Brave Men - Dark Waters

by Orr Kelly, Eric Tobias (Editor), C.L. Flynn (Foreword by)

STRIKE HARD. STRIKE FAST. STRIKE FEAR INTO THE HEART OF THE ENEMY. They operate by sea, air, and land, descending from the night sky, rising from the ocean depths, striking their targets with deadly efficiency, then vanishing into the darkness from which they emerged. From the dank jungles of Vietnam to the tropical shores of Panama to the blistering sands of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the U.S. Navy SEALs have become the most fearsome special operations force in the world, living by the motto "The only easy day was yesterday." In this unparalleled account of the origin, evolution, and future of this revered military elite, Orr Kelly brilliantly reveals their tactics and their methods, their past triumphs and scandals, including the celebrated Richard Marcinko (Rogue Warrior) case. Brave Men-Dark Waters leads us into the shadowy realm of danger and deception where SEAL commandos live -- and sometimes die -- by their own rules.

Genres: Military Fiction, History, Nonfiction, War, Audiobook, Military History

316 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good (but not great) summary of the history of the SEALs (and predecessors, the UDTs, up to the Gulf War/Grenada/Panama. It seems consistent with what I've learned elsewhere, and was clear/well written, and included some interesting stories of missions as well as more generalized descriptions of organization, equipment, and doctrine.

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

You get a lot of general amphibious warfare history, not just SEAL or even American, but British and Italian too. You also get a lot of information on the evolution of diving equipment and tactics in amphibious warfare. Probably the most interesting stuff in this are the first hand accounts of various missions in Vietnam and a profile of a certain notorious former leader of SEAL team 6 that ended up in prison for some of his shenanigans. I was mainly wanting to read this for info on the SEALs fitness regime and also what day to day life and training is like for the typical SEAL. There wasn't a lot about either one in this but this book still was reasonably interesting.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice compilation of UDT and SEAL actions from WWII through the Gulf War in 1991. The book includes large, high-level views of the Teams and their missions as well as individual experiences and encounters. More a reference book than a novel, but engaging nevertheless.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, appreciated how heavy it went into the UDT and early SEAL years, not realizing how old it was only dating it when they didn’t discuss Black Hawk Down, Fallujah or Captain Phillips. Interesting to think about it from that perspective as you hear the author talk about the future of the SEALs.

[Gregg Puluka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding very readable book about the frogmen from inception to Gulf war one. A second addendum would be welcome to honor include our current warriors. Very worthwhile read

[Gary Slavens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good look at the origins and development of the SEALs.

[Africache Gastineau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, but a bit laborious at times.

[Connie Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing stories of amazing men and what they go through to become SEALs. It takes a certain type of person to want to do this job. I'm not one of them, but I'm grateful for those who are.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book in the history of the U.S. Navy Seals. Starting from their exploits as frogmen, to being called UDT, during the end of WWII. I had first heard about them from my father who had fought in WWII, and he would tell me about the frogmen who would go in and survey the beaches before landing. What I did not know is that in the Pacific they were really asked to do more after the island or the landing on Tarawa, because of the coral and the tides the landing crafts and of course the Marines were stuck. Though the Marines lost many men before they even made it to the beach they of course did take the island a little longer than expected and a lot more deaths than anyone could have projected. After this the UDT’s were sent in before any island landing, besides finding mines, placing mines or explosives which they still do on either ships or docks, or bridges. A lot of what they did during WWII they still do today that is the history of the Seals, going in undetected and at times gathering information. Still what they did from WWII. Mr. Kelly then follows with training and a few things during the 50s. It was not until President Kennedy, made the announcement after the Bay of Pigs that Special Forces was needed that the Seals were formed. From there he goes into Vietnam which really put them on the map and most of the stories are found in other books as well. He touches a little on the two Medal of Valor Honors, first Lt. Joseph R. Kerry and then Tom Norris, which I actually read about separately years ago, they are both amazing acts though neither man would think that. After Vietnam you go into another down period up until the Iran crisis and the rescue attempt that failed. He takes you behind the scenes in the fighting between the military branches and what came of it. He also goes into the formation of Seal team 6 and the leader Richard Marcinko, I thought his writing on this was fair as far as he was using as much of the paperwork and people he could talk to. In some of the other books about the Seals this story matched up and inside he is really I think looked as both good and bad,(maybe wrong choice of wording). Richard Marcinko, was needed at that time to do what he did because he didn’t have a problem in telling a base commander we are going to break into your base on this night and then do it. I do know that one of the bases has let the bushes grow past the fence line and the height and that is one of the ways his team got on base. We have not learned. So yes he had good points. The author from their takes you through Grenada and some of the deaths. He then moves on to Panama which for Seals up to this point was one of the worst nights in their history and I do not read about this too often in other books. I will say that I know at least one man checked himself out of the hospital to go with his team, not that that affected him but he was killed returning fire to bring another Seal back to their group, 4 killed 9 wounded and one of the dead might have survived but the medevac was over an hour. I first read about this about 10 mos. after it happened and this is one of the first books that talks about their mission of securing the hanger where Noriega’s plane was. People are lead to believe that the Seals asked for this mission, but in other articles I read they assigned and you don’t so no, it is looked down upon for the lack of a better term. They were given an order and they secured the field. Unfortunately brave men died doing it. The author then touches a little on training and some of the training that is wanting to be changed. He finishes with the first Gulf war. Overall a well written book with a lot of history about the brave men in drake waters. I got this book from net galley.

[Pam Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book about the Navy frogmen, THE SEALS. The writer shows indepts research into who the seals are, how they have to learn brilliant deception skills, small nuclear device skills and more, how they are cloaked by secrecy and safety depends on stealth, are a breed apart and bound together by shared experiences.

[Wayne Kreiensieck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading the behind the scenes account of how the SEALs began and evolved over the years. Amazing how limited the equipment was and how tough things were in the beginning. I'd recommend this book for anyone interested in SEALs, the military or even recreational diving.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 1/3 of this book is really interesting. However, it starts to bog down with too many details towards the middle. If you don't mind skimming over some of these parts, it's a fairly interesting read.