Rangers in Combat: A Legacy of Valor

 Author's Summary

For more than 200 years, U.S. Army Rangers have fought suicidal combat missions against overwhelming odds-earning their unrivaled reputation as the world's premier close-combat warriors. In Rangers in Combat, Lieutenant Colonel J. D. Lock vividly brings to life the horrific battles and the heroic exploits of a special breed of men for whom "valor, honor, and country" mean more than life itself.

Take a stand with Robert Rogers and his outnumbered Rangers during the French and Indian War. Ride with Mosby on the Soughton Raid in the Civil War. In World War II, spearhead Patton's invasion of Sicily beside the legendary William O. Darby, suicidally climb the cliffs of Pointe-du-Hoc with James Earl Rudder, or storm "bloody Omaha" with Max Schneider. Stand outnumbered deep in North Korea while defending Hill 205 against overwhelming hordes of Communist Chinese. And high atop a mountain in Afghanistan, fight your way out of a savage al Qaeda terrorist ambush.

From the snowy forests of Upstate New York and the swamps of South Carolina, to the humid streets of Mogadishu and the snowy mountain peaks of Afghanistan, read accounts of and lessons learned from some of the most courageous, daring, and vicious ground combat in the annals of U.S. military history. 

MWSA Review

MWSA 2007 Silver Medal for Non-Fiction, Military History

Must read for Ranger followers! I loved this book! I have always been sort of a dreamer when it comes to military history and have often wondered what some of our brave soldiers of the past must have gone through, especially those of the civil and revolutionary war eras. Still like a young kid I often put myself in their place when engaging a good, vivid book about their trials and tribulations. This is such a book, and it deals with the some of the toughest of the tough, our Rangers, from past to present.

I was specifically intrigued and glued to the book covering the “Black Hawk Down” situation in Somali. I’ve seen this movie many times, but reading about it…..I was glued to the book. Such great detail and vivid images. It thought I was there. 

J.D. Lock, the author, is a retired lieutenant colonel and former assistant professor of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He took me from the beginning stages during the French and Indian Wars right up to Operation Enduring Freedom. You can feel this book. The action in Korea, the mishaps in getting our Rangers into Grenada. All there.

Hats off to an outstanding book!  

Reviewed by: Jim Stewart (2007)