LONE SURVIVOR BY MARCUS LUTTRELL

At the beginning of the book, Marcus Luttrell describes his childhood and his training to prepare for the Navy SEALs with Billy Shelton. After joining the U.S. Navy and completing SEAL training, Luttrell describes his posting in Afghanistan, in the Hindu Kush mountains of the Kunar province. With him are the rest of SDVT-1^{[clarification needed]}, except Shane E. Patton, for whomDanny Dietz was substituted. Their mission, Operation Red Wings, was to observe a village and capture or kill a leading Talibanmember thought to be allied with Osama bin Laden.

One night in June 2005, while hiding out, the team encountered three shepherds, including a boy. The team debated killing the shepherds, but after a vote, team leader Michael Murphy decided to uphold the rules of engagement and let the shepherds go. About an hour later, the four SEALs were surrounded by more than a hundred Taliban warriors. The New York Times sums up the story:

Mr. Luttrell was the only one of four men on the mission to survive after a violent clash with dozens of Taliban fighters.

Eight members of the SEALs and eight Army special operations soldiers who came by helicopter to rescue the original four were shot down, and all aboard were killed.

Luttrell was then rescued by a group of Afghan Pashtun villagers who harbored him in their homes for several days, protecting him from the Taliban and ultimately helping him to safety."

—The New York Times, August 9, 2007^[2]

Hospitality as understood by the Pashtun culture is a central theme.