The Last Platoon: A Novel of the Afghanistan War

by Bing West

“Bing West is the grunt’s Homer.” —L.A. Times A platoon of Marines and CIA operatives clash in a fight to the death with the drug lords and the Taliban, while in Washington, the president seeks a way out. This novel stands as the classic metaphor for two decades of fruitless war. It vividly displays how a warrior must replenish his moral courage and not allow ambition to coarsen his conscience and his sense of duty—even when the mission makes no sense. Readers feel like they have entered a strange, alien world as they watch the Marines and Taliban clash, circle each other, probe for weakness, and clash again in primordial violence, neither side yielding. While intrigue and deceit play out at the higher levels, in Afghanistan’s bright poppy fields only the killing instinct will decide the winner. “No correspondent has spent as much time on this ground as former Marine, Bing West, and no one has brought to it as much real-world, infantry-command experience.” —Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire “Bing West is on his way to becoming the Thucydides of the global war on Terror.” — The Washington Times “Some of the most compelling descriptions of small-unit combat that I have ever read.” — The Wall Street Journal “Bing has seen more war than most professional soldiers…utterly gripping—and utterly different from the sanitized picture.” —Max Boot, author of Invisible An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present “West shows in the most granular, detailed way how and why America’s counterinsurgency in Afghanistan is failing.” — The New York Times “West has become the Marine Corps’ bard of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as an embedded reporter in some of the most brutal fighting.” — The Washington Times

Genres: Military Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook

400 pages, Paperback

Published December 22, 2020

About the author

Francis J. "Bing" West Jr. (born May 2, 1940) is an American author, Marine combat veteran and former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs during the Reagan Administration.

West writes about the military, warfighting, and counterinsurgency. In the Vietnam War, he fought in major operations and conducted over a hundred combat patrols in 1966–1968.

(wikipedia)

Reviews

[richard hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiction that is great instruction

The store is fairly simple almost cliche concept of a soldier on his final duty before a new stage in his life. But this story was painted with so much detail and color, it made it a far more compelling story than this simple premise suggests. I must admit, that not being military and with so many characters, acronyms, and factions with the book, sometimes I was a little distracted and somewhat confused about what was going on in the story. But what was really well executed was providing the Dynamo c the f what was going on the ground in Afghanistan. The political, economic, and social structure that makes thus war so difficult to see victory, defeat, and exodus as any true outcome.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reality based novel, action packed, all the way thru! This is the 1st Bing West book I've read, but will definitely look for more from him. He has a lot of actual real history in what he writes about, so when reading this novel...it reads scarily true. He used a lot of the military lingo, acronyms, & abbreviations...but it worked together to compliment the feel/read of the book. Also gives an insight into the political aspect, & the technology used in the military & world today. I liked that at the end he explained how the 'chain of command' works in reality.
I received this e-book from Bombardier Books via NetGalley, & offer this, my own fair & honest review.

[Lua · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very first review, and I must admit that I am pleasantly surprised by this novel. Noted, that this is the first novel that I have read in this genre. Has anyone read any of this author's books? Well, I have. At first, it was a slow read (only for me, I'm sure) and I thought that I surely wouldn't finish reading it, but I couldn't put it down near the end. I, for one, really liked it and am looking forward to reading more novels of this genre. Also, it allowed me to talk to my dad about his time in our army.

[Philip Maiuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Platoon is novel about a Marine deployed unit that arrived overnight in Helmand after the United States has pulled out of Afghanistan. The OP quickly becomes two missions with the arrival of a small contingent from the CIA. The Marines are there to send a message to the that Helmand-Afghanistan’s most dangerous province is to remain free of the Taliban due to the “pull out” terms of the United States leaving. The mission is hastily run through POTUS (a weasel that sounds like someone we all know very well) he stamps. His approval but in typical “ corporate American “leadership stamps a timeline on it and quickly changes the strategy to accommodate time. The CIA gain access to go after one of the biggest drug lords in the world in a country where an acre of land produce hundreds of millions of dollars per acre due to the miles of opioid producing poppy plants. The President, with help of his hand picked advisors,sees an opportunity to shut down a large part of the worlds drug problem and gain momentum for reelection with the Marines in the middle to hold the ground . A book that has a believable storyline with accurate details and a message of leaders still rise when the situation demands it. You return to your training when everything else fails. This one follows a Captain, Diego Cruz -a last minute add on because of his battle experience strictly in an advice roll but quickly finds himself seen as an “outsider “ by the rest of the Marines and threatens the leadership of the commanding Colonel Coffman -a professional paper pusher and only sees advancement after this seven day mission. Cruz is in charge of the security of the perimeter of the base. He along with the small unit from the CIA is really the only members that have been in actual combat and as the Taliban plans revenge that will once and for all keep America out of the area plans an attack on the base around a incoming storm that will leave the base stripped of its high technical equipment of drones-GPS-thermal vision “eye in the sky” technology and rely on 200 years. Of Marine training of protecting your partners six and hold your ground no matter what. A night of hell falls on them with the planned advancement. Soldiers -politicians all return to who and what they really are in times of crisis.
An novel that shows truly what can happen when objectives mix with politics. Bing West writes from experience and writes what you may read in tomorrow’s paper-or hear on the news and just reach out and change the channel or turn the page to check the stock market. This book shows the true dedication of our troops and the Afghanistan people and trouble is with the leaders on both sides pulling the strings and want endings they demand without regard or consequences to the people under them-the ones that carry out the tasks given to them-to achieve by method of training provided to them. A great read that starts out slow to set it up to understand how many hands touch a mission that they never see or more important-they never served,but quickly gains strength as the action is written in real time and you will find you cannot put it down.

[James Winchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It maybe still early in the year but this book is going to be in my top ten. Well written with a lot of time and experience put into the story. Even though it is a fictional story it has the feel of being a true story. Bing West experience in the field shows from the beginning to the end. Real good character development with spot on action and suspense throughout the entire book. You can feel Bing’s passion for the story, the Corps and his desire to put out a great book. Must read by any Military historians.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was an amazing read with some characters more easily related to real-life people than others. The plot is easy to follow and the storyline switching between the ally and enemy perspective is an interesting take on events. The one pitfall is all the military, American and foreign, jargon. It doesn’t detract from the story, but some of the detail lacks when you don’t understand the terminology.

[Wanda Heise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any excellent story of the waste of this war! For a no military person, it was hard to follow all of the characters and their relation to each other, ranks, etc. Nonetheless the recklessness and waste of life for power and money was easily illustrated. My heart goes out to the unnecessary loss of life in this and every war! Just wondering from those who know if this is very close to the truth and also afraid to know that it is!

[Dwayne C Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fictional story that captured the reality of some of the characters in our society. The warrior class without our country is described in a way the provides insightful glimpses. The damage caused by war in a graphic and honest depiction. Motivation of fighters, political leadership, and the enemy fictitious but closer to any truth offered.

War is a terrible at all level but mostly at the lowest. Consider which level you and your loved ones sit.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been a long time since I read a book that really (and I mean really) kept me tense and almost jumping ahead to the next chapter to to find out what I happened (I didn’t) this is a book reminiscent of Forsyth or Clancy at their best, I have not read any other books the author has written but i will be correcting that error very soon

[David Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Realistic action story

The story follows a temporary Marine base over the course of one week in Afghanistan. The action is realistic and follows both the troops on the ground as well as the political scheming all through the the chain of command all the way to the White House. Well written and worth a read.

[Chris Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bing, is an excellent writer. This novel has the usual combat novel requisites with action, suspension and tension between those who are great leaders and those who have the rank, but not the ability to lead. There is also a family aspect, which is important, but often overlook or minimized in the reality of military life. I found this to be well written and kept my interest.

[Jordan Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't read too many novels, but this one was pretty good. Gave me a glimpse into what soldiers in Afghanistan go through, how they often feel forgotten, and the inner-workings of military politics. Not a ton of things happen in the book, but a good, easy read nonetheless.

[OjoAusana · Rating 3 out of 5]

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* not really my cup of tea i suppose, this wasn't a bad read but i found myself taking a lot of breaks when reading it. would not reread or recommend unless i knew someone liked military fiction

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

The format and style reminded me of author Alistair MacLean. Faction (fiction based on fact) at its best. Like most good military novels it lays bare the weakness of men regardless of rank and how other men’s abilities are not fully appreciated.

[Anthony Neu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book

I always enjoy Bing West but he outdoes himself in this novel that feels real. While not as technical, it still covers the bases and focuses more on connecting with what is happening. It was very easy to picture everything and feel like I was a fly on the wall.

[pierre bovington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bing West is a former US Marines commander and writes with considerable authority.
Although a story of fiction, it rings true as my son did 2 tours in bad places.
The description of the stress is telling.

[Artie Monahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT ACTION NOVEL

Great action novel that also provided a tutorial of the influence politics has over operational actions. Bing West is a patriot. Semper Fi.

[Nathan Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Gritty. A realistic depiction of modern low intensity warfare from the lowest levels to highest. If you like military fiction this is a good pick.

[Greynomad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read. Could not put the book down

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book.
Bing west knows his stuff

[Nicole Casey · Rating 1 out of 5]

👎🏼

[Jim Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. Enjoyed it. What a conflict

[William Prish · Rating 5 out of 5]

WAP

Wonderfully written; puts you right there. As a Marine Vietnam vet, this book could only have been written by a combat vet…as Bing West is.

[Donna Woodard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author really knows his military. Characters pretty realistic…certainly the juxtaposition of duty vs ambition is accurate. Enjoyable read.

[Adam Wilburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read and thrilling story.