PUBLISHED/Caliber (Penguin Random House) military/memoir
Greetings from Afghanistan, Send More Ammo: Dispatches from Taliban Country
Benjamin Tupper
The most honest and insightful book to come out of the war on terror so far may be Greetings from Afghanistan, Send More Ammo: Dispatches from Taliban Country by Capt. Benjamin Tupper of the New York Army National Guard. From May 2006-May 2007, Tupper was a member of an embedded training team (ETTs) in Afghanistan, tasked with training, mentoring, and leading the Afghan National Army to victory against the thriving and brutal Taliban insurgency. During his precious down-time between battles during his year in-country, Tupper sat at the keyboard and poured out his observations onto the screen as a coping mechanism. Written as blog entries from remote locales during his tour, some of Tupper’s boots-on-the-ground dispatches were posted on Slate.com’s milblog, The Sandbox, while others were broadcast on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.
Upon his return stateside he continued to blog, ultimately collecting his essays into a book, which he self-published. After a single NPR interview, Tupper’s book shot to #102 on Amazon.com and remained in the Top 1000 for the rest of the week.
Much like E. B. Sledge’s seminal With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead, and Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, Benjamin Tupper’s Welcome to Afghanistan, Send More Ammo takes us inside the intricacies and absurdities of war. From the rush of gunfire to surreal, euphoric moments of cross-cultural understanding, this emotional and thought-provoking narrative is rich with dark humor, eloquence and contradiction. Featuring chapters with intriguing titles such as "Embrace the Suck;" "The Flip-Flop Army;" "Pink Mist;" "When Disobeying an Order is Just Common Sense;" and "We Have All The Watches, They Have All the Time;" this memoir offers new insight into America’s ongoing mission against the Taliban and Al Qaeda (eight years and counting), taking readers to a place where only our warriors could go.
Greetings from Afghanistan, Send More Ammo has been endorsed by Garry Trudeau, who calls it “a penetrating look at life deep inside Afghanistan and way outside the wire.” The CEO of NPR himself said the book is “vitally important to our 31 million listeners.”
Read the Reviews!
Upon his return stateside he continued to blog, ultimately collecting his essays into a book, which he self-published. After a single NPR interview, Tupper’s book shot to #102 on Amazon.com and remained in the Top 1000 for the rest of the week.
Much like E. B. Sledge’s seminal With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead, and Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, Benjamin Tupper’s Welcome to Afghanistan, Send More Ammo takes us inside the intricacies and absurdities of war. From the rush of gunfire to surreal, euphoric moments of cross-cultural understanding, this emotional and thought-provoking narrative is rich with dark humor, eloquence and contradiction. Featuring chapters with intriguing titles such as "Embrace the Suck;" "The Flip-Flop Army;" "Pink Mist;" "When Disobeying an Order is Just Common Sense;" and "We Have All The Watches, They Have All the Time;" this memoir offers new insight into America’s ongoing mission against the Taliban and Al Qaeda (eight years and counting), taking readers to a place where only our warriors could go.
Greetings from Afghanistan, Send More Ammo has been endorsed by Garry Trudeau, who calls it “a penetrating look at life deep inside Afghanistan and way outside the wire.” The CEO of NPR himself said the book is “vitally important to our 31 million listeners.”
Read the Reviews!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maj. Benjamin Tupper has been awarded the Bronze Star. Since his return to the U.S. he speaks to classrooms and boardrooms regarding not only his battles in the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan, but also his battles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While he's not performing his National Guard duty, Tupper lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife.
Maj. Benjamin Tupper has been awarded the Bronze Star. Since his return to the U.S. he speaks to classrooms and boardrooms regarding not only his battles in the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan, but also his battles with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While he's not performing his National Guard duty, Tupper lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife.
