New York: Simon & Schuster, (2001). First edition - The author's first novel, set in Somalia - "When Lieutenant Gavin Kelly's recon platoon swims ashore a Mogadishu beach under the glare of news camera lights, it is an appropriately surreal beginning to Operation Restore hope. . . Minutes after the Marines' celebrated landing, one of Kelly's men kills an armed Somali bodyguard. The circumstances of the killing are unclear and Kelly finds himself in the center of a malestrom. he must act quickly to deflect a vociferous outcry from members of the international press corps, censure by his Marine superiors, and the possibility of losing the loyalty of his men--particularly two enlisted leaders in the platoon who have vouched for the necessity of the kill." West was a lieutenant in the Marines and commanded a special ops unit, so he can write with accuracy and knowledge of the challenges imposed by modern warfare. Winner of the Boyd literary award for best military novel. 312 pp.