We find that many people come to the Straits of Mackinac to rediscover a slower, more leisurely way of life, and reading is a big part of that lifestyle. This year we wanted to pick one great title that we readers can talk about and bring people together to hear from the author. We are unveiling our first MACKINAC READS title: Horse Soldiers by Traverse City author Doug Stanton.

Our home-grown Michigander wrote an engrossing tale of present day soldiers in Afghanistan whose convoys consist of soldiers on horses instead of in tanks and military vehicles. Horse Soldiers was selected the 2009 Publishers Weekly Book of the Year, which is one of the highest honors in the industry. Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Out-numbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy across mountainous terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential if they were to defeat the Taliban. Deeply researched and beautifully written, Stanton’s account of America’s quest to liberate an oppressed people touches the mythic.

The Horse Soldiers combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first-century aerial bombardment technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Moreover, their careful effort to win the hearts of local townspeople and avoid civilian casualties proved a valuable lesson for America’s ongoing efforts in Afghanistan. “Not just an epic war story, Horse Soldiers is a beautifully written, intimate portrait of the men and women who lived the battle on the fields of fire — and at home, too. Their secret mission against the Taliban was intelligent, brave, and undertaken with great care for the good people of Afghanistan.

Doug Stanton’s superb account is an invaluable insight for policy makers and the public for years to come.” – Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea Doug Stanton is the author of the New York Times bestseller In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors. A former contributing editor at Esquire, Sports Afield, and Outside, Stanton is now a contributing editor at Men’s Journal and has written on travel, entertainment, and adventure, during which time he nearly drowned in Cape Horn waters, played basketball with George Clooney, and took an acting lesson from a gracious Harrison Ford. Doug is the founder of the National Writers Series, a year-round book festival in downtown Traverse City, Michigan. Join us July 8 at the library to listen to Doug Stanton talk and answer questions about Horse Soldiers and his upcoming book, also set in Afghanistan.

Order your copy now!

Horse Soldiers
Doug Stanton