my interest. I suppose Fick is an intelligent person, and that comes across in his writing. But the writing doesn't really get beyond that--it seems like an A- paper written by a Dartmouth undergrad. It's just not very compelling--light-years behind a book like Jarhead. So if you are looking for an entertaining book about the Corps, go for Jarhead, but keep in mind that its portrayal of the Marines is rather sour. I could really only recommend this book to aspiring officer candidates, and even then, WARLORD by Ilario Pantano, in my opinion, offers a more candid, gritty, unapologetic and entertaining view of a Marine officer's experience in Iraq.

This book has a beautiful grit and honesty. Fick doesn't talk up or down to the reader. He doesn't glorify or embellish the life of a marine. He doesn't judge or condemn politicians, military or brass, his superiors or his troops. He just tells his story, in a clear, resonant, powerful voice. The simplicity of his style conveys the clarity of a marine's values - honor, loyalty, duty, having the back of every other marine in your platoon.

I listened to this book unabridged on audio CD narrated by Andy Paris. His narration is exceptional - a strong, unwavering voice well-suited to the confidence of a marine officer, but also very adept at capturing Fick's battle to make sense out of war's daily insanity.

I bought this book with a different reason in mind than most. At the time I was considering a military career and I wanted the author's insights into the commissioning process for officers in the Marines. For anyone with similar aspirations this book is an excellent read as the opening chapters include a detailed look at the process of the author's passage from starting as a raw civilian going through the rigors of OCS, TBS, MOS school and ultimately life in the service. I thoroughly enjoyed this first half of the book and found myself reading the first few chapters over and over.

However, the book takes a sharp nose-dive into mediocrity after it becomes a war memoir of the author's service in Afghanistan and Iraq. Nathaniel Fick participated in the most controversial and significant historical event of our generation, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, yet at no point anywhere in this book does he offer anything resembling an opinion or judgement about the war. This is not a veteran offering his insights into his experience in war, this is a very sanitized and sterilized publicity document for a future politician looking to showcase his military service without saying anything that might offend possible future voters. Even his descriptions of combat, which are few and far between, seem scrubbed of anything that might shock or upset the reader.

If you're contemplating a miliary career as an officer and want a glimpse of OCS and TBS from the perspective of someone who has done it already then this book is required reading. But if you're looking for a deep, meanining look into the Iraq war through the eyes of a veteran who fought it then look elsewhere.

There is a great divide in America between those in the military and those who are not. Nowhere is that divide more total than in the elite universities, where virtually no one knows anyone in the military or has any sympathy for it. This book is a very rare bridge between those two worlds. Fick graduated from Dartmouth in 1998, became an elite Marine officer, fought in Afghanistan and Iraq and then went back to graduate school. This is his memoir.

The primary subject of the book is the training that a Marine officer goes through, the transformation from an ordinary person into a warrior. It is extremely well written. The pace is relatively slow, and the reader is able to go along with Fick on his emotional journey from Ivy League student to Marine officer.

Fick happened to finish his training as an officer, just as 9/11 was happening. He thus jointed the military, when we were still at peace, and was a very junior officer, just as the war was starting. He gives an excellent account of some of the early fighting -- and early mistakes -- in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was rotated out of Iraq, just after Saddam fell, however, so his account is limited to the early war, before the counter-insurgency started. In short, a very valuable, well worth reading for many reasons, but very out of date, for those wanting to understand the Iraq War.

This is a great read for those concerned with how we train our Marine Corps officers. An added bonus: an inside view on the early US incursion in Afghanistan and how we snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the early days in Bagdad. I've bought at least a dozen copies for interested friends.

Captain Fick has done the Corps and the American public a great service with this insightful and well written book. In it, he explores what it means to be a platoon commander, responsible for many young lives while leading them into battle. Fick does not hold back in either detail or in exploring his own emotions, giving the reader the best possible sense of what it is like to be a small unit leader in the US Marine Corps.

Fick begins by detailing the process of becoming a Marine officer: Officer Candidate School, The Basic School, and the Infantry Officer's Course. He discusses the difficult and often frustrating training that he is put through, and the resulting transformation that he undergoes from young man into lean, tough Marine.

Then, through the lens of his deployments to Afghanistan with the 1st Marines and Iraq with 2nd Recon, he gives the reader a firsthand sense of the boredom, fear, and excitement of combat, the pride in seeing his platoons perform well in the most dangerous situations, and the incredible frustration at being led by weak and incompetent officers.

One Bullet Away, together with Generation Kill, the companion book written by Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright about young enlisted Marines in the same Recon platoon, is easily the best book available on the first part of the war in Iraq. It does not give a clear picture of the overall strategy or the way that the war played out on a macro-level. It is not intended to. Rather, One Bullet Away is meant to put the reader into the mind of a young Marine officer at war. For its ability to give the reader a sense of the lives of individual Marines on the ground in combat, this book is unsurpassed.

This is a no frills account of a marine officer in the making four years before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. U.S. Marine captain Nathaniel Fick qualified for Marine Officer Candidates School (OCS) in Quantico, Virginia, by completing a three mile run in under 18 minutes, twenty dead-hang pull-ups followed by one hundred crunches in under two minutes.

Following a combat tour in Afghanistan, Mr. Fick joined the elite Recon Marine division, a feat accomplished by only one percent of marines. At the conclusion of his training, he led a force of twenty two marines in the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion to war at the opening bell of combat in Iraq.

Mr. Fick ended his stint in the military upon his return from Iraq because he was too deeply affected by the collateral damage inflicted on the innocent during war. Fick was eager for combat, and killing the enemy was of little consequence to him for a short period, but he had become a reluctant warrior. He couldn't stomach a career in killing people or witnessing the killing of the men he was in charge of.

Nathaniel Fick is currently an MBA candidate at the Harvard School of Business, proving himself again as one of the few, the proud.

"One Bullet Away" lacks the climactic battles in David Bellavia's "House to House" and Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor", but it more than makes up for it with depth. Mr. Fick's story resembles less the breakneck speed battles of "Saving Private Ryan", and more the slow, methodical and philosophical approach of "The Thin Red Line".

Captain Fick is refreshingtly candid about his experience in the military, and provides a well balanced view of life in the Marine Corps before, during and after combat.

One Bullet Away is Fick's memoir of his time after joining the Marine Corp in the summer of 1998 up through 9/11 his units deployment to Afghanistan and then Iraq.

If you ever wanted to know what it takes to be a leader, Fick tells you in no uncertain terms. It isn't candy coated or prettied up, he is honest and straightforward. Qualities it takes to be a truly effective leader. As he finds out on the first day: "Honor, courage, and commitment are the Marines' core values. [...] If you can't be honest at OCS, how can the Corps trust you to lead men in combat?"

And lead men Captain Fick does, as a Weapon's Platoon Lieutenant on his first day in the Fleets and into Afghanistan after 9/11 and then in Recon where he leads his men into Iraq on invasion day. Fick's accounts are gritty and honest. You can feel the frustration that only military life can bring out in someone and at the same time you can feel the immense pride that comes with accomplishing something important.

In the end, Fick leaves the Corp he feels he was destined to belong to and concludes:



In June, one year after coming home from Iraq, I dragged a childhood friend to the Civil War battlefield in Antietam in western Maryland. I wanted to walk the ground. Among the split-rail fences and restored cannons, I saw RPGs and fedayeen. Where would I have put my machine guns to defend the Cornfield? How would Hitman two have assaulted the Bloody Lane?

The sun was warm on my arms, and bees buzzed through the tall grass as we meandered towards Burnside Bridge. There, on the afternoon of America's bloodiest day, troops made three unsuccessful attempts to cross Antietam Creek under withering fire. We stood at the center of the span with our hands on the stones.

"Was it a waste?" I asked.

"No," she replied. "They won, and Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. They freed the slaves, the way you freed the Afghans."

I didn't answer.

"Think about the women under the Taliban and the poor Iraqis under Saddam," she continued seizing a chance to change the subject. "You helped do so much good for so many people. Why can't you take comfort in that?"

Staring down at the water, I measured my words, running through a justification I'd given myself a thousand times before. The good was abstract. The good didn't feel as good as the bad felt bad. It wasn't the good that kept me up at night.

"You sound so unprincipled," she said, shaking her head. "Why can't you find peace in what you and your men sacrificed so much to do? Why can't you be proud?"

I took sixty-five men to war and brought sixty-four home. I gave them everything I had. Together, we passed the test. Fear didn't beat us. I hope life improves for the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, but that's not why we did it. We fought for each other.

I am proud.

And proud you should be Captain Fick.

This was a book about the training and development of a Marine Officer from basic training to combat missions in Afganistan which I found throughly interesting. You can see why our military is the best in the world with people like this who are high achievers dedicated to the protection of our country. I wish I could give it ten stars.

CAPT. Fick's memoir is a great read. You really feel like you know his men, and gain a great perspective on the Iraq war. It is a great example of leadership under pressure and being in the military, I recommend it to anyone that is or will be in the military. You come to realize some of the mistakes that were made early on in the war that came to be major problems that we are still dealing with today.

This is the best written book, especially about the Corps, that I have ever read. It is accurate, realistic, no bull blunt information, yet it is written as a story. Very stellar work. I couldn't put it down, literally. Any time I had some free time, this is what I did, and still do. Being one headed to OCS next summer (hopefully), this is a great read, preparing me for what is to come. As I could see in this book, MCRD is nothing compared to OCS and TBS. He covered OCS and his duty-time more than TBS, but all in all it was the most accurate and amazing book I've ever read, as stated above. If you plan to go to OCS, want to learn about it, or a military/USMC enthusiast, I suggest you get this book. STELLAR!!!!

Fick gives an account of his entry into the Marine Corps as an idealistic young man yearning for a true challenge that would test his inner strength. His decision to become a Marine occurs prior to 9/11, the event that would turn what he thought would be a peace time stint in the Corps into an obligation to participate in campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. The bulk of his tale is centered around the process of actually becoming a Marine officer -- all of the physical endurance and discipline training that you would expect if you've ever seen pop culture movie treatments of the topic. This is arguably the more interesting part of the book in some ways.

Eventually, owing to unforeseen world events, Fick pulls service in Afghanistan but is largely on the periphery of the action which resulted in the overthrow of the Taliban. He's honest about his piece of the action in Afghanistan and doesn't try to inflate it. He makes it clear that what his platoon does there is mysterious even to them inasmuch as his men don't have the big picture of what's going on in the country or how their actions fit into it; they simply do what they're told to do. After a brief, but physically demanding time in Afghanistan, he next sees service in Iraq as the sole leader of a platoon -- a part of the initial invasion force. There, he deals with assorted fire fights en route to Baghdad, followed by humanitarian and recon missions there during the first days of the occupation. It's immediately apparent to Fick that post-invasion planning is an afterthought. Fortunately for Fick, he and his platoon are quickly flown out of the middle east when it's decided to turn occupation duties over to the Army. Th platoon somehow manages to escape their adventure without losing a single man.

This is not a political book, nor a deeply philosophical one, though Fick does occasionally devote a few sentences to the absurdity of war and the difficulty of following orders from immediate superiors who demonstrate questionable judgement. If he has a viewpoint on the politics of the Iraq invasion, he never really shares it. One Bullet Away is a straight ahead account of what it's like to join the Marines, be indoctrinated into their culture and serve in conflict. No more, no less.

The author, Captain Nathaniel Fick, does an exceptional job of describing his life as an officer of Marines. The book covers his entire career. It starts with his bus ride to Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Quantico, Virginia and ends with his resignation from the Corps. In between, he describes his deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. Although the book is non-fiction, it reads like a novel. The book's fast pace is a testament to the author's excellent writing skills. No doubt, some credit can be given to the English Department at Dartmouth, where he earned his undergraduate degree. The book is 369 pages long and is broken into three parts. Unfortunately, it does not contain an index.

His description of Marine training at OCS and The Basic School are uncannily similar to this reviewer's experience. Marine Corps training has clearly stood the test of time and remains basically unchanged since the 1980s. Given the accuracy of his training narrative, this reviewer assumed his combat descriptions to be equally accurate.

The author provides an excellent first hand account of his platoon's activities in both theaters of war. He also provides a balanced account of the people around him, both good and bad. For example, he talks about a company commander who is a nice guy but a poor tactician. The author could have easily ridiculed this Captain. Instead, he points out that no one is just black and white. He also talks about General James Mattis, who spent time talking to enlisted Marines in their fighting hole. The author holds General Mattis up as a true leader.

Capt. Fick provides a fascinating view of civilian society at the end of the book when he resigns from the Corps. The author's friends and family appear to think that he has matured and is now correcting his earlier mistake of joining the Marines. This short chapter says a great deal about society where monetary success, not honor and devotion to country, are viewed as the ultimate achievement.

The book provides an address for the author's personal web-site. If interested, the reader can peruse some of the author's various newspaper articles. His articles tend to expand on the growing divide between American society and the military. He addresses such topics as the unfeasibility of a future draft or the misconception that minorities are bearing an unfair burden in today's military.

Bottom line: Capt. Fick does a great job of describing the noble characteristics of his Marines in combat. His descriptions are unbiased and very accurate. This is a fascinating study of a front line Marine unit at war. It is fast paced, easy to read, and will hold the reader in place until the end.

When I was a younger man, fresh out of college and searching for my life's path, I felt exactly like Capt. Fick when I myself considered entering the Marine Corp OCS. Various circumstances steered me in a different direction. Now in my mid 40's, I have often considered what might have been. Reading One Bullet Away provided me with a glimpse and gave me some perspective that a military career isn't always the ideal I've often thought it would have been. In reading this book I felt that I was right beside NF through his rigorous training, frustrations with orders that make little or no sense and gut wrenching decisions that are a large part of being a military leader.

I have never been under fire myself. I feel that, if forced to, I could kill in order to defend my own life or the lives of others, but in a combat zone those decisions aren't always black and white. Sometimes innocents are hurt and the men on the front lines are forced to confront that. I know that military doctrine dictates that the mission must take precedent over all, but if approached by a family carrying their daughter that you know was wounded by your own forces, I don't think I would have been able to act any differently than Capt. Fick did.

War truly is hell. Thank you Captain for your service and for writing this book. God bless all of those who serve and have served.

Fascinating book detailing the training and life in combat of an elite Marine as seen throught the eyes of a university classics graduate. I could not put the book down and it has changed my outlook on what our soldiers in the Middle East are going through!

This book was written very well and really made the reader feel like they were there, going through training and riding through the deserts of Iraqi. I never wanted to put the book down.

That pretty much sums it up.
If anybody ever tried to eat those saltine crackers from an MRE in under a minute without water then this is what this book feels like.
#1 I have never met a soldier or a marine without a sense of humor, but it looks like the author is the first exception to this rule.
#2 I would consider myself an idealistic "country and honor" person but Fick's nonstop textbook propaganda tirades made me roll my eyes through some chapters. His OWN opinion and perception on the events barely show sometimes and it appears that he is scared to show what he really thinks or even say a word thats inappropriate at a family dinner table. Come on, man! Haven't you trained with regular guys, and shat right next to them in the field? Loosen up! This is not a book for kindergarten. You're not in front of your chain of command or giving some motivational speech in front of your platoon.

Want to know the what it's like to be an junior Officer? The loneliness, the NCO's you rely on, the men, the idiots above you? Read this. A simultaneous must read is Evan Wright's Generation Kill. Identical time amd place seen from two very different perspectives.