No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy SEAL by Mark Owen
©2012 by Mark Owen,
Published by Penguin Group, New York, New York
ISBN: 9789-0-525-95372-2
Available at your favorite bookseller
Note: “Mark Owen” is a pen name used to protect the real identity of the author. [He was recently “outed” in a widely publicized incident by Fox News.]
This well-publicized book is the story of one man’s wish to be a US Navy SEAL since childhood, how he realized his dream, and the reasons he left the service to return to civilian life in Alaska. Wrapped up in this well-written narrative is the systematic mission of a handpicked team of the best of our best to finally kill or capture Osama bin Laden. This was the most publicized mission of the author, but not the only one. He gives us great detail on his other missions that you will find just as interesting.
The author has written the proverbial “can’t set it down page-turner.” I began reading on the second day of recovering from surgery with painkillers nearby. I did not use any. I was pulled into the story and read it through to the end in one day. It is that good.
One of the revelations for me is on page 141 in the description of battlefield political correctness. Once again, politicians have emasculated our military and possibly insured our defeat in the long war against Islamist extremists.
The author has included detailed descriptions of the weapons chosen, and why the choices were made. I was not aware until reading the book that each SEAL carries a personal arsenal based on his mission and what works best for him. Some weapons are customized by military armorers.
We learn of the requirements to be a SEAL that do not stop once you are selected. The training requirements are forever as long as you wear the uniform. The personal sacrifice of being on call at all times is described, and should be better publicized for these extraordinary men. At the end of the book is a list of the casualties suffered since September 11, 2001.
There are twenty-four color and black and white photographs in the book showing Osama bin Laden’s compound, the weaponry carried by the author, and much more.
This is an interesting, timely story by an extraordinary man and his comrades. I highly recommend it.