This was not an overtly political book but a compilation of first hand accounts, suspenseful and sad. ( )

This book is not political It deals with the upper levels of Washington for maybe two pages in this account. What it is a remarkable story of these brave men who went to aid their fellow countrymen. To say otherwise shows you just don't get it. This story is about the men who fought, the men who died, and what actually happened on the ground that night and early morning. Moving, touching, very emotional story. ( )

Well that was intense. Very accessibly written. I felt a lot of tension even though I basically knew the end result. ( )

On September 11, 2012 The Benghazi Special Mission Compound and it's CIA Annex were brutally attacked by terrorists. The U.S. Ambassador, J. Christopher Stephens was in residence at the Mission.

This book is not about the politics. Washington and it's residents are never mentioned until the epilogue. This is the story of the six men who were in the Annex, all members of the CIA's contracted Global Response Team. The GRS men aided Mitchell Zuckoff in writing this book, as they wanted their story told.

The book reads like a Vince Flynn thriller. You're introduced to this heroic team of men, one piece at a time. You are given the lay of the land and you can feel the tension in the streets of Benghazi. Then all hell breaks loose. The six men, all trained Military, chose to work the private security sector after their years of service. They were not in Benghazi on orders, they were there by choice, still serving their country. The losses the USA took that day would have been far greater if these men had not been on site. Their story is unbelievably candid and personal.

This is the 3rd book, by Zuckoff, that I have read. I will not hesitate to read anything this man writes. Highly recommended for those who like a boots on the ground thriller or those, like me, who wanted to know what really happened. ( )

"13 Hours", by Mitchell Zuckoff, is the second of two books I've read about the September 11, 2012 attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya. The first was "Under Fire" by Fred Burton and Samuel Katz. I think both books give an excellent account of the militant attack on the mission which led to the death of two two members of the diplomatic mission, including the U.S. Ambassador, and of two U.S. security personnel. I favored "Under Fire" very slightly, possibly because I read it first, but also because I thought it gave me a broader overview of the situation, especially the reason we kept a mission open in this Country in turmoil. Zuckoff's book, on the other hand, intentionally focused much more on the security personnel hired to protect the mission and annex, their individual stories, and their bravery in the performance of their mission. So neither book should disappoint the reader. If you really want to get to know the former seals who died in their security mission, Zuckoff's book does the job. If your looking for a somewhat broader perspective of the incident, the Burton & Katz book is a good choice.

Troublesome, to me, especially after reading "13 Hours", is how politicized this disastrous situation has been, and remains, in our Country. As described in "13 Hours", four brave men died in an attack on an undermanned post in a dangerous Country. As in any disaster, post-event analysts will be able to point to things which would have helped mitigate the event, find things which could have or should have been done better, or done differently, and we can second guess any number of decisions. Numerous investigations and hearings have been held and need to be held to determine exactly went wrong, and to try to minimize the chance of something similar happening somewhere else in the world. There was plenty of blame to go around, from military preparedness, State Department decisions, and Congressional funding to support both. But I found nothing in either Zuckoff's book nor Burton's book which supports any claim that anyone lied about the details of the event nor that there was a State Department cover-up for political reasons. Further, as Leon Panetta pointed out in his recent book "Worthy Fights", there was nothing the military could have done to save the Americans, and it was not Hillary Clinton, but rather CIA Director David Petraeus who was responsible for the talking points that the attack was prompted by mod violence. Still, as Zuckoff pointed out, plans to make this a political issue in the 2016 election have already been made. And to me, it insults the memory of the four men (Ambassador Chris Stevens, staff officer Sean Smith, former SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty) who gave their lives in the service to their Country, only to have them used as pawns for the purpose of gaining political points with the electorate. ( )