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No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy Seal: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden Hardcover – September 4, 2012
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
“Mark Owen” is a pseudonym for Matt Bissonnette, a Navy SEAL who took part in the 2011 raid on a compound in Pakistan that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. His muscular memoir was cowritten by Maurer, a journalist who has covered American special-ops forces for nearly a decade, including a stint as an embedded reporter in Iraq. Owen was already a SEAL at the time of the 9/11 attacks; the book begins shortly thereafter, as he is qualifying for the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (otherwise known as the famed SEAL Team Six), and follows him through various missions, culminating with a detailed account of the planning and execution of the assault on bin Laden’s compound. His version of events has already sparked some controversy—no surprise there, since the mission itself is still a controversial subject—but it doesn’t feel as though Owen intended to add fuel to the fire. Incendiary subject matter aside, this might feel somewhat familiar due to its thematic similarities to such books as Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead, Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, and Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down. Like those modern classics, No Easy Day doesn’t merely tell war stories—it also explores the culture of war and what it means to be a soldier. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This is the book of the moment and has already ended 50 Shades of Grey’s record-setting run at the top of various best-seller lists. Last Sunday’s 60 Minutes interview with the heavily disguised author only added fuel to the fire. --David Pitt
Review
"This harrowing, minute-by-minute account by one of the highly trained members of Navy SEAL Team Six is narrative nonfiction at its most gripping, taking the reader through the mountains of Afghanistan and inside the slightly dilapidated-looking family compound in Pakistan." - Entertainment Weekly
“The bin Laden story is the marquee event in No Easy Day, of course. But the formative steps in the author’s own story are just as gripping. Mr. Owen’s new information about the Abbottobad attacks adds a human element to much of what has been previously reported. There is no better illustration in No Easy Day that SEALs are ruthless pragmatists. They think fast. They adapt to whatever faces them. They do what they have to do.” –Janet Maslin, New York Times
“The book is a stomach-twisting close-up look at that historic mission in Abbottabad, told from the point of view of a super-elite member of SEAL Team Six who fired a bullet into bin Laden and helped carry away the corpse. Written in clean, polished prose... No Easy Day often reads like a gripping novel as the author recounts remarkably vivid details... No Easy Day puts you right there for every tense moment.” –Entertainment Weekly
“The bin Laden story is the marquee event in No Easy Day, of course. But the formative steps in the author’s own story are just as gripping. Mr. Owen’s new information about the Abbottobad attacks adds a human element to much of what has been previously reported. There is no better illustration in No Easy Day that SEALs are ruthless pragmatists. They think fast. They adapt to whatever faces them. They do what they have to do.” –Janet Maslin, New York Times
“The book is a stomach-twisting close-up look at that historic mission in Abbottabad, told from the point of view of a super-elite member of SEAL Team Six who fired a bullet into bin Laden and helped carry away the corpse. Written in clean, polished prose... No Easy Day often reads like a gripping novel as the author recounts remarkably vivid details... No Easy Day puts you right there for every tense moment.” –Entertainment Weekly
" ...A cast of characters, including Owen himself, artfully drawn, yet painfully human, passionate descriptions of a lifestyle that few are privy to, as well as its breathlessly paced, inexorable march toward an inevitable ending…it's a remarkably intimate glimpse into what motivates men striving to join an elite fighting force like the SEALS — and what keeps them there.” -Associated Press
“Make no mistake: No Easy Day is an important historic document. Think if we had a first-person account of the last minutes of Hitler in his bunker. No Easy Day is brisk and compelling in its telling of the training, execution and immediate aftermath of the Bin Laden mission by the elite Seal Team Six.” -Los Angeles Times
“[Mark Owen] has given us a brave retelling of one of the most important events in U.S. military history.” -People Magazine
“The writing is fast-paced, and Owen and Maurer tell some good yarns in a conversational style. They also neatly capture the camaraderie, the pranks, the constant training and the evident love that the men of SEAL Team 6 have for their jobs." -Washington Post
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781 of 865 people found the following review helpful
By
Victor Cheng
on September 4, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
95 Comments
Sending feedback...
In No Easy Day, you see an account of the raid to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden from the eyes on someone who was there - one of four team leaders on the ground that night. The account is most definitely gripping, I could not put it down and I skipped sleeping to finish it - yes, there will be hell to pay at work tomorrow. But, nowhere close to as much hell as the operators in DevGru (aka Seal Team 6) undertook to get into DevGru and to stay there.
The first thing that struck me was just how elite a team the US sent on that raid. To be a member of DevGru you have to ALREADY be a Navy Seal. Most who apply don't make it, but they go back to being a "regular" SEAL which has nothing regular about it. For the Bin Laden raid, they essentially assembled an All Star team of the most seasoned DevGru operators from multiple teams and put them together on a team consisting of the best of the best of the best.
My next takeaway on the actual raid itself was how many things actually went wrong. Here you have the best of the best taking part in a historic mission, and all kinds of things start falling apart. Yet, amazingly (to me), despite all the problems, it still worked out. Thats because everything that could have gone wrong was previously anticipated, contingency plans made, and all back up plans were rehearsed multiple times. While I considered the mission to be successful, the impression I get is the members of DevGru thought they could have done it much better. (I'll leave out the details as to avoid spoiling the story).
This leads me to my next takeaway which is just how devoted to perfection and exceptional performance these operators seem to be. One thing that surprised me is how much they train when they aren't deployed.Read more ›
The first thing that struck me was just how elite a team the US sent on that raid. To be a member of DevGru you have to ALREADY be a Navy Seal. Most who apply don't make it, but they go back to being a "regular" SEAL which has nothing regular about it. For the Bin Laden raid, they essentially assembled an All Star team of the most seasoned DevGru operators from multiple teams and put them together on a team consisting of the best of the best of the best.
My next takeaway on the actual raid itself was how many things actually went wrong. Here you have the best of the best taking part in a historic mission, and all kinds of things start falling apart. Yet, amazingly (to me), despite all the problems, it still worked out. Thats because everything that could have gone wrong was previously anticipated, contingency plans made, and all back up plans were rehearsed multiple times. While I considered the mission to be successful, the impression I get is the members of DevGru thought they could have done it much better. (I'll leave out the details as to avoid spoiling the story).
This leads me to my next takeaway which is just how devoted to perfection and exceptional performance these operators seem to be. One thing that surprised me is how much they train when they aren't deployed.Read more ›
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367 of 426 people found the following review helpful
By
S. Power
TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on September 4, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
16 Comments
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I am usually a very slow reader and my attention often wanders, especially with non-fiction. This book though kept my attention completely. From the author's opening notes about how nothing in this book violates secrecy or operational security to the very last chapter I was completely captivated. The writing is superb and the flow of the book is great.
I highly recommend that you read this book. It is excellent not just as history, or a story, but also a book about how winners think. Guys like "Owen" look at challenges and life completely differently than average people do, and reading this book gave me a wonderful insight into his head. To get an honest view into the thought processes of someone like "Owen" is a unique and incredible opportunity.
I really enjoyed this book and feel like I learned a tremendous amount from it. I highly recommend it.
People who are bashing the book for being a sell out or violating secrecy either have not read the book or are looking at it from a very unique and odd perspective. I find it especially perplexing that some people are bashing him using his experience to gain fame and profit. Considering he wrote under a pseudonym and is donating a majority of the book's proceeds to charity, I can't really understand these accusations. He explains throughout the book that he was motivated to become a SEAL, in part, by reading a similar book about missions in Vietnam. I think that his primary motivation in writing this book is to inform the public, especially those very very few who might make up a future generation of SEALs and Delta operators.
I highly recommend that you read this book. It is excellent not just as history, or a story, but also a book about how winners think. Guys like "Owen" look at challenges and life completely differently than average people do, and reading this book gave me a wonderful insight into his head. To get an honest view into the thought processes of someone like "Owen" is a unique and incredible opportunity.
I really enjoyed this book and feel like I learned a tremendous amount from it. I highly recommend it.
People who are bashing the book for being a sell out or violating secrecy either have not read the book or are looking at it from a very unique and odd perspective. I find it especially perplexing that some people are bashing him using his experience to gain fame and profit. Considering he wrote under a pseudonym and is donating a majority of the book's proceeds to charity, I can't really understand these accusations. He explains throughout the book that he was motivated to become a SEAL, in part, by reading a similar book about missions in Vietnam. I think that his primary motivation in writing this book is to inform the public, especially those very very few who might make up a future generation of SEALs and Delta operators.
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308 of 365 people found the following review helpful
By
Amazon Customer
VINE VOICE on September 4, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Verified Purchase
20 Comments
Sending feedback...
"No Easy Day" by Mark Owen (a pseudonym) is published by Dutton Adult. It is the story of a Navy SEAL, an elite special operations warrior with its climax in the story of the raid and death of Osama Bin Laden.
Immediately striking is the author's ability to picture himself as a real, flawed person. He shows appreciation for others in his line of work without painting them as either unbelievably superhuman or as some kind of fringe military extremists. The characters are revealed to be dedicated to an intense level of self-discipline and while admitting to errors in performance, they have the persistence to improve their skills at the highest levels of military training and preparation in the world today. It is the very humanity of the characters that brought me into the story. It's a book about struggle and those who find the work-arounds to defeat.
There is nothing in my reading of this book to signal the author is being deceitful or embellishing his role in warfare for personal gain. The author was straightforward in the introduction by informing the reader that he has taken necessary precautions for preventing the inadvertent release of classified information. He neither sets himself up as a some kind of national hero or as a potential platform for a future political career. It is smoothly written without being crass or overly graphic.
As becomes evident, the author is motivated out of a desire to positively influence other young men to pursue their dreams regardless of whether it works out as military service or not. Owen's personal tale begins as a young man who was profoundly influenced by the reading of a book about a special operations predecessor.Read more ›
Immediately striking is the author's ability to picture himself as a real, flawed person. He shows appreciation for others in his line of work without painting them as either unbelievably superhuman or as some kind of fringe military extremists. The characters are revealed to be dedicated to an intense level of self-discipline and while admitting to errors in performance, they have the persistence to improve their skills at the highest levels of military training and preparation in the world today. It is the very humanity of the characters that brought me into the story. It's a book about struggle and those who find the work-arounds to defeat.
There is nothing in my reading of this book to signal the author is being deceitful or embellishing his role in warfare for personal gain. The author was straightforward in the introduction by informing the reader that he has taken necessary precautions for preventing the inadvertent release of classified information. He neither sets himself up as a some kind of national hero or as a potential platform for a future political career. It is smoothly written without being crass or overly graphic.
As becomes evident, the author is motivated out of a desire to positively influence other young men to pursue their dreams regardless of whether it works out as military service or not. Owen's personal tale begins as a young man who was profoundly influenced by the reading of a book about a special operations predecessor.Read more ›
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