One Sixth Warriors Forum banner

Military/CIA book reviews (Modern)

16K views 40 replies 12 participants last post by  pukingdog 
#1 ·
So there has been some discussion in the 1:6 forum that gets into some of the great books out there about modern military operations/personnel that have been documented by some outstanding writers. As a lover of all things military and books as well, I decided that I would take the time to review some of the military and CIA books that I own. I am going to stick to the modern era only, as that is what I read most often. Everything I will review is non-fiction.

"Black Hawk Down" by Mark Bowden, published by Atlantic Monthly Press

I chose this book first because it is just an outstanding book that covers not only the U.S. side, but also the Somali side of the story. Bowden obviously interviewed a lot of people from the United States Military, Somalis, as well as U.N. personnel I believe when he put this book together. The reader gets a lot of in-depth looks into one of the most secret U.S. military units ever (1st SFOD-D).

The reader is introduced to a plethora of "characters" from the Rangers, 160th SOAR and Delta, almost to the point that it is a little overwhelming. In the movie they merged a lot of people from the book into one character in the movie so that the viewer wouldn't get confused or lost and could better relate. Also there would have been so many more side stories in the movie that it would have been hard to follow. I must say though that the book is MUCH BETTER than the movie. It is an awesome story to say the least.

There is a lot of dated information in this book that wouldn't lend itself to today's fighting force, but there is some good information on each of the military units depicted, a good history lesson in how we got involved in Mogadishu, and a well written depiction of the events of October 3rd/4th, 1993.

"Not A Good Day To Die" by Sean Naylor, published by Berkley Caliber

I chose to review this book next because I rank it up there with "Black Hawk Down". This is a very well written book about Operation Anaconda. The book documents the events that occurred in the Shahi-Kot Valley, Afghanistan from March 1st-18th, 2002. Naylor's subjects include the AFO (Advance Force Operations) team led by Lt. Col. Pete Blaber of Delta Force, Task Force Dagger, Task Force K-Bar, Task Force Mountain (10th Mountain Division & 101st Airborne Division), JSOC elements, and some other players to include the CIA.

Some have alluded to Sean Naylor being a SEAL basher in this book. While there are some obvious issues that are documented about some of the SEAL members, there are some wonderful depictions of an awesome firefight (on the "Finger") and the heroics on Takur Ghar by the SEAL team to attempt to rescue their fallen comrade, Neil Roberts. My belief is that the book fairly documents both the errors and successes of all of the units involved. I think IMHO the depiction of Naylor being a SEAL basher is unsubstantiated.

Overall this book is great. The reader gets an inside look at some outstanding work performed by heroes from both conventional and Special Operations units. I believe there is a good balance of both covered in this book. Of note, one of the Delta Operators from India's reece team is called Bob H. in the book. This is Bob Horrigan who was killed in Iraq on June 17th, 2005.

"Robert's Ridge" by Maclolm MacPherson, published by Dell

I chose this book next only because it ties in with "Not A Good Day To Die". This book is entirely about the events on Takur Ghar with the SEALs and Rangers during Operation Anaconda. It is a good complement to "Not A Good Day To Die" and I believe it goes a little more in-depth on the events that took place on the mountain. It's been a while since I read it so I won't delve into it much more. I will try to re-read it at some point and update this review.

"First In" by Gary Schroen, published by Ballantine Books

I decided to back up a little bit. The 1st two books I talked about, "Black Hawk Down" and Not a Good Day To Die" were picked first because of how much great information and writing went into each of those books. Now I am going to back track and go back to where it all started in Afghanistan. "First In" is a first hand account of the first members of the United States to enter Afghanistan after 9/11.

Gary Schroen is the leader of a 7 man CIA team (that grows to 9 later on) that is tasked with entering Afghanistan and preparing the battle space for American military forces to wage war on al Qaeda and the Taliban. Gary Schroen was allowed by the CIA to publish this book. There are no redactions at all in this book, which makes it a very pleasant read to say the least. There is a lot of outstanding information about not only Gary's CIA team but other CIA teams operating in Afghanistan, with an account of the near miss on Hamid Karzai's life by a miss directed JDAM (this event is well documented in "The Only Thing Worth Dying For" by Eric Blehm).

Amazingly there is a lot of information in this book that is redacted in other CIA accounts. This book was sanctioned by the CIA, and I believe that may be due to how senior Schroen was at the time (Deputy Chief of the Near East Division of the CIA's Directorate of Operations, preparing to retire after 35 years). If you are interested in the CIA I highly recommend this book.

"Jawbreaker" by Gary Berntsen, published by Crown

Next up is a book that carries over from "First In". Berntsen was tasked with relieving Schroen (so that he could retire) in Afghanistan and running the operations in the country. Basically he was the station chief for the country of Afghanistan.

This book is heavily redacted by the CIA. I think that it's odd that some of the information in this book is redacted here, but not in Schroen's "First In". My thought here is that I perceive Berntsen to be a little cocky (if that is the right term) and I get the feeling he pissed off some people at the CIA.

This book is a fantastic read except for the redactions. They are annoying as hell. If you read this book, read "First In" before you do. You can tie in information from that book to help fill in some of the blanks. There is a lot of great info in this book about CIA operations and it brings the reader up to the events at The Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001 when Schroen was replaced by Rich, the chief of the Bin Laden Unit.

"Kill Bin Laden" by "Dalton Fury", published by St. Martin's Press

"Kill Bin Laden" picks up where "Jawbreaker" left off, except the story shifts from the CIA to Delta Force. "KBL" is written by a retired Delta Force Major who uses the pseudonym "Dalton Fury". The book recounts the events in the Battle Of Tora Bora by the Delta Force element involved as well as the CIA and some Special Forces and SBS commandos from the UK.

"Dalton Fury" has received a lot of flack from Special Forces veterans for his violation of the "Silent Professionals" motto. Fury recounts a little bit of his early history in the Ranger battalion as an enlisted soldier before his Delta Selection (which he gets into a little bit in the book).

Overall the book has a lot of good information. The book doesn't flow well and there is some bouncing around, but the book provided a detailed look at the composition of a Delta Force squadron and the events that took place in the battle. If you are into Delta Force then get this book. It's worth it.

"The Only Thing Worth Dying For" by Eric Blehm, published by Harper

This wonderfully written story documents the exploits of Special Forces ODA 574 from September - December 2001. Blehm does an outstanding job recounting the men and their brave actions in his writing. Some biographies/documentary books can be dry, but I didn't experience that at all. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it.

The book does a fantastic job of explaining to the reader how the ODA's work, their composition, what mission prep is like and the roles and responsibilities of each team member.

"The Mission, The Men, And Me" by Pete Blaber, published by Berkley Caliber

Pete Blaber is a retired Delta Force Lieutenant Colonel. In this book Blaber recounts some of the missions that he and his men performed during his time with Delta Force. After each story Blaber explains how leadership can be applied in the civilian sector to duplicate the successes he had. This book is intended to be a lesson in leadership, but the "war stories" are fantastic. I have a deep respect for Pete Blaber. You can tell that he is an outstanding leader of men and would be the kind of officer that I would want to follow into battle. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes Delta for and/or leadership lessons.

I will review many more books and add more info as I can. I will put the rest of the reviews in this 1st post to keep them together.

Feel free to offer your own reviews as well. I like to know about other books that I may not have read yet and to discuss impressions and information found in these books.

Semper Fi!
Jeff
 
See less See more
#30 ·
I'll second Jeff's and Will's remarks - No Easy Day is how military memoirs should be written. The language and flow are great, there's some nice details, and the author is generally careful about betraying OPSEC. In the intro, he notes that he sought to discuss information that was already publicly known. I strongly recommend to anyone who enjoys military non-fiction.
 
#31 ·
Gentleman Bastards by Kevin Maurer

I just finished reading this book last night. The author is embedded with 7th Special Forces group in Afghanistan. ODA 7136 .This book doesn't have all the action you would read in other stories. This book takes you into where no other book or even media shows. It takes you into what Special Forces were created to do. FID (training foreign troops) and VSO (Village Stability Operations). It talks about the importance of these two operations and how basically the only unit capable of achieving success are Green Berets. Its a good book and I like it but if you're looking for a high speed kill all the bad guys type book this ain't it. If you want to learn what SF are designed for and how difficult it is for them in this changing environment this is a great read. Having read ALOT of books on Rangers this was a good change. Hope you all agree.

Next is probably Sua Sponte or Outlaw Platoon.
 
#32 · (Edited)
This is a great thread. Wish I had seen it sooner. I have read many of the books already mentioned. Here are some I recommend.

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
My absolute favorite book about Navy SEALs in the war on terror. I just love Marcus Luttrell. This big Texan is just larger than life. He is a controversial figure, but this story is a great read. I have his latest book "Service" queued up. I am also trying hard to help get him for a university speaker series I help sponsor locally through AT&T.

No True Glory: Fallujah and the Struggle in Iraq: A Frontline Account By Bing West.
It provides great insight into the political struggles in Iraq and how it impacted the boots on the ground. Can be very frustrating at times to see how the politicization of tactics and strategy cost lives.

Roughneck Nine-One: The Extraordinary Story of a Special Forces A-team at War by Frank Antenori
Recounts the battle of Debecka Pass in Iraq and tells the story of a horrific friendly fire incident in which a Navy F14 bombed a group of Kurdish personnel, a BBC crew and Special Forces personnel.

One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer By Nate Fick
A great book chronicling Fick's career as a young Marine infantry officer. It provides great insight into the mindset of a battlefield leader and the issues they wrestle with in leading young men into battle.

Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man by Dalton Fury
Already mentioned... A first hand account of the battle of Tora Bora where Fury tells the story of the Delta Force hunt for the world's most wanted man, how close US forces came to getting him early on and why bin Laden slipped through the net in Afghanistan and into Pakistan. Very interesting stories and insight into the Afghanistan forces in the fight and how Delta and Special Forces had to juggle politics and personalities in the first big manhunt for bin Laden.

House to House by David Bellavia
Already mentioned, but another great book about the ground war and the conflict in Fallujah.

SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper by Howard Wasdin
Another pretty good read about Navy SEALs. He writes about his time with SEAL Team Two in Desert Storm, his time with DEVGRU and the Battle of Mogadishu.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
An absolutely incredible book and story. Couldn't put it down. The only WWII book I have read in quite some time, but it was fantastic. If you never read another book about WWII, you should read this one.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
Not a work of nonfiction, but a great Vietnam novel. It took Marlantes quite a long time to write this book and it is a long read, but it drew me in and kept me there until I was through with the book.

SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama bin Laden by Chuck Pfarrer
Already mentioned... A lot of books were rushed to market in the wake of the mission that took out bin Laden and it showed in most. This one -- while I understand Pfarrer made some mistakes -- is better than any I have read.

Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden
Already mentioned... one of my top three or four military history books. Movie was great, book is better.

We Were Soldiers Once... And Young by Harold Moore and Joe Galloway
Like most good movies based on books, the book is a must read if you saw and enjoyed the movie. There is a tradition that the Commandant of the Marine Corps selects a book each year that he feels is relevant and timeless for every Marine to read. This was the Commandant's choice in 1993.

American Sniper by Chris Kyle
Already mentioned... was a number one bestseller. 'Nuff said.

I have several books lined up in my Kindle. Right now I am finishing a fiction book called PRIMAL Unleashed, about an organization of privately funded mercenaries inserting themselves into situations where governments fear to tread or are too slow to act. I have the Naylor Book Not A Good Day To Die, Parnell's Outlaw Platoon, the book about Adam Brown, Fearless, and Mark Owen's No Easy Day stacked up and ready to go. A lot of good books and so little time...

A note about books written by or about Navy SEALs. The chest thumping is part of their "charm" I guess and I don't mind it too much. I understand that this is an organic part of what makes up the personality and character of the men that put themselves through what is certainly self abuse to earn their trident and then to put themselves into harm's way in ways few people can ever understand. What I do find interesting is that the SEALs do seem to be a little more overt about it, though they go to great lengths to say they are quiet professionals and prefer to fly under the radar. However, I cannot read another chapter on BUD/S. I am glad to see that the Mark Owen book omits this almost prerequisite telling in books about Navy SEALs, especially those written by SEALs. BUD/S is tough, we get it. I also understand that each of these books must be written as though the reader has no context to understand the process by which SEALs are trained and screened. But as a regular consumer of these books, I have started skipping through or quickly skimming the retelling of BUD/S experiences.
 
#34 ·
Just finished Mark Owen's No Easy Day. Kinda' wish I had waited until I saw tonight's Nat Geo docudrama on the Bin Laden raid. I know it is going to piss me off when I watch the movie and creative license crosses the line to obscure the truth. That being said, I really enjoyed the book and it dispelled a lot of popular myths about the raid in Abbottabad.

Just started on Chris Martin's two books on Delta, Shaping the World from the Shadows and Seal Team Six, Beyond Neptune Spear.
 
#36 ·
I just finished A J. Venter's WAR DOG Fighting Other People's Wars The Modern Mercenary in Combat.

Venter has a lot of experience in reporting African conflicts, and that is the central location for most of his book. It is a study of modern private military contractors, as well as an interesting consideration of the roles of private companies, their personnel, and the future of private militaries.

Part One deals primarily with Neall Ellis, a South African who flew a handful of Mi-24 Hinds and Mi-17s in support of the Sierra Leone government, against Foday Sankoh's RUF insurgents. At 188 pages, it is a thorough account of the challenges and dangers faced, and the innovation and skills used by the contract crews.

Part Two covers experiences in Bosnia, Lebanon, Congo, and Biafra.

Part Three begins with Executive Outcomes' experience in Angola and moves on to Sierra Leone. The small force of former elite South African and Rhodesian soldiers engage far larger enemy forces, defeating them with solid tactics and combined arms.

In the Epilogue, Venter discusses various contractors in Iraq, and other parts of the world, and finishes with a consideration of their usefulness in future conflicts of asymetrical nature. There is also an assessment of EO nations' militaries capabilities to carry out such operations.

Besides the above, this book is a rich account of the characters who are a part of these wars - contract soldiers, UN types, corrupt government and military leaders, various intelligence agency types of many countries, politicians, Russian pilots and mechanics, as well as details (some grudgingly admiring) of insurgents' qualities and tactics.
There is also an honest assessment of the usefulness of aircraft (often converted trainers), gunships (mostly Russian), and AFVs (mostly BMP-2s) in the conditions and terrain encountered.

Not the definitive study of the subject, but I think, a very valid component of the history and debate. Enjoyable read, and highly detailed.
 
#37 ·


At the risk of self promotion....Danger Close: Tactical Air Controllers in Afghanistan and Iraq (Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series)
"America had a secret weapon," writes Steve Call of the period immediately following September 11, 2001, as planners contemplated the invasion of Afghanistan. This weapon consisted of small teams of Special Forces operatives trained in close air support (CAS) who, in cooperation with the loose federation of Afghan rebels opposed to the Taliban regime, soon began achieving impressive-and unexpected-military victories over Taliban forces and the al-Qaeda terrorists they had sponsored. The astounding success of CAS tactics coupled with ground operations in Afghanistan soon drew the attention of military decision makers and would eventually factor into the planning for another campaign: Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This book was written by one of our former Air Liasion Officers and covers some of the TACP's highlights in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The guy on the cover also moonlights as an OSW Admin.....
 
#39 ·
Just started reading some of the Vince Flynn books. They are fiction, but so far pretty good reads. I just finished the first of his books Term Limits, which was self published only to become a NYT best seller. It is generally classified political intrigue with elements of the CIA and former military special operators. Although his primary character in the rest of his books is not mentioned in Term Limits, some of the character carry over into the Mitch Rapp chronicles.

If you pick up Term Limits, I will warn you military accuracy goons like myself, there are some things that will get under your skin as naively inaccurate, like the constant characterization of special operations personnel as commandos, even by military types in the dialogue. Another is calling the 101st the 101st Airborne Rangers and a Marine general being a deputy commander at JSOC although no Marine units were in JSOC at the time of the writing (late 1990s) and still aren't today, although MARSOC, etc. are now under the larger USSOCOM umbrella. Referring to USSOCOM as Special Forces is a pet peeve, but probably the least of the transgressions in Flynn's first book. If it had been originally published by a large publishing house, an editor would have surely caught and changed some of these things. Still, I read it in under a week (which is lightning speed with my recent schedule) and had a hard time putting it down. Read the last three chapters at 5 a.m. today.

If you read Clancy's bestseller Without Remorse which was the John Clark/John Kelly backstory book, this one is very similar in tone, pace and twists and turns.

Flynn passed away a few weeks ago at the way too young age of 47 just as his first Rapp prequel American Assassin is in pre-production starring Bruce Willis.

Anyway, I know that Butch is a big Vince Flynn fan and I regret that I have only recently discovered his books. His stuff is similar to Lee Child's Jack Reacher series and a lot of Tom Clancy's work and works by others under the Clancy banner.
 
#40 ·
A shift to more domestic duties has opened up some more reading time for me, and I recently pushed thru a number of books.

The Last Stand of Fox Company by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin, is the story of Fox Co, 2nd Bn, 7th Regt's stand at the Toktong Pass, in 1950. Their desperate fight held the key terrain which allowed their fellow Marines to withdraw from the Chosin Reservoir. Understrength, low on rations and ammunition, they fought, suffered, and often died, stopping much larger Chinese forces (which were well armed, organized, and willing to take horrendous losses, to take the hill).
Many of the Fox Company were reservists and new men, with little training before arriving in Korea. It is a lesson in cohesion, initiative, leadership, and endurance.

The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick, is an examination of the fight at the Little Big Horn/Greasy Grass, in 1876. It covers the many factors, participants, and terrible decisions which culminated in the disaster. Philbrick describes sufficient blame for many, high and low. The actual demise of Custer and his men is more or less off stage, rather dealing with the other fights. The author credits various other works, as well as other sources, from both sides. He also relates the terrible cost to the tribes which fought there, and their leaders. Published in 2010, it's a well thought out book, tho as Philbrick proves that finding the truth is as ever, or more elusive with each passing moment.

No Greater Love by James C. Donahue, describes the one-day stand by his fellow Green Berets, and their Cambodian-expat Mobile Guerrilla Force, against a large Main Force NVA concentration, during the Blackjack-34* Mission. An excellent source for tactics and organization within such a unit, as well as enlightening descriptions of combat medical procedures (Donahue was a Bac Si), it is efficiently written, a fine read.
*The book was also published as 'Blackjack-34'

Scarlet Fields is John Lewis Barkley's story of his experience in WW1, as an "Intelligence Man", a sort of early 'Scout Sniper". Nominally a member of the the 3rd Infantry Division, Barkley and his fellow soldiers operated out of an Intelligence unit, and were moved all over the front manned by various US Army units. They were a rough bunch, and skilled in scouting, sniping, and fire control. Also used as a "force multiplier", Barkley and his fellow soldiers were assigned night raids, specific target strikes, "stay-behind", blocking, and screening missions. Perhaps the culmination of this book, is Barkley's account of his one-man stand* at the Bois de Cunel. There, he stopped a German attack, earning the Medal of Honor.
Barkley was a Missouri farm boy and woodsman, and his language is that of his time. The reader should understand that, and not try to ascribe present day attitudes and "accepted behavior" to Barkley and his fellow soldiers.
Also, Barkley's book missed the wave of popular WW1 literature at the time, and this reprinting had the support of a number of individuals and institutions. One such individual, Steven Trout, wrote the introduction. A 24 page introduction. The reader may want to bypass that, and perhaps read it after finishing the book. Mr. Trout seemed unable to fight the temptation of giving away quite a few details of Barkley's account.
I believe this book has some of the better "small details" of any book on the subject, and although he did not say it himself, Barkley was an extraordinary man, even among so many exceptional men.
*Is there a pattern here? That's three in a row, which involve stands.

_________________________________​

After all of these books, I decided to read a fictional book, which I had in my queue.
Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Escape is one of a series which relate the experiences of Richard Sharpe, a Captain of the 95th Rifles, up from the ranks. He's a rogue, brawler, and practical soldier. It's 1810, and Sharpe commands a light company which is following Wellingtion's British and Portuguese army, as it pulls back to a line of ridges, there to fight and stop the advancing French forces under Masséna.
At this writing, I am just past the fighting at Buçaco (Bussaco). Sharpe has acquitted himself well, although there are many more French battalions, and he has a number of private enemies.
Cornwell's Sharpe books are "ripping yarns", but they are also very good for getting a feel for the nature of fighting in those days. Napoleonic warfare involves grand, staged maneuver, but it is also a slaughterhouse affair, and the author details the training, discipline, and "combined arms" nature of it. You can hardly come away from the books without some understanding of weapons, effects, morale, and the madness and bravery on all sides.
And yeah, there's stands in this one too.

-----
 
#41 ·
I finally booted OUTLAW PLATOON up the queue, to the top, last week. Finished it last night, actually damn near the whole second half. I can only add my genuine recommendation to major.rod's deservedly enthusiastic review. It is a profound work, as well as a guide to the organization and tactics of a modern infantry platoon. Parnell is a honest and honorable man, and he has left us a fitting tribute to his soldiers.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top