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Title: The Commandos by Douglas C. Waller ISBN: 0-440-22046-7 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.44 (39 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Commandos goes "above and beyond"
Comment: Commandos is the most in-depth and accurate book about special operations that I have ever read. It is refreshing, and surprising, to see this subject openly addressed, giving hard-earned credit to the men who have worked their tails off to become the absolute best, in the service of their country, while allowing uninitiated readers a realistic glimpse into a mysterious world. I don't claim to personally be completely knowledgeable about this field, but I have worked in the special ops community for a dozen years, in a support role. Based on my knowledge, I can say with confidence that Waller is right on target. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in elite military forces. I also recommend Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down, which deals specifically with the 1993 Task Force Ranger raid in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Good Special Ops "Appetizer"
Comment: This book is about the best general overview of the various Special Forces units in the American arsenal from a "signal to noise" ratio that I have read to date. By that I mean what the book presumes to offer and what it actually delivers is pretty much on par. Everybody looks for different things in these kinds of books but generally I think people who read books about special ops are looking for organizational details of how these units do what they do and "sea stories" of them doing it for real.
Like any book that covers a lot of ground, however, it is more of a general look than an in-depth study. There are certainly better books that drill down on a particular service this book is the best I've read so far at wrapping them all up in a single package without skimping too much or misrepresenting the content. Now, there are some chapters that are just barley enough to whet one's appetite. For example, the chapter on Delta Force is not much more than what you'd find in an exclusive magazine article on the subject. This is simply because the author was not given the same level of access to Delta Force as he was able to gain for the SEALs or the Green Berets so it is not at all well balanced from a unit perspective.
What is balanced is the author's approach to explaining what the core mission is for the units he examines (namely the Army Green Berets, Delta Force and PSYOPS, Navy SEALs and the Air Force Special Operations chopper pilots) and a taste of what they do. The author takes a contemporary view of his subjects rather than bogging things down too much with the unit's past histories. Instead he focuses on what they were doing at the time the book was written (late 90's). The latter half of the book is a look at some of the ops that these units participated in during the Gulf War. I appreciated this approach since I feel that Special Ops is definitely an up-to-date topic meaning that I am more interested in what these units are doing now than what they did decades ago.
This then becomes the book's major downfall. Namely that it is out of date being written in the late '90s. Despite this disadvantage I think the basic mission parameters and operating styles of the units showcased are essentially the same so it is still a valid reference for general information on the special ops forces involved. Overall, though, I think the balance achieved was good and it is well worth a paperback price. I look forward to a similar book that covers the work that these units have done in Afghanistan.
Rating: 4
Summary: GREAT BOOK FOR BEGINNERS
Comment: I HAVE READ MUCH ABOUT SPECIAL FORCES AND TALKED TO MANY PEOPLE. I HAVE TO SAY THAT IT WAS A BIT GENERAL. BECAUSE IT WAS WRITTEN BY A JOURNALIST IT ISN'T REAL SPECIFIC. IF YOU HAVE NO OR LIMITED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT U.S. SPECIAL FORCES THEN THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK. EVEN WITH MY KNOWLEDGE OF THEM I STILL LEARNED A FEW THINGS ABOUT SPECIAL FORCES.
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Title: Delta Force : The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit by Charlie A. Beckwith, Donald Knox ISBN: 0380809397 Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Inside Delta Force : The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit by Eric Haney ISBN: 0385336039 Publisher: Delacorte Press Pub. Date: 14 May, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: U.S. Special Forces: A Guide to America's Special Operations Units-The World's Most Elite Fighting Force by Samuel A. Southworth, Stephen Tanner ISBN: 0306811650 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 17 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: One Perfect Op: An Insider's Account of the Navy Seal Special Warfare Teams by Dennis Chalker, Kevin Dockery ISBN: 0380978040 Publisher: William Morrow Pub. Date: 26 March, 2002 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Bravo Two Zero by Andy McNab ISBN: 0440218802 Publisher: Island Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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