American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant

by Ann Scott Tyson

Overview

A gripping account of a U.S. Army Special Forces major’s journey into the tribal Pashtuns of Afghanistan by a Pulitzer Prize–nominated author.

One of the most charismatic, controversial U.S. commanders of modern memory, Army Special Forces Major Jim Gant changed the face of America’s war in Afghanistan when his critical white paper, “One Tribe at a Time,” went viral at the Pentagon, the White House, and on Capitol Hill in 2009.

A decorated Green Beret who had spent years training indigenous fighters, Jim argued for embedding autonomous units with tribes across Afghanistan: these American soldiers would live among Afghans for extended periods, not only to train tribal militias but also to fight with them in battle. He argued that these small U.S. teams could earn the trust of the Afghans and transform them into reliable allies with whom we could defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda networks.

Correspondent Ann Scott Tyson came to share Jim’s vision that Americans and Pashtuns could fight side-by-side and create real change across the region, so she accompanied him to Afghanistan. This remarkable story—of Jim’s close relationships with village elder Noor Afzhal, the fierce fighting they took straight to the enemy in the mountains of Konar Province, and Ann and Jim’s deepening love for each other—is told with a keen sense of drama and immediacy.

A story like no other, American Spartan is one of the most remarkable and emotionally resonant narratives of war ever published.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062115003
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/21/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	389
Sales rank:	236,745
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Ann Scott Tyson is a war correspondent with a decade of combat experience, beginning with the invasion of Iraq. A Pulitzer Prize nominee, she has written for the Christian Science Monitor and the Washington Post and contributed to the Wall Street Journal. She and Jim Gant are married and live in Seattle, Washington.

Editorial Reviews

03/24/2014
Tyson, a journalist by trade, offers a momentous account of her now husband, Special Forces Major Jim Gant, and his journey into the deep-seated tribal Pashtuns of Afghanistan. Beginning with President Obama's promise in 2009 to end the war in Iraq and ending with Gant's removal from Afghanistan amidst accusations of the abuse of alcohol and pain medications, the book shows the efforts of one man bent on changing the way the military moves in foreign countries. After serving deployments, Gant published an online treatise on why America is destined to lose the war, arguing there is "gaping hole in U.S. Strategy: the failure to systematically engage Afghanistan's powerful Pashtun tribes." The paper comes to the attention of President Obama, General Petraeus, and other high ranking military officers who offer Jim the resources he needs to implement his plan. Jim's mission is to assimilate a team of Special Forces to work hand-in-hand with the Pashtun tribes and help to set up the Afghanistan Local Defense Initiative, the Arbakai. In the midst of implementation, Gant starts clashing with U.S. command and his career in the military begins to unravel. Tyson does her best to shade an underlying love affair while showing the action and circumstances surrounding her time with Jim Gant. The affair doesn't appear until page 79 and is never quite awarded the depth of feeling she gives to living in Afghanistan and dealing with the atrocities of war. Many readers will want more on their relationship, at least for the sake of transparency amid Tyson's journalistic style of writing. The overall story is enticing, brutal, and current. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

A momentous account… The overall story is enticing, brutal, and current.” — Publishers Weekly

“An astonishing new account . . . This book will be read a lot longer than most books about the American war in Afghanistan. It especially will resonate with people interested in Special Forces… We need people like Gant to do real foreign internal defense.” — Tom Ricks

“Tyson concentrates on Gant’s campaign, which produced plenty of fireworks, heroism, suffering and, this being Afghanistan, constant frustration. . . . One of the only satisfying products of a dismally unsatisfying war: this entertaining book.” — Kirkus Reviews

“American Spartan is a riveting, powerful account of the service of Major Jim Gant, a man seen by many of us as the “perfect counterinsurgent” . . . Ann Scott Tyson had a ring-side seat . . . and takes us there in this extraordinary, gripping book.” — General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.)

“This story captivated me like no other I’ve read on combat action in Afghanistan. I don’t condone Jim Gant’s every decision or the way he did things, but I do respect the hell out of what he did as a warrior.” — Dalton Fury, author of Kill Bin Laden

“In the half-century since Robin Moore’s The Green Berets, no other account of Special Forces at war could match its range and depth and candor-until now. American Spartan will enlighten and disturb readers with its searing honesty...” — Dr. Kalev I. Sepp, former Green Beret and coauthor of Weapon of Choice

“The Catch-22 of the Afghanistan War, a mixture of romanticism, fantasy and hard-core dedication. . . . Read this book to savor the rich, candid details of love between a man and a woman, between Afghan and American comrades in battle, and between two cultures.” — Washington Post

“Masterfully written and moving . . . [American Spartan] is a must read and will stand the test of time.” — Chicago Tribune

“Tyson raises a host of serious questions about the nature of war, the many aspects of loyalty, and the price paid by America’s front-line fighters.” — Christian Science Monitor

From the Publisher

Tyson raises a host of serious questions about the nature of war, the many aspects of loyalty, and the price paid by America’s front-line fighters.

Christian Science Monitor

This story captivated me like no other I’ve read on combat action in Afghanistan. I don’t condone Jim Gant’s every decision or the way he did things, but I do respect the hell out of what he did as a warrior.

Dalton Fury

An astonishing new account . . . This book will be read a lot longer than most books about the American war in Afghanistan. It especially will resonate with people interested in Special Forces… We need people like Gant to do real foreign internal defense.

Tom Ricks

In the half-century since Robin Moore’s The Green Berets, no other account of Special Forces at war could match its range and depth and candor-until now. American Spartan will enlighten and disturb readers with its searing honesty...

Dr. Kalev I. Sepp

American Spartan is a riveting, powerful account of the service of Major Jim Gant, a man seen by many of us as the “perfect counterinsurgent” . . . Ann Scott Tyson had a ring-side seat . . . and takes us there in this extraordinary, gripping book.

General David H. Petraeus (US Army

The Catch-22 of the Afghanistan War, a mixture of romanticism, fantasy and hard-core dedication. . . . Read this book to savor the rich, candid details of love between a man and a woman, between Afghan and American comrades in battle, and between two cultures.

Washington Post

Masterfully written and moving . . . [American Spartan] is a must read and will stand the test of time.

Chicago Tribune

Masterfully written and moving . . . [American Spartan] is a must read and will stand the test of time.

Chicago Tribune

The Catch-22 of the Afghanistan War, a mixture of romanticism, fantasy and hard-core dedication. . . . Read this book to savor the rich, candid details of love between a man and a woman, between Afghan and American comrades in battle, and between two cultures.

Washington Post

Former Washington Post reporter Ann Scott Tyson tells this story not from a news bureau desk, but from the tribal front lines, where she lived it side-by-side with Gant. . . . If you read only one book this year about war or politics, read American Spartan.

Steven Pressfield

2014-02-26
To win in Afghanistan, dedicated American soldiers must live among the tribes, earning their trust and molding them into effective fighters against Taliban and al-Qaida networks. Decorated Green Beret Jim Gant made this argument in a 2009 paper that impressed Gen. David Petraeus and other leaders, who told him to go ahead with the plan. Already an admirer, having covered Gant's heroics in Iraq, journalist Tyson recounts the subsequent three years, much of it spent in his company, as his unit moved to a remote village, befriended the chief, and proceeded to hire and train the tribesman who soon drove off the local Taliban. Neighboring chiefs began requesting help, and eventually, documents obtained from Osama bin Laden's compound after his death complained about Gant by name. "The directive mentioned Jim by name," she writes, "and said he was an impediment to Al Qaeda's operational objectives…and needed to be removed from the battlefield." Other units reported similar success, but Tyson concentrates on Gant's campaign, which produced plenty of fireworks, heroism, suffering and, this being Afghanistan, constant frustration. Even as Gant set to work, the American government was announcing its intention to withdraw from the country. By 2012, the process was well under way, but by this time, Gant's superiors, irritated by his independence and nonconformity, relieved him, denounced his tactics and forced him to retire. Tyson presents a damning picture of betrayal by commanding officers whose rigidity and lack of imagination was aggravated by personal dislike. Readers will find her arguments impressive, although they will be surprised by the frank admission that she and Gant fell in love. Tyson can expect an avalanche of criticism for flouting a dozen precepts of journalism, and Gant has been accused of an unrealistically romantic view of Afghan tribalism. Still, readers will encounter one of the only satisfying products of a dismally unsatisfying war: this entertaining book.

Kirkus Reviews