Book Review 2

Hello friends, today I am back with more book reviews. Reading (albeit almost exclusively with e-books) has been the primary escape for me as of recently. It’s been my favorite activity to do whether I am at home, looking for something to do, or at school, not wanting to pay attention. With that being said, here are just a few more book reviews of the titles that have hit the virtual “read” category. 

 

No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL 

Kevin Maurer and Mark Owen

No Hero: The Evolution of a Navy SEAL is Matt Bissonette’s, pen name Mark Owen, second autobiography about both his prior life and experiences in the SEAL community. His first book, No Easy Day, primarily focuses on the build up and specific mission to target Osama Bin Laden, while No Hero is more of a true autobiography. The book recounts starting from Bissonette’s childhood dreams of becoming a SEAL in rural Alaska and the chance opportunity of actually speaking to one in a rare meet and greet session. While the book is good part storytelling, it still does not fall short in the self-help category. Many important lessons are taught, such as those dealing with stress, attention to detail, and others. The selling point of these life-lessons are that they are bound out of the stories Bissonette tells, coming from different avenues of his experiences, like from a seemingly mundane rock climbing expedition, to a night assault on an enemy target. Bissonette does not just stop there but goes on to explain the application of the lessons he himself learned, applying them to a variety of situations just as diverse as he once learned them from. No Hero is exciting, it’s action packed, but it’s also just as educational and useful, which leads me to giving it a rating of 8/10, a great read for almost anyone. 

 

Roughneck Nine-One 

Frank Antenori 

Roughneck Nine-One is a memoir written by former army officer Frank Antenori. The book is centered around the actions of small 12 man team ODA 391, nicknamed Roughneck Nine-One. The book is ordered in chronological fashion, separated into three main parts: training, build-up, and the actual 2003 invasion of Iraq and their battle at Debecka Pass. Antenori’s detail in describing each part was extremely compelling. I found myself lost in the book at the individual descriptions of the equipment and vehicles being used even just in the build-up and training portions. Antenori personifies his team’s in a masterful way. The battle itself was described in excruciating detail. Down to the individual troop movements, the book’s storytelling of the battle seemingly goes minute by minute, with not a single detail missed. The battle itself was amazing to read about as well, as ODA 391 and their heavily outnumbered and outgunned allies defeated a superior force with almost zero losses, save a friendly fire incident from the air. Interspersed in the three major parts of the books are more educational aspects, centered on the true responsibility of the US Army’s Special Forces. As Antenori describes, the Army’s Special Forces are not the typical doorbusters assaulters one imagines when watching a Hollywood blockbuster but rather unconventional warfare, training and assisting in foreign countries. ALl of these elements combined make for a great read, for a final rating of 9/10. 

 

Killer Elite 

Michael Smith 

I’ve been positive throughout the course of the five previous book reviews I have done, but Killer Elite written by Michael Smith left a pretty sour taste in my mouth. Killer Elite is a comprehensive history on the Army’s Intelligence Support Activity. The ISA is the US’s tier one reconnaissance unit, collecting information and conducting reconnaissance for the units with big Hollywood names, namely Delta Force and Seal Team Six. While the book is very detailed with it’s history of the unit, the fashion it is written in led me to often find myself skimming or skipping over pages. The amount of different names and acronyms made the book less of an enjoyable experience and more of a school assignment, having to often stop reading the book to look up a certain term. I also felt as if there were too many bland points in the book, with Smith seemingly more focused on the individual personalities of leadership rather than the actions of the men on the ground. I almost had to force myself to read the book, often finding it as a last resort as opposed to something I looked forward to. For this reason, I give the book a 3/10.