[.ca] U.s. Special Forces: A Guide To America's Special ... (ISBN 0306811650)

VERY, VERY GOOD:
This is a very informative and entertaining look into the special forces of the US. I like the way each chapter has its history and missions explained. Especially interesting, are the brief accounts of each branches' successful and failed missions. All the way up to the current fight against terrorism, it gives people a look at something almost as good as the RAMBO and BRADDOCK movies. A very good and informative reference for Army Rangers, Army Special Forces, Army Delta Foce, Navy SeALs, Air Force Special Operations, Marine Force Recon, Airborne units, 10th Mountain, and CIA Paramilitary Groups. Everything is good, except the constant reference in every chapter to JFK and his concept of unconvertional warfare. I take it these two guys were fans of his. I highly recommend it.

VERY, VERY GOOD:
This is a very informative and entertaining look into the special forces of the US. I like the way each chapter has its history and missions explained. Especially interesting, are the brief accounts of each branches' successful and failed missions. All the way up to the current fight against terrorism, it gives people a look at something almost as good as the RAMBO and BRADDOCK movies. A very good and informative reference for Army Rangers, Army Special Forces, Army Delta Foce, Navy SeALs, Air Force Special Operations, Marine Force Recon, Airborne units, 10th Mountain, and CIA Paramilitary Groups. Everything is good, except the constant reference in every chapter to JFK and his concept of unconvertional warfare. I take it these two guys were fans of his. I highly recommend it.

Pretty Good Starter:
I purchased this book just expecting a general overview and thats what I got. If just want to see an overview of all of America's special forces, this is the book for. If you're looking for lots of detail, find something else (recommend Tom Clancy's Special Forces, Airborne, and Marine)

Kind of like a "Special Forces for Dummies":
I would recommend this book to people who do not have a very good understanding of US Special Forces. For those of us who have a deeper knowledge of the Special Forces that our country employs, I would not recommend this book. The book reads well and includes chapters on the Army Rangers, Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Operations (Combat Controllers and Pararescue Jumpers), Army Special Forces (Green Berets), Delta Force, Marine Force Recon, Army Airborne, Army 10th Mountain Division, Coast Guard Special Operations, and CIA Paramilitary Forces. The inclusion of the Coast Guard "Special Operations" is a bit suspect as a special operations group, but that chapter is enlightening and informative. The book does not go into very much detail on any of the special operations forces so I would only recommend this book to someone who wants a very general overview. One of the major gripes that I had with the book (besides being overly simplistic) is on page 188. In the chapter about the 10th Mountain Division, the book mentions how a "young Lieutenant Bob Dole was badly wounded. After a couple years in a hospital he would go on to be vice president of the United States..." Umm, am I missing something here or was I asleep when Bob Dole was the Vice President? Anyway, if you are a stranger to the world of US Special Forces, this is a decent book to get started. However, if one already has a pretty decent grasp of the subject, I would recommend looking elsewhere.

Great Little Book:
I was suprised at how small this book was, but it's still a very good book on US Special Operations Units. It gives a brief history of each unit, describes the selection and training programs, and lists the missions each unit has taken part in. There is also a section on the equipment and weapons they use. This book and "America's Special Forces" by David Boher are probably the two best books on the subject.