No Hero

October 6, 2014
This follow up to the pseudonymous Owen’s No Easy Day (2012) appears destined to follow in the first book’s big-selling footsteps, as it is well suited to the public’s almost insatiable appetite for action-filled true stories by former SEALs, Green Berets, and other special forces members. In his previous book, Owen offered a first-person account of the killing of Osama bin Laden. This new work—again told with writer Maurer—describes other SEAL missions in which Owen took part. Owen says this book is not “another navel-gazing battle memoir”; instead, it focuses on “the most important moments” that took place during unnamed missions, “and the lessons from each one that define me.” The book, he says, is a “way to honor my brothers in the SEAL community,” some of whom died in service to the country. After several chapters describing the arduous SEAL training, Owen and Maurer provide fast-paced accounts of a series of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan that took place during Owen’s 13-year career. Owen emphasizes the selflessness and service of his fellow SEALs, along with the lessons he learned, in a book that is sure to appeal the many fans of in-the-trenches special forces memoirs. 


October 1, 2014
Following up his best-seller No Easy Day (2012), about the killing of Osama bin Laden, former Navy SEAL Owen offers some life lessons drawn from his training and service. Owen has a fear of heights, and he's not all that comfortable a swimmer. Nevertheless, he spent 14 years as a Navy SEAL, where swimming in darkness through icy waters and cutting yourself loose from a malfunctioning parachute are only small parts of the job description. However, the author insists that there's nothing especially wondrous about conquering deficiencies, surviving mistakes and becoming "an asset to the team." Instead, SEAL success stems from a purposeful, hardworking, trained brotherhood committed to excellence. He builds each of his chapters around an especially challenging career episode: climbing a sheer rock face in the Nevada desert, traversing waist-deep snow in a bitterly cold Kabul valley pass on the way to a target, or entering an al-Qaida compound rigged to explode. Each adventure highlights a specific theme: e.g., how to control fear: "Stay in your three-foot world"; how to handle stress and the importance of not rushing, slowing things down; how "to be comfortable being uncomfortable." In other passages, Owen emphasizes the significance of building trust up and down the chain of command, of clear communications, of nurturing relationships to improve teamwork, of ensuring accountability, of improvising and evolving to meet the enemy's constantly shifting tactics and techniques. Near the end of his account, he hints at the personal toll combat inflicts. The image of a kitten lapping the pool of blood from an Iraqi fighter's shattered skull as a petrified, whimpering child looks on will certainly stay with readers, as it has with Owen. Still, he takes solace knowing he protected his mates, "obeyed the rules of engagement and never targeted innocents." Simple, well-told stories that will interest general readers and certainly anyone contemplating a career in special operations.

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November 1, 2014

This account is a follow-up to Owen's best-selling No Easy Day, in which the author wrote about his participation in the 2011 Abbottabad raid in northern Pakistan that killed Osama bin Laden, among other operations. This volume adds some detail on the author's experiences as a Navy SEAL. As in his first book, Owen recounts some of his influences growing up in Alaska, but the anecdotes are scattered and not altogether informative. He describes the training he received as a new SEAL and to a large degree the mental toughness and determination he developed in training and during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Perhaps the highlight is that the author successfully portrays combat vignettes, although repetitively, giving awareness to the sense of danger, stress, violence, and camaraderie that soldiers are familiar with. He later explains his decision to leave the navy after 14 years, well short of retirement. While Owen avoids most political issues, it is clear he has little respect for that part of the military equation. VERDICT Covering raids that had much less press attention than that described in his previous book, Owen's latest work may interest avid readers of military action yet is likely to generate less buzz. [See Prepub Alert, 6/2/14.]--Edwin Burgess, U.S. Army Combined Arms Research Lib., Fort Leavenworth, KS

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