Alpha: Eddie Gallagher and the War for the Soul of the Navy SEALs

Product Description
An epic account of the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon, the startling accusations against their chief, Eddie Gallagher, and the courtroom battle that exposed the dark underbelly of America’s special forces—from a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter
“Meticulously assembled and brilliantly written . . . [a] remarkable and engrossing book.”—The New York Times
By official accounts, the Navy SEALs of Alpha platoon returned as heroes after their 2017 deployment to Mosul, following a vicious, bloody, and successful campaign to drive ISIS from the city. But within the platoon a different war raged. Even as Alpha’s chief, Eddie Gallagher, was being honored by the Navy for his leadership, several of his men were preparing to report him for war crimes, alleging that he’d stabbed a prisoner in cold blood and taken lethal sniper shots at unarmed civilians.
Many young SEALs regarded Gallagher as the ideal special operations commando. Trained as a sniper, a medic, and an explosives expert, he was considered a battle-tested leader. But in the heat of combat, some in his platoon saw a darker figure—a man who appeared to be coming unhinged after multiple deployments in America’s forever wars. Their excitement to work with a tough, experienced chief soon gave way to a grim suspicion that his thirst for blood seemed to know no bounds and a belief that his unpredictability was as dangerous as the enemy.
In riveting detail, Pulitzer Prize–winning
New York Times correspondent David Philipps reveals the story of a group of special operators caught in a moral crucible—should they uphold their oath and turn in their chief, or honor the SEALs’ unwritten code of silence? It is also a larger story of how the SEAL Teams drifted off course after 9/11, and of the “pirate” subculture that festered within their ranks—a secret brotherhood that, in a time of endless war with few clear victories, made the act of killing itself the paramount goal. The investigation and trial following Alpha’s deployment—and Gallagher’s ultimate acquittal on the most serious charges—would pit SEAL against SEAL, set the Navy brass on a collision course with President Donald Trump, and turn Gallagher into a political litmus test in a hotly polarized America.
A page-turning tale of battle, honor, and betrayal,
Alpha is a remarkable exposé of the fault lines fracturing a country that has been at war for a generation and counting.
Review
“A dogged researcher and gifted writer, Philipps turns the story of Gallagher’s rise, his alleged war crimes and the botched Navy prosecution into an infuriating, fast-paced thriller.”
—The Washington Post
“I’ve been haunted these last few days by
Alpha. . . . It’s engrossing, full of horror and deeply damning.”
—Sam Sifton, The New York Times
“Shakespearean . . . An excellent read from a seasoned reporter who covered the entire saga [of] Eddie Gallagher.”
—The San Diego Union-Tribune
“
Alpha is an important, infuriating, meticulously researched account of modern warfare that I found nearly impossible to put down.”
—Jon Krakauer, New York Times bestselling author of Where Men Win Glory and Into the Wild
“This is one of the best books to come out of the Iraq war. It is also one of the saddest. There have been many books about Navy SEALs and snipers, but
Alpha is by far the most important. I think it will be required reading for the Navy, as
Black Hearts has become for the Army. Anyone who cares about the American military needs to read this.”
—Thomas E. Ricks, bestselling author of Fiasco, First Principles, and The Generals
“This is a book to make your blood boil. Expertly reported and written,
Alpha details a truly shameful national episode, and stands as a powerful corrective for those who mistake cruelty for toughness and equate war with murder.”
—Mark Bowden, New York Times bestselling author of Black Hawk Down and Hue 1968
“
Alpha is a phenomenally reported, deeply compelling portrait of moral courage a