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"""We were chasing ghosts in killing fields, where adolescence ended and the war began."" A captivating account of the deeply personal experience of modern combat and the raw, unfiltered reality of enlisted Marine Corps life. At twenty-one years old, Lance Corporal Aaron Kirk found himself in charge of a Marine infantry squad at one of the most austere patrol bases in all of deadly Helmand Province, Afghanistan. A desolate place, on the edge of the American military empire. A place without comfort or a clear mission known simply as: The Hill. With unique perspective and intensity, Aaron Kirk tells the story of his time as a Marine during the height of the U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan. On the pristine beaches of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and in the training areas of Twentynine Palms, California, Kirk searches for elusive brotherhood and belonging. On two deployments to Helmand Province, he grapples with combat and leadership. During his time as a squad leader in Garmsir district, Kirk's squad occupies a forlorn and austere location called Patrol Base KT-4-or more simply, The Hill. Fighting the elements, the enemy and themselves, the grunts of third squad drift further from the unwritten strictures of the Marine Corps as they embrace danger, isolation and misery. Meanwhile, Kirk battles his own shortcomings and fear of failure as he struggles to keep his men alive against an enemy who watches their every move without revealing himself. Following the author's odyssey from civilian to Marine and back again, The Hill is a definitive account of modern Marine Corps culture and an essential meditation on the universal truths, emotions, and costs of the Longest War."

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9781736200902

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The Hill is a phenomenal combat narrative that cuts to the soul, a wartime epic that uniquely captures the essence of two decades of war in Afghanistan. A truly gifted storyteller, Aaron Kirk weaves a complex tapestry of characters, events, and places that draws the reader into the brutal reality of war-torn Helmand Province that evokes classic combat writers such as Ernie Pyle and Bernard Fall. A remarkable book that is unflinchingly rich and powerful. -Steve Leonard, creator of Doctrine Man An honest and captivating perspective on the lingering war in Afghanistan from a hill on the edge of the empire. The Hill is a brilliant budding rose on the long war stem of literature, covered in grime and painful truth. Aaron Kirk displays maturity beyond his years as both a writer and Marine. -Leo Jenkins, author of Lest We Forget and First Train Out of Denver The Hill is many things - a chronicle of one Marine squad fighting a faraway war no one else will, a leadership treatise for young grunts seeking to learn about combat, a story of men who gave their youths and lives to the impossible at 'the edge of the edge of empire.' More than anything, though, The Hill serves as a love letter to hard souls doing hard work in a very hard place. Aaron Kirk is bona fide, what a great book. - Matt Gallagher, author of Youngblood and Empire City Consider the time honored affliction of political push-pull, the diversity of the ranks-the equally diverse reasons for carrying Uncle Sam's polished rifle, the oft sense of shame that comes when idealistic youth are scorched by a few too many days under the sun. As should have been done from the start, collocating with the best tales of Vietnam-tales whose activism took a backseat in the metaphorical Humvee, the mind's-eye fighting hole-the tragedies and triumphs of the Global War on Terror are simply reflections of man's condition, finally being dragged kicking and screaming onto the center stage. The real story of the GWOT hasn't been told by those with one eye on their ghost writer and the other on the bank account, but by diligent, heartfelt work, the GoPro; strapped atop jostling helmets, and books like this. - David Rose, author of No Joy and From Sand and Time: Poems [Kirk] reflects intelligently on the gulf that separates his own experience in Afghanistan-what he calls My War -and the manner in which the war is popularly depicted and understood...an intelligent recollection-bracingly honest and always astute. -Kirkus Reviews

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