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The Hero Next Door: Stories of Patriotism and Purpose
Author(s): Martha Raddatz (Author)
- Publisher: Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
- Publication Date: May 26, 2026
- Language: English
- Print length: 368 pages
- ISBN-10: 1668093804
- ISBN-13: 9781668093801
Book Description
For twenty-five years Martha Raddatz has witnessed the grit and resilience of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have been fighting America’s wars since 9/11. What motivates them to do such impossible things? How do they find the courage to put their lives on the line, or the strength to start over when things don’t go as planned?
The Hero Next Door offers a dozen portraits of servicemen and women who are every bit as inspiring as those of the Greatest Generation. Every one of them has shown awe-inspiring strength of character, creativity, and drive, faced daunting odds, and come out stronger.Take Kevin Shaeffer, a naval officer working at the Pentagon on 9/11, whose life-changing experience on that day fueled his determination to hunt down Osama bin Laden. Or Mark Little, who made it his mission, after an IED blew up his convoy in Iraq, to help veterans rebuild their lives when they were down. Or Josh Webster, who dangled by a rope under enemy fire to rescue a fallen officer in the mountains of Afghanistan. Or Rocco Armonda, a highly skilled surgeon who pioneered a new way of treating traumatic brain injury in Iraq. Or Danielle “Purple” Thiriot and Charles “Wingnut” Wickware, who, once they started flying, knew exactly what their mission was. Or Derek Herrera, who gives new meaning to transformative second acts.
Life can turn on a moment, and who’s to say what we’ll do? That, we learn, is when you spot the real heroes: when no one is watching. “Individually, their stories are deeply inspiring,” Raddatz writes. “Together, they offer something beyond inspiration: insight into what it means to live with a life-defining courage and sense of purpose.”
Editorial Reviews
Review
—Kirkus Review
“Your heart will swell, and sometimes break, in the company of these remarkable men and women. Martha Raddatz’s gorgeous, sensitive group portrait and deep sympathy for what she wonderfully calls this "no less great" generation will stay with me always.
The Hero Next Door is an antidote to the cynicism that surrounds us, a celebration of sacrifice, selflessness, and moral courage. It is exactly the book we need.”—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of Fall and Rise and 13 Hours
“Powerful and profoundly immersive,
The Hero Next Door is a work of rare force and significance. Martha Raddatz plunges us into the lives of these extraordinary men and women and captures with remarkable clarity their sacrifices and unfathomable courage.”—Kathryn Bigelow, Oscar winning director of The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty and A House of Dynamite
“
The Hero Next Door reminds us brilliantly, movingly, of the many Americans who have fought our recent wars. If, two hundred and fifty years after the nation’s birth, we could all begin to match these men and women’s courage, devotion, service, and willingness to sacrifice, we would be a noble republic indeed. This is an important reminder of the unsung, the best among us.”—Alex Kershaw, author of Against All Odds
“Very few people outside the military really understand what those of us who serve experience—Martha Raddatz is one of them. In this remarkable book, she lets people see the real character of our servicemen and women. It is truly humbling to have led some of them.”
“I have read
hundreds of books on the military, and none has impacted me as profoundly as this one. Martha Raddatz has captured the humanity and heroism (and the humor) of our nation’s troops and their loved ones. These stories are riveting, inspiring, and beautifully told. They have the power to remind us, military and civilian alike, that we have so much more in common than we are led to believe.”—Andrew Carroll, author of War Letters and Behind the Lines
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