Mullaney's book is moderately well-written but fails to deliver. I salute his service, but as an Iraq war vet, I am very disappointed by his lack of leadership, and I am equally disappointed with the book. As such, it is probably good that Mullaney decided to leave the Army when his contract was up.

The author boasts his blue-collar, Irish-Catholic upbringing, but as and adult he completely disrepsects and literally turns his back on his hard-working father, whom he can't bring himself to forgive for his parent's divorce. When writing about one of his men who was killed in combat, Mullaney devotes several pages focused on his feelings, which is fine as one of the book's themes, but it leaves the (correct) impression that Mullaney is way too into himself to be a good military leader. For example, in true narcissistic fashion, he couldn't even bring himself to respond to a touching letter written by the dead soldier's dad. What kind of leadership is that? Then, after his return from Afghanistan, he visits the dead soldier's grave, but can't overcome his own self-absorbed emotions to pay a visit to the kid's dad. Maybe he has a problem with father figures. Ironically, in the end, Mullaney "forgives" himself for the death of a soldier, but never forgives his own dad for the divorce.

I'm sure Mullaney is a bright guy, but what comes across is a very shallow intellectualism. Two stars is the most I can recommend. Save your money.

Thanks to Craig Mullaney, not only for his contributions as a soldier, but also for providing readers with a glimpse into the life and mind of the modern infantry soldier. The anecdotes are entertaining and funny, but Mullaney really scores with his honesty and his humility about his fears, acoomplishments, responsibilities, and honor. I am honored to have read it.

This is the spellbinding account of a soldier's rigorous training and grueling combat in Afghanistan. It's a dramatic coming-of-age story written by Captain Craig Mullaney, who is a unique mix of one part Army Ranger and one part Oxford Rhodes scholar. (I felt a particular kinship with him because we're the same age. He started at West Point in 1996, only one month before I started college.)

Having never served in the military myself, Mullaney's vivid prose gave me a new appreciation for our men and women in uniform, and a better understanding of the Bible's frequent war metaphors. Endorsed by General Petraus and Wesley-Clark, this book is very hard to put down.

The Unforgiving Minute is the well-written and engaging story of a young man as student, soldier, and veteran. The autobiographical narrative follows the author as he attends West Point, becomes a Rhodes Scholar in England, undergoes military training, and eventually serves as a junior officer leading a platoon of soldiers in Afghanistan. The subtitle of the book is "A Soldier's Education," and the central question of the book is whether the author's education truly prepared him to lead soldiers in combat. I think that the author's answer is that he was as prepared as the educational and training system could make him, and yet he ultimately concluded that he was not "strong enough" to make the military a career. The loss of one of his soldiers in Afghanistan apparently troubled the author a great deal, and his (understandable and common) sense of guilt and grief took some time to resolve.

The chapters are short and well-focused, and the author's self-effacing style makes this account of a relatively privileged educational experience an accessible reading experience. The most enjoyable portion of the book for me was the chapters describing his experience as a platoon leader, first while readying himself and his unit for deployment, and later while in Afghanistan. The remaining 2/3 of the book was, unfortunately, not really new ground; most military officers have read other accounts of the West Point experience and heard/told/lived stories about the amazing ordeal of Ranger school, and the author's experience was not so unique or well-told to justify another iteration. I wish that the author had reversed the proportions and spent more time analyzing or reflecting on his combat experience and the sufficiency of his education for the role of a combat leader. This approach would have mitigated another shortcoming of the book, i.e., its cinematic quality, by which I mean that I sometimes felt like I was reading a series of chronologically ordered vignettes rather than a fully cohering story. There were parts of the book that begged for elaboration, but the "slide show" just continued. That being said, this is a young man's memoir, and I imagine that the search for context and significance is an ongoing effort in the life of the author. I wish him well in this endeavor, and I hope this is not his last book! Perhaps a second edition of this book published in a few years could improve the coherence of the narrative and shed some of the youthful self-absorption, particularly in connection with his relationship with his father and his difficulty dealing with the death of one of his soldiers. In connection with the latter issue, I respectfully submit that the author might profitably consider the proposition that the purpose of an officer's education is exactly to prepare oneself for the death of others (and oneself).

I strongly recommend this book for those without military experience who wish to better understand the education, training, and circumstances of military officers in today's Army, especially young people considering an academy education. It is also an informative read for older soldiers and veterans who want to better understand the junior officers who are leading our soldiers today.

My background is very different from Mullaney's--I have no experience with the military at all, and I would've guessed no interest in reading about it, either. And yet, I was totally drawn in by his story, and felt like I "got" what that life was like for the first time. This is an important, eye-opening book, and a very good read, as well.

I have never read a book that I related to as much as this one as an adult reader. I am of the same generation and have been in many similar situations to what Craig describes and I undoubtedly feel that he is right in his sense of questioning the casualties of war, in particular those under his command. I see a few reviewers have passed judgement on this. I believe that those leaders who have been on the ground in combat will truly relate to his questioning his tactics as engagements in war can be akin to moves in chess as one lays in bed at night questioning if the right or wrong moves played out on the battlefield sometimes years later. Craig does this well and I have not seen anyone write as accurately about their own faults in combat since the book "Platoon Leader". If my children choose a vocation of service, then I will surely have them read this book prior to enlistment. Well done Craig.

I've never understood quite how to oppose the war and honor the warrior. Craig Mullaney's captivating book has helped me to understand how a commitment to duty and honor can help to resolve this conundrum.
His writing made me proud of our men and women in uniform and their commitment to duty and honor.
The dust jacket indicates that Mullaney was working in the Obama-Biden Transition Team. I'd like to know how this happened and what he is doing now.