Book summary

America's Special Forces--supersoldiers from the Army and Marines--are an essential part of America's global mission and the war on terror. In IMPERIAL GRUNTS, journalist Robert Kaplan examines the training and deployment of these supersoldiers in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq, including their important role in the battles of Fallujah, as well as other locales such as the Phillipines and Mongolia. These first-on-the-ground troops, highly intelligent and educated, engage in a number of ways, including storming training camps, negotiating with tribes, providing training to foreign soldiers, and building schools and medical facilities. The author of the acclaimed BALKAN GHOSTS, Kaplan draws on his extensive knowledge of the military and politics to provide a new view of a little-known but important aspect of waging war and peace.