Product Review

The third in an extraordinary series of nonfiction audiobooks by the number-one-bestselling author -- a look deep into the art of war, as seen through the eyes of one of America's outstanding commanders.

The training, resourcefulness, and creativity of the Special Forces soldier make him capable of jobs that few other soldiers can handle, in situations where traditional arms and movement don't apply. Carl Stiner was only the second commander of SOCOM, the U.S. Special Operations Command responsible for the readiness of all the special operations forces of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, including the Green Berets, Navy SEALs, Rangers, Delta Force, Air Force Special Operations, PsyOps, and Civil Affairs.

Stiner and Clancy trace the transformation of the Special Forces from the small core of outsiders of the 1950s through the cauldron of Vietnam to the rebirth of the SF in the late 1980s and the 1990 as the bearer of the largest, most mixed, and most complex set of mission in the US military. From Vietnam and Laos to Panama, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, these are stories of raids, couterterrorism, hostage rescues, reconnaissance, counterinsurgency, and psychological operations -- and also of building settlements, teaching civilians, cleaning up water supplies, and saving lives. This is a front-row seat to a man, an institiution, and a way of war and peace that make this an instant classic of military history.