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Shaping the World from the Shadows: The (Open) Secret History of Delta Force, Post-9/11
While the raid that killed Osama bin Laden cemented SEAL Team Six as the American military's reluctant media darling, a broader look at the Global War on Terror suggests that it's been the Army's Delta Force that has quietly spearheaded the most ambitious special operations campaign in modern history.
Formerly a highly trained but seldom used tool in America's arsenal, over the past decade 'the Unit' has been unleashed on the nation's enemies the world over. In SHAPING THE WORLD FROM THE SHADOWS the post-9/11 activities of Delta Force have finally been assembled and put into context, providing a wide-ranging look into the staggering secret history of the world's leading special operations force in their defining hour.
"Chris Martin has written an astonishing account of special operations activities around the globe. Someone at the Pentagon should check for any missing keys..." - D.B. Grady, co-author of THE COMMAND: DEEP INSIDE THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET ARMY
"Chris does an amazing job compiling open source information about this often misunderstood special operations unit, a job that journalists and researchers should have done a long time ago. Delta Force is one of the most secretive organizations in the U.S. military but by aggregating information from dozens of sources Chris has put together a big picture that will give readers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at this unit. For sure this is just a small sampling of what is really going on behind the curtain, but until these missions are declassified, this is the best information you are likely to find on the topic." - Jack Murphy, former Ranger and Special Forces Sergeant
Formerly a highly trained but seldom used tool in America's arsenal, over the past decade 'the Unit' has been unleashed on the nation's enemies the world over. In SHAPING THE WORLD FROM THE SHADOWS the post-9/11 activities of Delta Force have finally been assembled and put into context, providing a wide-ranging look into the staggering secret history of the world's leading special operations force in their defining hour.
"Chris Martin has written an astonishing account of special operations activities around the globe. Someone at the Pentagon should check for any missing keys..." - D.B. Grady, co-author of THE COMMAND: DEEP INSIDE THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET ARMY
"Chris does an amazing job compiling open source information about this often misunderstood special operations unit, a job that journalists and researchers should have done a long time ago. Delta Force is one of the most secretive organizations in the U.S. military but by aggregating information from dozens of sources Chris has put together a big picture that will give readers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at this unit. For sure this is just a small sampling of what is really going on behind the curtain, but until these missions are declassified, this is the best information you are likely to find on the topic." - Jack Murphy, former Ranger and Special Forces Sergeant
59 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 28, 2012
50 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Chris Martin
10 books13 followersJournalist Chris Martin has covered the motorsports world since the late '90s. More recently, he's expanded his focus to include coverage of special operations and writing science fiction.
His latest non-fiction book is Modern American Snipers: From the Legend to the Reaper -- On the Battlefield with Special Operations Snipers (St. Martin's Press, 2014).
The first episode of his new project -- Engines of Extinction, a monthly episodic espionage/military science fiction series created in collaboration with leading concept artist Ben Mauro -- was released on March 10, 2015.
Chris is also the author of Shaping the World from the Shadows: The (Open) Secret History of Delta Force, Post-9/11 and Beyond Neptune Spear: The (Open) Secret History of SEAL Team Six, Post-9/11.
His latest non-fiction book is Modern American Snipers: From the Legend to the Reaper -- On the Battlefield with Special Operations Snipers (St. Martin's Press, 2014).
The first episode of his new project -- Engines of Extinction, a monthly episodic espionage/military science fiction series created in collaboration with leading concept artist Ben Mauro -- was released on March 10, 2015.
Chris is also the author of Shaping the World from the Shadows: The (Open) Secret History of Delta Force, Post-9/11 and Beyond Neptune Spear: The (Open) Secret History of SEAL Team Six, Post-9/11.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 26, 2018
Fair Read
Chris writes a lot doesn't really say anything. Covers as much about Seal Team 6 as OD Delta. Nothing really new, if you really one to learn something new about Delta this not the book for you.
Chris writes a lot doesn't really say anything. Covers as much about Seal Team 6 as OD Delta. Nothing really new, if you really one to learn something new about Delta this not the book for you.
August 24, 2019
Amazing Read!
This book actually surprised me that it was finished. Definitely wanted more, great job on an extremely hard to cover subject!
This book actually surprised me that it was finished. Definitely wanted more, great job on an extremely hard to cover subject!
March 1, 2013
It's maybe 20 printed pages, and there's nothing in here we don't already know. He basically chronicles everybody else's work. This just an over-view, doesn't mean it's not informative, though.
Martin's writing is primarily a open-source intelligence (OSINT) project. He aggregates and accumulates a vast amount of articles that have been written by others, and cites them religiously throughout. He intersperses his own brief analysis and thoughts in the writing, but adds little new or original.
There are several things that I feel are not fully fleshed out and addressed in the book, which keep me from giving it 5 stars. Organization, training, equipment, and quality of life for families and operators are all topics on which the reader will not learn much new. All these are topics which can be touched upon without revealing tactics, techniques, or procedures (TTP's) that would place operators in danger. Everything Martin uses has been previously published, and so he does not tread new ground in anything he covers. However, his analysis is missing in exploring deeper on what this can mean, and what people should take away from it. With writers like Dalton Fury using their own background in SMU's to bring out books, and Navy SEAL's once again flooding the market with their own propaganda, there are resources out there that a journalist like Martin can reach to tap into. This project appears to have occured entirely behind a screen.
However, he does a great job of outlining how Delta has influenced American policy choices, and how the unit leads the army in development of TTP's. He goes through the development of the industrial killing machine that decapitated the Iraqi insurgency, and then turned its focus towards Afghanistan and beyond. He does a great job of teasing out what may or may not have happened on several recent missions attributed to the unit, and spends a bit of time looking forward. Overall, this is a tremendous effort in collecting information, vetting it, and then editing it together with some analysis to produce a concise history of a unit that avoids the limelight at all costs.
Martin's writing is primarily a open-source intelligence (OSINT) project. He aggregates and accumulates a vast amount of articles that have been written by others, and cites them religiously throughout. He intersperses his own brief analysis and thoughts in the writing, but adds little new or original.
There are several things that I feel are not fully fleshed out and addressed in the book, which keep me from giving it 5 stars. Organization, training, equipment, and quality of life for families and operators are all topics on which the reader will not learn much new. All these are topics which can be touched upon without revealing tactics, techniques, or procedures (TTP's) that would place operators in danger. Everything Martin uses has been previously published, and so he does not tread new ground in anything he covers. However, his analysis is missing in exploring deeper on what this can mean, and what people should take away from it. With writers like Dalton Fury using their own background in SMU's to bring out books, and Navy SEAL's once again flooding the market with their own propaganda, there are resources out there that a journalist like Martin can reach to tap into. This project appears to have occured entirely behind a screen.
However, he does a great job of outlining how Delta has influenced American policy choices, and how the unit leads the army in development of TTP's. He goes through the development of the industrial killing machine that decapitated the Iraqi insurgency, and then turned its focus towards Afghanistan and beyond. He does a great job of teasing out what may or may not have happened on several recent missions attributed to the unit, and spends a bit of time looking forward. Overall, this is a tremendous effort in collecting information, vetting it, and then editing it together with some analysis to produce a concise history of a unit that avoids the limelight at all costs.
March 27, 2015
Concise and informative.
A concise and informative read, providing a collation of open source material on the current actions of the guys behind the fence. As a former C/3/75 veteran, I obviously have my bias, as a few fellow Rangers, personally known to me, have gone to the unit, but the Army's SMU is simply the best.
A concise and informative read, providing a collation of open source material on the current actions of the guys behind the fence. As a former C/3/75 veteran, I obviously have my bias, as a few fellow Rangers, personally known to me, have gone to the unit, but the Army's SMU is simply the best.
Read
July 18, 2013A great synopsis by Martin.
February 21, 2013
Extremely dry list of missions the Delta Force has accomplished. It was not an interesting read, although if you needed background for a report this would be a handy reference.
April 12, 2014
Yet another amazing tell-all book by Chris Martin..this time it's "The Unit". Being an avid Spec ops buff,it absolutely blew my lid off.Delta cynics,critics and fanatics..this one's for you.
January 26, 2015
A fairly dry synopsis of the history of delta force. Knowledgeable and comprehensive, though slight. A great primer if you want the basics.
December 25, 2015
Very short
It was an ok read lacking in the stories of others. I mostly enjoy stories of those who lived in the spec ops world and this really didn't have much
It was an ok read lacking in the stories of others. I mostly enjoy stories of those who lived in the spec ops world and this really didn't have much
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews