Structure

This book is structured in a format in which the author tells the story in a basically linear format. The exception to this linear format is the Prologue. The Prologue describes the scene at the fortress in Mazar when the Taliban prisoners revolt against the American and Northern Alliance forces.

The author begins to build the action as he describes the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center as well as the way members of the military respond to this attack. The action continues to build as members of the Special Forces are deployed to Afghanistan. The climax comes after American and Northern Alliance have pushed the Taliban out of Mazar but 600 Taliban surrender and then attack the American and Afghan soldiers. One American, Mike Spann, the first fatality in the Afghanistan War is killed in this attack.

Perspective

This story is told from the perspective of...