The Hardest Place: The American Military Adrift in Afghanistan's Pech Valley

"The definitive account of America's heroic but ultimately doomed effort in one of Afghanistan's most rugged regions."—Sebastian Junger, author of Tribe

His life and career were the embodiment of the American dream. Born in Poland, John Shalikashvili (1936—2011) descended from aristocratic European families that served with distinction in both battle and government for centuries. After barely surviving the Warsaw Uprising, he and his family fled to Germany during World War II to escape advancing Soviet troops and emigrated to the United States in 1952. Shalikashvili was drafted into the army as a private in 1958 and rose steadily through the ranks, serving in every level of unit command from platoon to division. In 1993 Shalikashvili was tapped by President Bill Clinton to replace General Colin Powell as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, becoming the first immigrant, first draftee, and first Officer Candidate School graduate to hold the position.