Ed Darack is the author of six previous books, including the critically acclaimed Victory Point about Operations Red Wings and Whalers, and The Final Mission of Extortion 17, the story behind the single deadliest day for US troops in the War in Afghanistan. He has embedded with US forces four times in Afghanistan and twice in Iraq, where he did the field work for Warriors of Anbar. Darack is the author of hundreds of feature articles on a broad spectrum of topics for publications including the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Smithsonian's Air & Space (where he's a contributing editor), Leatherneck, Marine Corps Gazette, Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, Foreign Policy, Weatherwise (where he's a contributing editor), and many others.