This is the inside story of an Army Ranger, surrounded and outnumbered, fighting a desperate action on the ground during the Black Hawk Down raid in Somalia in 1993.

??In 1993 Lieutenant James Lechner, a member of the 3rd Ranger Battalion, was selected for a top secret special operations task force being sent to Mogadishu, Somalia, to capture the insurgent leader Mohamed Farah Aideed. In early October, after conducting a number of raids in the city, the Task Force is called upon to conduct a daring daylight mission into the heart of Aideed's territory. During the raid, one of the Black Hawk helicopters is shot down and Lechner and his comrades are soon caught up in the fiercest combat involving US forces since the Vietnam War. Deep in the enemy's stronghold, the small group of Rangers and special operators now find themselves fighting not only to rescue the downed helicopter's crewmen, but also to save their own lives.??

This first-hand account tells the story of how these elite warriors were able to stand together and prevail against incredible odds. It gives the reader the perspective of an Army Ranger fighting on the ground, combined with professional military analysis, in a groundbreaking book that tells the complete story with never-before-revealed details.

Published in association with the AUSA Book Program, offering quality books about US Army heritage, military theory and policy, and security in the modern world.

James Lechner served in the US Army for 27 years and participated in eight operational deployments, including Somalia with Task Force Ranger. Jim has also advised the NSC at the White House and served numerous tours at the CIA. Since his retirement from the US military in 2011, Jim has served in Afghanistan as a counter-insurgency advisor as well as providing support for other US government efforts. Jim lives in Chapin, South Carolina.

Published in association with the AUSA Book Program.