Delta Force: A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military's Most Secretive Special-Operations Unit

by Charlie A. Beckwith, Donald Knox

کتابی که پیش روی شماست، روایتی است از عملیات نافرجام «پنجه عقاب که قرار بود توسط نیروی دلتای نیروی زمینی آمریکا برای آزاد کردن آمریکایی‌های گروگان گرفته شده در سفارت آمریکا در تهران انجام شود. نیروی دلتا از پلی می تا طبس از زبان سرهنگ چارلی بکویت، فرمانده بخش زمینی عملیات ، زوایای تازه خواندنی و شنیده نشده ای از طراحی تا اجرا و در نهایت شکست این عملیات مهم و بازگشت به آمریکا را روایت می‌کند؛ مسائلی که به رغم شهرت عملیات طبس در ایران تا امروز ناگفته و ناشنیده مانده‌اند.
چاپ ششم ۱۴۰۳

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

387 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 12, 2013

Reviews

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially started reading this after finishing Eric Haney's visceral "Inside Delta Force" and mistakenly felt that it was a bit underwhelming. Haney's book is loaded with memorable action and you feel you're dropped right into the middle of it; from the Delta selection process to hunting down communist guerillas in South America to sniping, you're always right there in the action and you come to crave it. By contrast, Beckwith's book is centered on the nuts and bolts of creating the unit, so I was naturally disappointed after breathless jungle warfare to be reading about turf battles among paper-pushers in the Pentagon. Then there is Operation Eagle Claw - not exactly the operation you want to hang your SF bio on. I recently picked up the book again and I have to say, I could not have been more wrong.

Beckwith's book does not have the hilarity or devilishness of Marcinko's "Rogue Warrior" nor the "in the trenches" action of Pfarrer's "Warrior Soul" and Eric Haney's "Inside Delta Force." What it does have is a top-down look at the system and how things are done at the command level, exactly the things that make Franks' "American Soldier" such a terrific read. It also has Beckwith's attitude. You really come to admire the man through his writing. The world "integrity" would not be out of place emblazoned on the man's chest. He is forthright, brilliant, upstanding, and allergic to bureaucracy, a maverick with a "get it done" attitude but also a teamwork attitude (the SpecOps guys I admire are always the right combination of the two). For Beckwith, maverick never crosses the line to "rogue" and I think he exhibited far more patience with the system than, say, Richard Marcinko (not faulting Marcinko, this is actually a compliment of sorts). Beckwith was a regimented thinker until the SAS set him straight on what the real priorities are. His account of his stay with them truly comes across as a born-again moment. And it was. Beckwith took that maverick attitude and created the most "cut the BS and get the job done and never give up" group of warriors in history. Just read the web accounts of Operation Acid Gambit (make sure you check out Kurt Muse's own account) or the Delta segments in Blackhawk Down and you'll be a believer. You want these guys kicking in the doors.

The fun parts of Beckwith's book are the choices made in the creation of the unit, such as why they chose the .45 as their standard sidearm. Then there is training. Obviously, the shooting house is fun, but nothing tops what they did to actually confirm that they had made great killers, not just great shooters. A fake hostage incident was staged and the Delta guys were lied to about it. They were put on what they thought was a flight to Canada but landed in a rural area stateside, all the while thinking they were in Canada. Canadian actors were used to "brief" the men on the situation and they surrounded the target house, which had initially had real people but now held dummies. They were told to take down the house, which they did, bursting through the doors and filling the terrorist dummies with lead, not touching the innocent dummies, all in the span of less than seven seconds. The men were then radioed that the incident was a hoax and had to be given a period to "calm down" about it. It's classic mental games, but they had to be played to assess the men. No better example of "train as you fight, fight as you train" can be found.

Eagle Claw...this is simultaneously the book's greatest moment and its saddest. It's the greatest in the sense that it was even attempted. Talk about ambitious. Imagine flying a thousand miles into the heart of Iran to rescue scores of hostages in a heavily fortified series of buildings the size of a college campus. The Iranians had heavy machine guns hidden that would, as Beckwith wrote, "chew apart a wall." And it's not like Blackhawk Down in terms of environment. You can run out of Mogadishu on foot, you don't run out of the middle of Iran. Perhaps the most chilling, brutal reality was the number of intelligence assets we had in Iran: Zero. Kudos to Beckwith for admonishing the Carter administration's firing most of the CIA old guard and replacing them with inexperienced apparatchiks.

This book has all of the grit and steely determination you'll find in the other SpecOps bios. What you won't find in other books though is the genesis of a unit, much less the genesis of one as special as Delta Force from the very man who created it. It is quite a blessing for us that Beckwith took the time to not just create his SpecOps baby (no easy birth that), but to also document the process for posterity's sake. The Delta world is a dark one, but its very creator has left us a flashlight that shines back to its Big Bang moment. Two words: Read it.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting. Beckwith was the founding commander of Delta and describes in detail the Unit's difficult birth and rigorous selection&assessment and training regimen. Interesting account of the nuts and bolts of how the Unit formed and the inter-Army turf battles that preceded the Unit's creation. Beckwith portrays a top-down view of the Army and how things are done at the command level. He describes in wonkish but fascinating detail the different decisions he made regarding training and equipment. the 2000 edition has an interesting, if somewhat cartoonish, epilouge that describes the Unit's missions, transportation, weapons, intel and coordinatin capabiliies, personnel, and future. If you're looking for action, you'll be disappointed. It isn't particularly gripping, well-written, or human.
Beckwith's writing style is very well-laced with "I went here, I did that" narrative. That makes it difficult for the book to draw the reader in. Be patient. The wealth is in the details. The reader will come away with a clear picture of what Delta force is and what it is not. Beckwith won't get a prize for writing the book, but he does deserve merit for maintaining that explanatory link between the army and the public that is needed if the public is going to support the military in any endeavor.

[Ali Arabzadeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

بخش مربوط به حادثه‌ی کویر و آتش گرفتن هواپیماها و هلیکوپترهای آمریکایی که می‌توانست بهترین قسمت کتاب آن‌طور که باید از کار درنیامده است. عمق تاثیری که شکست مهم‌ترین عملیات نظامی یک فرمانده روی او می‌گذارد به هیچ وجه در کتاب وجود ندارد. به‌علاوه جزئیات کم است و تصویری به اندازه‌ی کافی از آن شب نمی‌دهد. شاید بخشی از این کم‌بود محصول ملاحظات امنیتی و سیاسی باشد. کتاب در نقطه‌ی اوجش کم‌ می‌آورد.
با این وجود قسمت پایانی، یعنی ماجراهای مربوط به بازگشت دلتای شکست خورده به ایران و احوالات بکویث بعد از این شکست خوب و حتی درس‌آموز است.
کتاب ساده و خوش‌خوان است و ترجمه اگرچه درخشان نیست، اشتباه دارد و هیچ تلاشی هم برای فهمیدنی‌تر کردن کتاب نکرده اما دست‌انداز هم نیست.

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

" yes sir no sir three bags full" /
-Col. Beckwith's favorite line

In this personal memoir, Col. Charlie Beckwith lays out in explicit detail the creation, training, and deployment of Delta Force in it's beginning stages from its roll as "Delta Project" during the siege of Plei me in Vietnam to it's incorporation as a branch of the Special Forces and responsible for Operation Eagle Claw. It was hardly entertaining, but interesting and informative.



Col. Beckwith writes about his time spent with the British SAS, how he managed to train and excel alongside them. His experience with the SAS inspired him to design and train Delta as a small, very selective task force of highly trained operatives from a variety of other military branches who would render their own specialized expertise to a particular mission.

The narrator did very well. But at times I felt that the audio was a little difficult to follow because the author would sometimes ad facts that we're not necessarily pertinent to the Story which was a little distracting. This was entirely due to the material itself, not the narrator

Plei Me Vietnam

Col. Beckwith commanded Delta Project in the siege of Plei me in October 1965 where hundreds of bombs were dropped all over North Vietnamese soldiers surrounding the camp. The shelling had fallen so close that some of the soldiers at the base suffered shrapnel wounds. It was estimated that between 850 and 900 north Vietnamese soldiers were killed during the siege. This was the first major operation of Delta project and was very successful. It also paved the way for future Delta operations.

The triangular shaped camp at Plei Me noted by Col. Beckwith


Iran & Operation Eagle Claw

The decisions made by The Carter Administration to not better secure US embassies around the world led to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Requests were sent to Washington to better staff the embassy in Tehran with additional security including Delta operatives but were denied due to budgetary restraints. The fiasco was one of the contributing factors to Carter's defeat in 1980. This same mistake would be made again with very different results about 30 years later in Benghazi.
Col. Beckwith also mentioned that he was very upset with Carter over his decision to give amnesty to those Americans who escaped to Canada to avoid the draft.

The effort to plan and organize the rescue effort for the Iranian hostage crisis was very unorganized and chaotic. The plan also involved so many military and government Personnel that it is a wonder that word of the entire mission was not leaked to Tehran long before the mission was scheduled to take place. Notably, the failure and the lives lost during the operation were due to unforeseen environmental factors rather than faulty planning.

The wreckage of the EC-130 that was lost during the mission in Desert One



During the end of the book when he related the Q&A portion of the press conference I was amazed by how candid and open the colonel was, particularly considering that this was immediately following a failed top secret spec ops operation to a hostile nation. I've never seen a military officer or P.R. rep speak so openly to a press pool. It was like something out of a stupid Hollywood movie. I've never seen a press conference go like this.

Background Notes

-"Buckshot" is Lewis "Bucky" Burruss who wrote "Mike FORCE"

-Col. Beckwith never mentions Changiz Lahidji (code name Johnny Walker), the Iranian born Special Forces soldier who was the longest serving and the first ever Muslim Green Beret. He was very instrumental in the operation providing Intel from Tehran and was forced to find a way out of Iran on his own after the mission was aborted. Read Full Battle Rattle by Changiz Lahidji

-Col. Beckwith'sGranddaughter, Mary Howe, is currently serving in the USAF as a gunner on the AC130.

Charlie Beckwith died in 1994, but his legend lives on.

[blackness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got on a Spec War reading kick for a while, and this one is not the worst by far the list but not the best. Pretty good, but for me mostly just wanted to know more about Delta and this did a good job of being more informative than Wikipedia.

Not that well written, not that gripping or human. But worth it if you just want to know more about the whole thing.

[Evan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly, I thought this was a very hard book to read. I could understand it all, but I often had to read passages 2 or 3 times to figure out what the author meant. That's unfortunate because I think Col Beckwith was a great man and had lots of wisdom in his memoir. The book is his memoir and covers his time in the Army with emphasis on this time in Vietnam, forming Delta Force, and the failed mission to rescue the Iranian Hostages in 1980.

He wrote about a time when he was surrounded by NVA regulars after being sent to reinforce a camp at Plei Me. After the battle was over, while walking around, he discovered two NVA soldiers chained to their machine guns to prevent them from fleeing.

He wrote about being scared/fear. "...he wasn't ashamed to talk about being scared. We talked for hours. Everyone was scared. Any man who wasn't had to be plumb crazy. If you don't respect fear then there's no way you can handle it. Fear can be damn dangerous, but if you can come to grips with it, wrestle it, understand it, then you've got a chance to work around it." He didn't have much patience for men who couldn't work around it.

He also wrote about the selection process for Delta. It was partially about the physical ability, but it was more about the quality of being able to dig deep and not quit. The physical testing was designed to completely deplete men of their energy reserves. However, in order to finish the course in time, the men would have to have the mental fortitude to keep going when they shouldn't be able to - or when most would quit.

I read about the Air Force Combat Controllers, and the physical testing was similar. CCs would swim underwater until their oxygen was depleted. Then the real testing would begin to see which CCs could continue to swim laps underwater.

[Kym Gamble · Rating 4 out of 5]

A review of the beginnings of Delta Force told by the man who came up with it and how he came to that point. A little long with lots of details but as a whole an interesting look at our elite force and what one had to do to become part of Delta. Overlaying the founding of Delta is the first official op the group goes on.

[Bobby24 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultimately its a historical memoir, a lot of men in senior Military positions have never left their own thoughts on paper and history and the students of it are poorer for it. He was a man that saw the future of war and he was really the only kind of man able to keep dogging senior officers about how Naked America was, a proper man of action (how could anyone not respect a man who'd been shoot down in Helicopters three times and also taken a .50 calibre bullet to his torso). He talks at length about his time with 22SAS and as an English man i can only hope they knew what high regard he had for them.

As for Eagle claw i felt a lot of sadness actually for all his efforts to end so painfully, he and his men deserved better but war is the most Darwinian theatre there is. Had he not have founded Delta someone would have HAD to and to him the credit goes. Its a real shame that he never lived long enough to see it become arguably the finest Special Mission Unit in the world.

Its not a book of endless firefights and explosions it is a Military political book, its also a book of what happens if you really want to achieve something even when people are constantly trying to block your way. He had more than a streak of David Stirling about him . My thoughts on him are like many other men of history....i wish i'd met him.

[Jacob Mota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie Beckwith’s memoir provides an insider’s perspective on the creation and early operations of America’s most secretive special operations unit. Beckwith details the challenges of building Delta Force from scratch, including significant bureaucratic resistance, the recruitment process, and training innovations. His firsthand account of the 1980 Iran hostage rescue mission, which I am in ignorance of, offers a raw, unfiltered look at the complexities of high-stakes military operations.

While the book offers valuable historical insights, its pacing and heavy focus on bureaucratic hurdles was a bit dry and slow for my liking. That said, there are nuggets of wisdom to be gained—most notably, the value of failure. Beckwith seems to have built Delta Force through trial and error, learning from each setback. If repeated failures can lead to something as groundbreaking as Delta Force, what lessons might we uncover from our own day-to-day struggles?

[Rick Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could also be titled “Charlie Beckwith Against Everyone”

It’s full of exciting missions and explosions. But the general impression I get is that Charlie Beckwith made his life significantly harder than it had to be. Refusing to get along with anyone he saw as political or not up to his standards, Mr Beckwith proceeds to seemingly piss off everyone in the US military. If not for the grace of a few select generals, I don’t think his endeavors would have been much more than a footnote in Vietnam War history.

This books depiction of the Iranian Hostage rescue, is a good example of how plans go wrong.

“Grumpy commando” might work as a title as well.

[Monty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book although the author comes off as a jerk

if you like details in military operations, this is a great read. the author does a great job taking you through the formation of Delta and the opportunity to free the hostages in Iran. the story covers both the internal training and the external effort to get the unit funded and supported by senior staff. on a number of occasions it is obvious that the author is part of his problems.

I am not sure if he dose not see that in the book or he is honest enough to lay it out as it happened.

[Ian Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The detailed account of Beckwith's effort to get a special anti-terrorist unit founded within the US Army, is worthwhile. He describes the military and political bureaucracy, and how generals operated within it. A very personal account, with several descriptions of leading military personalities.

The action, his time with the British SAS in Malaysia, Vietnam warfare and Operation Eagle Claw, is vividly portrayed. Beckwith gives particular credit to a South Vietnamese helicopter pilot in Vietnam, but later adversely views USMC helicopter pilots in Iran, a strange contrast.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intro to Delta Force Part 1 in my military studies is this very non-fiction book Delta Force written by Col. Charlie A. Beckwith. Col. Beckwith is an American Hero and Patriot of legendary proportions. It was his vision that became today’s Delta Force, our military’s premier special operations anti-terrorist organization.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Force

http://www.specialoperations.com/Army...

[Murgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about the creator of America's Delta force Unit by the man who urged JSOC of the need for having this specialized unit. This book contains both training techniques and actual events that Delta has been apart of. This is a good book if you want to know how the goverment really thinks of covert special operations.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I had heard about Delta Force and have a nephew in the service and therefore, was curious. I remember the Iranian hostage crisis but I was young and somewhat, shall we say, preoccupied with growing up? It was interesting to read about the extensive preparations for the rescue mission and insights as to why it failed from the commander's perspective.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good companion to 'Inside Delta Force.' This book contains much more information about the formation of the unit and the logistics needed to create such a group within the military. 'Inside Delta Force' has more information from the perspective of an early recruit. Both books should be read to get a good picture of the unit.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I date a man obsessed with delta force, swat, all things "special teams" so I picked this up after he had read it. It was a pretty interesting account of the creation of Delta Force. The author has a tendency to use too many names and titles, which can be confusing.

[Roger Weston · Rating 5 out of 5]

The conflict keeps the pages turning. The conflict is not primarily man against man, but man against the system. It shows how a man with guts can make a difference and get things done--such as creating and implementing Delta Force. A fast read.

[David]

An inside view of the early years of this elite force and the people in it. Subtile critique toward the end as to how the force may have been misused by those in power. Well written fast read.

[Malcolm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Founder Colonel Charlie Beckwith's depiction of the SAS modeled Special Forces Operations - Detachment Delta (a.k.a. Delta Force).

[Zed]

Another personal version of Delta Force told by the founder, Charles Beckwith.

[Nick stockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

well considering my profession and I have met a few people its a good book for me to read. It shows the out of the box thinking that is required to survive sometimes.

[Dr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the clearest books one can read to understand military bueracracy available.

[Norbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed account of when and how Delta Force was created, of the intense training for "Operation Eagle Claw" and on the events at "Desert One"

[Adedotun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must be my favorite non-fiction/military novel ever.
Delta Force is pretty boring in the beginning, but gets realer as the story unfolds.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book! I literally read it cover to cover in one day. Very Motivating!

[Stuart Berman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible story of the birth of Delta Force and the man behind it. Brings back memories.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone from my generation knew about Delta Force thanks to the 1986 movie starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin. Later I did some studying of my own, saw their actions recreated in movies like "Black Hawk Down", and didn't think much of it. I knew they were elite special operations personnel, vaguely related to the Special Forces (Green Berets), and according to my brother (a former Army Ranger), the place just about every other Army combat soldier aspires to reach.

I had started reading "Black Hawk Down" by Mark Bowden when I began reading this book concurrently.

SUMMARY
The book begins with a briefing held at the White House in 1980 concerning the American hostages held in Iran. Charles Beckwith then rewinds to where it began; his exchange with the British Special Air Service (SAS) in 1962. After learning the British methods (and believing America needed a unit along the lines of the SAS), Beckwith spends years trying to sell the idea to military leadership. During this time he serves two tours of duty in Vietnam (the first of which he commands the Special Forces' Project DELTA), is shot in the stomach by a .50 BMG round (or 14.5mm Russian), and climbs the ranks from Captain, to Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and finally "full bird" Colonel. He runs parts of both Special Forces training and Ranger School.

Finally in the mid-1970s the Army starts listening to his proposals for an elite counter-terrorist unit. Delta's organization is not easy, even with the support of the Chief of Staff of the Army himself; Beckwith has to do a lot of the legwork, learn the intricacies of Pentagon politics, and the byzantine labyrinth of rules and regulations surrounding the formation of a new unit, the secrecy surrounding the personnel, training requirements, budget, etc., etc. He faces competition from the competing organization put together by the Special Forces (BLUE LIGHT), and finally sees his team activated for one of the most daring and dangerous missions anyone could have foreseen; the Iran hostage crisis.


OVERALL: X out of 5
"Delta Force" is an interesting book that seems to have a few objectives: it provides real, unclassified information on an elite special operations force that people are curious about, it's a "partial" autobiography of a man who had an exciting life, and it's also a rebuttal/explanation of Beckwith's critics.

As a "war book", it probably disappoints a lot of people. More time is spent on the author's ideas, paperwork, training, and opinions than "in the mud" war stories.

As an autobiography, Beckwith spends less than a paragraph (combined total) talking about his family, his relationship with his wife or daughters (one of them apparently married Paul Howe, a Delta operator involved with the Battle of Mogadishu, according to Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down"), or even himself. The man suffers some severe injuries and sickness, but never refers to them again (such as aches and pains, etc.) It's not that he's lying (his record backs up his claims), but that the focus of the book is on Delta Force.

Despite this short attention to detail some readers might want, it's a fascinating story and (for me) a unique perspective. Beckwith was an officer, not enlisted; he keeps a "big picture" mentality through the entire narrative.

He obviously offended some people during his career; he writes without reservations or worries about enemies made in the Special Forces, Army staff, and politicians. Unflattering pictures are drawn of Warren Christopher (Deputy Secretary of State during the Iran hostage crisis and later Secretary of State during Bill Clinton's first term) and Hal Moore (a retired lieutenant general who was played by Mel Gibson in the movie "We Were Soldiers"). He also apologizes to some people, and admits he made mistakes.

There is a lot of history presented that people today take for granted; Delta Force was difficult to assemble partly because of resistance from "conventional" soldiers who felt special operation units were overrated, and also from existing special operations personnel (Special Forces and Rangers) who thought everything could be done "in-house" and didn't see the need for an independent unit with a direct link to the Department of Defense. I've heard before that only "Chargin' Charlie" could have built the unit, and I believe it after reading this book, notwithstanding the man's faults.

Now I'm going to get political: the Afterword almost ruined the entire book for me. Written by C.A. Mobley in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11, it tries to guess where Delta Force is going. The Posse Comitatus Act is explained (it prevents military personnel from engaging in operations on American soil, rather than civilian law enforcement), and then says the repeal or modification of the law may be necessary so Delta Force can assist in domestic terror situations and other operations within American borders. Personal freedoms would be curtailed in order to maintain security (the author admits this).

My problem is that in claiming that Beckwith would "probably" support such ideas (whether he would or wouldn't- the man died in 1994), Mobley is urging readers (who already either like Beckwith or are fascinated by his story) to support them too. Not only do I disagree, but I see this as another slide toward a police state. I am not sure what Mobley's political affiliations are, but if he wrote this in the aftermath of 9/11 when George W. Bush was president, would he still support the idea now that Barack Obama is in the White House? Playing with important rules like Posse Comitatus might sound like a good idea when things are going bad and you feel like we need to do EVERYTHING we can to ensure security, but what happens when the military has been granted all these expanded powers and someone with an anti-freedom agenda is in the White House? Would President Obama be using Delta Force to spy on political enemies like he used the IRS? Would a future president use them to attack innocent Americans who disagree with current policy, or round up all the gays, all the libertarians, or all the business leaders?

Men who are trained in death and destruction, though to be respected and honored for putting everything on the line for the freedom of others, are a genie in the bottle. It's not fair (to them or the general public) to say that it is entirely on their shoulders to ignore an unlawful order; the idea is to make sure they aren't ever put in that kind of position. The police state, where soldiers become the jailers of the civilian populace rather than the protectors, is not the answer.
If Charles Beckwith felt that it was, then that is unfortunate. If the Afterword writer is just making assumptions about what a dead man would think, that is a travesty and a disgrace to appear in the dead man's own autobiographical book.

RATINGS BY CATEGORY
CHARACTERS: 2 out of 5
Beckwith spends some time describing people he worked with; generals, other colonels, and the enlisted men who made up the bulk of Delta's personnel. There are a lot of aliases used for security reasons, but I also never felt a particular connection with anyone but Beckwith. The other people just aren't described in great detail, and they might disappear for several pages before being mentioned again. I don't think Beckwith was trying to "hog the glory", but as an officer he spends most of his time with "bigger picture" issues in which dozens of people may play a role.

PACE: 3 out of 5
Things move fast; Beckwith covers a tour of Vietnam leading up to a near-fatal injury in a single chapter or two (whereas Gary Linderer put enough details into his single tour that he had to split his story in two books). Like the characters, Beckwith mostly focuses on larger issues as opposed to day-to-day activities; someone looking for the "flavor" of Vietnam or Beckwith's other experiences will be disappointed; not a lot of detail is provided about anything until he reaches the formation of Delta Force and Operation Eagle Claw.

Things pop out at you though. In one sentence everything seems to be going okay, and then the author has suddenly been shot. He does capture the suddenness of disaster better than most writers who find ways to lead up to it.

STORY: 3 out of 5
Anyone who is interested in the military is going to be interested in Beckwith's book. I heard complaints that there weren't enough "war stories", but I think Beckwith does a great job in describing events, thoughts, and people over the course of almost two decades. His point-of-view is unique, his contributions are impressive, and he doesn't ever beat his chest. Maybe it was because of the haunting failure of Eagle Claw (rescue of the Iran hostages), but Beckwith is surprisingly humble for a man who founded Delta Force.

There is a lot of "paperwork and politics", but Beckwith never dwells on the boring stuff.

DIALOGUE: 3 out of 5
Being a memoir, there aren't as many lines of dialogue. It typically comes at important moments the author probably memorized (such as President Jimmy Carter's briefing on the rescue mission), and other moments where he probably remembered the general outline of a conversation.

STYLE/TECHNICAL: 4 out of 5
Beckwith wrote the book with a man named Donald Knox. I am not sure exactly how the responsibilities worked out, but I am confident it probably consisted of Beckwith telling stories while Knox wrote it all down (and probably did a lot of organization). Beckwith was a colonel who had written numerous briefs, reports, and everything else involved with establishing a new unit, so I am sure he had an idea how to write things down in a concise and clear manner.
The book has his voice; many sentences not true (grammatically), but everything is kept clear and easy to understand. The book could be easily read by someone only vaguely familiar with military language and jargon.

[Jeffrey Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into this book expecting exciting tales of hostage rescues and successful missions by the Delta Force. But besides an odd example of the Iranian Hostage Crisis (which was weird to include since it didn't even succeed), Beckwith barely touches on this. Instead, he presents us with an even more critical adventure: the formation of Delta Force.

Beckwith starts the story by relaying his time in the British SAS (Special Air Service), at that time considered one of the best special forces in the world, and with a proven track record from WW2. Perhaps the biggest culture difference between the Brits and the Yankees: the lack of bureaucracy. Beckwith recounts how the British kept everything: the formulas, the materials, etc, in their head, while the Americans would have documentation for any new procedure or resource. Realizing that the United States didn't have a force like this, he resolved to build one.

Overall the next several years, Beckwith presents his case to many senior generals of the necessity to creating a counter-terrorism unit within the United States military. Through this, we see the intricacies of his negotiations. For example, in the highly organized management structure of the army, getting connected to the right generals, and convincing them to your side, was paramount in his success; furthermore, establishing an efficient chain of command and placing one's unit under the right organizations also ensured that Delta Force wouldn't be bottlenecked by slow or uncaring leaders. We also see principle agent issues - not everyone has the same goal as you. Many commanders are more worried about their own units than improving the military's capability for counter-terrorism, and are apprehensive that Beckwith's Delta Force may poach their men or overshadow their unit's objectives. In particular, the Special Forces and the Rangers were Delta forces' biggest competitors, and constantly threw little roadblocks to serve their interests.

We also examine Beckwith's own negotiating skills. He is often quick to anger. There's been many times throughout the book where, under stress, he blows up and throws insults he shouldn't have. It often happens with people he must impress - people who have the authority to shut the project down or allocate more resources - and he is often reminded by his allies that being angry accomplishes nothing. However, Beckwith does know how to politic. He understands when his superiors are subverting him, and knows how to bypass people to get the job done. He also had the blessing of the US President. And knowing his job was on the line if he didn't succeed, Beckwith was able to outmaneuver his enemies (along with prove that his training methods were indeed superior) to create a real fighting force.

Reading this book almost reminds me of trying to start up a team at a large corporate firm: fighting with coworkers to get the prized employees, arguing where resources should be allocated, convincing the board that your division is important and necessary, and even consolidating with other teams that run similar business lines. And finally, the baptism of fire when facing the real world. The military is surprisingly corporate. And by reading this book, I'm starting to get a grasp of the important of workplace politics.

[Darin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off with: There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the book. I've had it on my reading list for ages. I believe I found it as suggested reading on reddit.

The chapters focusing on the bureaucracy in the US military in the early- to mid-seventies weren't particularly interesting. I am sure I've already forgotten 95% of the people mentioned. I presume that political shenanigans were more surprising when the book was initially released. (I read the second edition, with a new epilogue, which was released in 2000 before the 9/11 attacks.)

The discussion of the British approach versus the American approach to small units was interesting, as was the detailed description of the rescue mission into Iran.

I was hoping for more discussion of tactics versus strategy and how one can be used for the the other, particularly in situations resources are scarce. As a counter-example, years ago I read Shelby Foot's three-volume history on the American Civil War and I found the descriptions of how the Army and Navy "actually does things" interesting.

I am not interested in military tactics or strategy in particular, only how I might apply such to my own (civilian) life. I am business-oriented in general and software development-oriented in particular. I am also interested in how things fail, particularly when there is plenty of expertise and money available.

One surprise: During the Senate inquiries as to why the rescue attempt failed, a senator mentioned the "Mayaguez Incident". I don't think I have ever heard anyone mention that incident before and I spent a lot of time reading a lengthy article on Wikipedia.