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Beyond the Call
- Three Women on the Front Lines in Afghanistan
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
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Summary
A riveting account of three women who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with men and worked with local women to restore their lives and push back the Taliban.
They marched under the heat with 40-pound rucksacks on their backs. They fired weapons out of the windows of military vehicles, defending their units in deadly battles. And they did things their male counterparts could never do—gather intelligence on the Taliban from the women of Afghanistan.
As females, they could circumvent Muslim traditions and cultivate relationships with Afghan women who were bound by tradition not to speak with American military men. And their work in local villages helped empower Afghan women, providing them with the education and financial tools necessary to rebuild their nation—and the courage to push back against the insurgency that wanted to destroy it. For the women warriors of the military's Female Engagement Teams (FET), it was dangerous, courageous, and sometimes heartbreaking work.
Beyond the Call follows the groundbreaking journeys of three women as they first fight military brass and culture and then enemy fire and tradition. And like the men with whom they served, their battles were not over when they returned home.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic reviews
"[The] story of the fight for women's rights in a country where the male power structure opposes them.... Compelling. The author's own military experience gives the book a perspective that is especially useful. A solid, fact-filled look at an underreported piece of the American military." (Kirkus Reviews)
"A compelling story, too long untold. Eileen Rivers reveals the power of women - of women in the US military in Afghanistan, playing a crucial role in intelligence gathering that was impossible for their male counterparts. And the power of the Afghan women with whom they forged a bond. For the Afghan women, the war isn't over, of course. And the American women faced battles of their own when they got home. If you start reading Eileen Rivers's book, you won't be able to stop. Some of it will make you angry. Much of it will make you proud." (Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief, USA Today)
"Today, women are on the front lines of our nation's wars all over the globe. Yet little has been written about them or the struggles they endure - both on and off the battlefield. Until now. Eileen Rivers's account of three women who served in Afghanistan is both a gripping narrative and a sharp analysis of a historic cultural shift in our nation's military. We owe it to the men and women who serve in our armed forces to understand this pressing issue. This book is a great place to start." (Jim Michaels, author of A Chance in Hell: The Men Who Triumphed Over Iraq's Deadliest City and Turned the Tide of War)