Not a Good Day to Die

At dawn on March 2, 2002, America’sfirst major battle of the twenty-first century began. Over two hundred soldiers of the101st Airborne and Tenth Mountain Division flew into Afghanistan’s Shah-i-Kotvalley—and into the mouth of a buzz saw. They were about to pay a bloody pricefor strategic, high-level miscalculations that underestimated the enemy’sstrength and willingness to fight.

Now, award-winning journalist SeanNaylor, an eyewitness to the battle, details the failures of militaryintelligence and planning and vividly portrays the astonishing heroism of theseyoung, untested US soldiers. Denied the extra support with which they trained,these troops nevertheless proved their worth in brutal combat and prevented anAmerican military disaster.