The platoon included four pairs of best friends. Each of the four would lose a best friend forever. Five months after being deployed to Iraq, Lima Company's First Platoon became one of the first American forces to enter Fallujah, where they encountered some of the most intense hand-to-hand combat since World War II. Civilians were used as human shields or as bait to lure soldiers into buildings rigged with explosives; suicide bombers approached from every corner hoping to die and take Americans with them; radical insurgents, high on adrenaline, fought to the death. Award-winning author and historian Patrick O'Donnell stood shoulder to shoulder with Lima Company's First Platoon as they fought through the streets of Fallujah, their casualties mounting. This is their story. "[O'Donnell] introduces the reader to the real world of combat...his fierce joy at a successful action and deep grief at the Marine casualties come through to the reader in vivid form. This is one of the finest accounts of infantry action that has been published in a very long time...Combat veterans have always known that civilian family and friends can never understand nor appreciate the experiences they have gone through. This unforgettable book, however, goes a long way toward helping." -- "Bookpage" [O'Donnell's] most important accomplishment among many is to put a human face on the troopsRead O'Donnell's excellent book and you will know that they are indeed, as were each preceding generation, 'The Greatest.' -- "New York Post" Patrick K. O'Donnell is a bestselling military historian and the critically acclaimed author of numerous books, including Beyond Valor , Dog Company , and First SEALs . He has provided historical consulting for DreamWorks' award-winning miniseries Band of Brothers and for documentaries produced by the BBC, the History Channel, and Fox News. He lives in Arlington, Virginia. Paul Michael Garcia , an AudioFile Earphones Award winner and former company member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, received his classical training in theater from Southern Oregon University, where he worked as an actor, director, and designer.