Abigail Austen

Lord Roberts Valet Abigail Austen

It's the war that's defined a generation-the lengthiest, most expensive military campaign of the modern day. You've seen the television coverage and the Internet-based news. But you've never seen the inner workings of the War on Terror quite like this.

From 2011 to 2014, Abi Austen served alongside the US Army in Kandahar Province as a NATO consultant-a role that placed her face-to-face with high-ranking officials from the United States, NATO, and Afghanistan. There, she had a front-row view of the madness and mayhem, the heroism and tragedy, to be found behind the veil of warfare.

Now, in Lord Roberts Valet, Austen introduces readers to the gritty realities of this tumultuous modern conflict, from the personalities behind the action, to the daily minutia of deployment, to the life-altering insanity of living dangerously close to Taliban fighters, all against a backdrop of rockets and gunfire.

Delving into the past and present of Afghanistan, Austen explores the broader historical context of the Afghan War-including the decision-making processes, what the intentions were, and where they went horribly wrong.

The result is a unique, never-before-told tale from inside the war of a generation by a woman who has been through it all.