Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior

by Hugh Shelton, Ronald Levinson, Malcolm McConnell

The powerful unvarnished memoir of General Hugh Shelton, war hero, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during 9/11, and one of the leading military figures of our time Whether serving under a Democratic president or a Republican president, General Shelton was never afraid to speak out and tell it like it is. Shelton chronicles his incredible journey from a small farming community in North Carolina to the highest level of American military and political power at the Pentagon and White House. As one of the nation’s elite Special Forces soldiers, Shelton served twice in Vietnam, commanding a Green Beret unit and then an airborne infantry company. He was awarded a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for a wound suffered when a booby trap drove a poisoned stake through his leg. Shelton rose up the ranks and was assistant division commander of the 101st Airborne Division as they invaded Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, then led the 20,000 American troops tasked with restoring Haiti’s deposed President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power. Promoted to 4-star General, he became Commander in Chief of U.S. Special Operations Command (including Delta Force, Navy SEALS and other top secret Special Mission Units). But it was while serving as Chairman during both the Clinton and Bush administrations that he faced his biggest challenges, including his role as chief architect of the U.S. military response to 9/11. General Shelton speaks frankly of how decisions were made behind the scenes in the inner sanctum of the E-Ring and Oval Office, and reveals key military operations and meetings that have not yet been revealed, * High-ranking Cabinet member proposes intentionally allowing an American pilot to be killed by the Iraqis to have an excuse to retaliate and go to war. * Details of a contentious Camp David meeting among President George W. Bush and his National Security Council immediately after 9/11, where internal battle lines were drawn---and Shelton (along with Colin Powell) convinced President Bush to do the right thing. * How Rumsfeld persuaded General Tommy Franks to bypass the Joint Chiefs, leading to a badly flawed Iraq war plan that failed to anticipate the devastating after-effects of the insurgency and civil war. * Attempts to kill Usama bin Laden that were shot down by our State Department. * CIA botched high-profile terrorist snatches, leaving Shelton’s Special Operations teams to clean up their mess. * How Shelton “persuaded” Haiti’s dictator to flee the country.

* And much more. Yet it's Shelton’s amazing personal story that puts his military career in perspective. It began with a fall from a ladder in his backyard, resulting in total paralysis from the neck down---and a risky experimental procedure, so dangerous that if it didn’t cure him, chances are it would kill him. Revealing, compelling, and controversial, this is the story of a man whose integrity and ethics were always above reproach, and who dedicated his life to serving his country.

Genres: Biography, Military Fiction, Politics, History, Biography Memoir, War, Memoir

576 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2010

About the author

General Hugh Shelton, war hero, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during 9/11, and one of the leading military figures of our time.

From humble beginnings in a small farming community in North Carolina to the highest level of American military and political power at the Pentagon and White House.

As one of the nation's elite Special Forces soldiers, Shelton served twice in Vietnam, commanding a Green Beret unit and then an airborne infantry company. He was awarded a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for a wound suffered when a booby trap drove a poisoned stake through his leg.

Shelton rose up the ranks and was assistant division commander of the 101st Airborne Division as they invaded Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, then led the 20,000 American troops tasked with restoring Haiti's deposed President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power. Promoted to 4-star General, he became Commander in Chief of U.S. Special Operations Command (including Delta Force, Navy SEALS and other top secret Special Mission Units).

Served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

Reviews

[William Breakstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW

WITHOUT HESTITATION
By General (RET.) Hugh Shelton

Reviewed by Bill Breakstone, November 20, 2010


One bright, beautiful spring day in 1991, I left my office in Manhattan and took the subway three stops downtown to Chambers Street to view the homecoming parade of our troops returning from Desert Storm. Out in front of one of the brigades of the 101st Airborne Division was a tall, gangly, bespectacled Brig. General leading his troops past the reviewing stand. He was so tall he stood out like a sore thumb, and couldn’t help from being a center of attention. That General was Hugh Shelton.

Henry Hugh Shelton served as fourteenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States from 1997 to 2001. “Without Hesitation” is his autobiography, and it is a dandy. At 530-odd pages, it is a big book, and is filled with voluminous details, tales of personal adventures, and stories of heroism and dedication to the Service and the Country.

Shelton was born on January 2, 1942 in the town of Tarboro, North Carolina. He was raised just outside the tiny enclave of Speed. He attended North Carolina State University where he majored in textiles; he also enrolled in the Army ROTC program, becoming a commissioned officer upon graduation. He served two years as an Army Ranger, one of which was in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. He had committed to work for a large textile company after his Army commitment was fulfilled, but found himself missing his Army commitments and comrades. After a year in textiles, it was back to the Army and a life-long career that would take him to the very top of the Nation’s military leadership.

Shelton was a natural born leader and manager of men and material assets. He led from the front, was candid and honest with superiors and subordinates, and always stood up for his troops. He never shied from making a controversial decision, even if it was “against the grain”, and his judgments were always based on a firm knowledge of the facts behind any situation. And Shelton was not the kind of general you wanted to get mad. He picked few fights throughout his life, but when he did, he was tough as nails.

What one takes away from reading this autobiography is: a sense of what leadership is all about; how huge an undertaking is the management of a military organization, be it a battalion (600 soldiers), brigade (5,000 soldiers), a division (18,000 soldiers), a corps (@75,000 soldiers), or the entire military (over 2 million soldiers).

The book contains fascinating accounts of Operation Agile Provider (Haiti), Operation Desert Fox (Iraq), the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, and the invasion of Afghanistan following the horrendous events of 9/11.

Shelton also provides an in-depth study of the management styles of Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush, and of his Secretaries of Defense, William Cohen under Clinton and Donald Rumsfeld under Bush. He is scathing in his portrayal of Rumsfeld and his associates Paul Wolfowitz, Stephen Cambone and Doug Feith. But he saves his best for Senator John McCain.

Here is a brief look at the awful time he had with Team Bush:

“There are two kinds of relationships between a Chairman and a Secretary of Defense. There was the kind I had with Bill Cohen, where we worked together and protected each other’s flanks. And there was the McNamara-Rumsfeld model, based upon deception, deceit, working political agendas, and trying to get the Joint Chiefs to support an action that might not be the right thing to do for the Country but would work well for the President from a political standpoint.”

Shelton’s relationship with President Bush was another matter, one of mutual respect if not total admiration. His analysis of the former President’s performance matches that of many others—loyalty is on the one hand is an admirable virtue, but an unwavering loyalty to subordinates at the highest levels who make boneheaded decisions that damage the interests of the Nation is not the type of leadership that best serves the Country.

I owe another debt of gratitude to Charlie Rose for bringing this book to my attention. I caught the end of his interview with Shelton early one morning when watching his show on the Bloomberg Network. Thanks again Charlie for another brilliant recommendation.

[Laurence Lewin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must start off by saying that I met Hugh Shelton and his wife, Carolyn, and they are two of the nicest people I have ever met. As one who has always had respect for the military and a great interest in military history, while at the same time being an unabashed liberal, though not a pacifist, and a critic of American involvement in Viet Nam and Iraq, I found this book to be thoroughly absorbing in its description of how a country boy from North Carolina went from an aspiring aviation engineer to an accidental appointment to the very pinnacle of the military, at the crucial time of the events that led up to the American invasion of Iraq. This is a book about character, and leadership and lessons learned. It is told in a series of accounts on rising through the officer corps to command status. The warmth of his relationship with his wife comes through, as does the idiocy of some of the arbitrary and thoughtless decisions that place the welfare of the individual soldiers at risk, and the steps to humanize the military. General Shelton offers his personal assessments of the American presidents he knew, and is unsparing in his criticism of Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Chaney. I only wish that his service as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had been over the 4 years following 9/11, as he would have been a formidable obstacle to the Neo-Con plans to invade Iraq and remake the Middle East. General Shelton's life is an inspiration, as is his battle to overcome what might have been paraplegia, or worse, and what isn't covered, Carolyn's story, and the sacrifice of the military families in their daily lives, would make an equally absorbing story.

[Plajuey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The entire book is a good read and filled with notable lessons, but I found the most interesting portions to be his formative years, both as a young man and during his baptism of fire during the height of the Vietnam War. Aside from sharing such great lessons in character development and leadership during his life and military career, Shelton is interesting to me because he bucks the conservative military stereotype a bit, coming across as somewhat of a liberal politically. But then, he is a product of a culture and era in which “liberal” (or perhaps Democrat) was less synonymous with “leftist”, and in which traditional values were still compatible with liberal thought.

Growing up on a farm in the south, Shelton recalls the type of discipline with which he was raised:

“The sun pounded down and the humidity was about 90 percent. I was thirsty—real thirsty. A big thermos of cold water sat in the shade of the tractor. I lowered my pitchfork and gazed at the thermos. Then I saw Daddy watching me under the brim of his cap. He didn’t say a word. That wasn’t necessary. The message was clear: we drank water when we took a break, once an hour and at lunch. I lifted the pitchfork and got back to work.”

This training in discipline and self-denial would pay off years later when he found himself leading a team of Special Forces as they evaded NVA forces for days upon end, at one point going a couple of days without water.

Somewhat of an accidental patriot, Shelton had no particular aspiration towards military service, and got his initial exposure to the military only because it was then mandatory at his college to accomplish at least two years of ROTC. As with many successful leaders in the military, he had the mentality to bloom where he was planted: “If I’m going to be a cadet, I figured, I may as well be the best.”

During Ranger training, Shelton experienced a traumatic accident first-hand, as half of his platoon was killed when two of the helicopters (both aircraft that he had tried to board at the landing zone but which had already been filled with men) crashed into each other while flying fog. His response is notable:

“ Okay, ” I said , gathering my remaining members, pulling them into a huddle. “ Get out your maps, men. We are missing half now, so we have to reassign who is doing what to secure this thing.” I started going through troop - leading procedures to get them all squared away to secure the same LZ, and they were responding professionally to my calm command of the situation — highly respectable on their part considering what had just occurred but a great lesson in leadership.”

Shortly thereafter, the battalion commander showed up and ended the entire exercise. In today’s USAF, this seems like the obvious and appropriate course of action. But to Shelton, stopping the exercise was a major mistake:

“I thought to myself, Man, we’re getting ready to deploy to Vietnam; you’re going to have to learn to deal with this. The mission won’t stop because you lose two planeloads of troops. But we stopped, and I will be the first one to tell you that it was a terrible thing.”

There are a couple of vignettes that, I think, illustrate important character traits that enabled Shelton to be such a successful combat leader. In a briefing prior to deploying to an isolated Special Forces camp in Vietnam, Shelton and two of his fellow officers were told by his commander that, based on averages, two of them would be dead in the next few weeks. Shelton responded to the danger with that special type of confidence “…that’s too bad for my two buddies here”, rather than inwardly curling up in fear and doubt.

The other is when he was deployed to command an SF team at one of these outposts. The outgoing commander was being relieved for “psychological reasons”, the XO had just been killed in the field, and the senior NCO was engaging in war crimes and drinking on duty, while the base’ defenses eroded.

Shelton had the clarity to quickly fire the NCO, set to work fixing the defenses, and leading patrols to establish security in the surrounding area. It would have been easy for Shelton to see himself as a victim of circumstances, to keep the NCO so that he’d have someone to lean on, or hole up in the base rather than taking the fight to the enemy. As is often the case in life, the path to success lay on the other side of uncertainty, and such challenging and uncomfortable actions (and the near-term pain they entailed) were the key to long-term success.

In both the regular Army as well as within the Special Forces, Shelton observed how truncated training programs resulted in men who were not up to the task of combat leadership:

“The challenge began at the squad level with a mixture of both regular army and draftee sergeants, and often I couldn’t even differentiate between the two. One problem was the so-called Shake and Bake sergeant program the Army had instituted. It allowed a draftee to become a three-stripe (E-5) NCO squad leader after passing a very truncated eight-week training course and it really degraded the promotion standards.”

“The 5th Group was now recruiting young lieutenants and captains who had not even been to the qualification course back at Fort Bragg. Instead, they had agreed to pull an extra six months in Vietnam and were issued Green Berets and assigned to Special Forces . We were losing everything that went with being a member of what had begun as an elite body of troops, and the caliber of the organization began to decay. They were cutting corners, getting by with minimum effort, and hanging out drinking in team houses and telling inflated war stories — but they were no longer made of the same material as the original heroic Green Berets whom I had always held in such high regard.”

Shelton’s philosophy on killing is worth quoting at length:

“One night, one of the students approached me, very concerned about something…He had just received orders to report to Vietnam following ranger camp. “What’s your question, ranger?” I asked. “Sir, what do you feel after you’ve killed a man?” he asked, knowing he would personally have to deal with this very shortly. “Recoil, ranger,” I quipped back without delay…I would go on to answer him in an honest manner, and I fully understand that my response sounds totally cold and inappropriate—but as much as this sounds like a casual father/son fireside chat, I was his instructor and my goal was to teach him skills and techniques that would keep him and his fellow soldiers alive, and I had learned that there was a certain way to do this. Had I begun with some soft, sensitive response on how I understood that the man I killed was a fellow child of God or something similar, I can guarantee you that student would be having that conversation with God directly, because if he paused to think about that kind of thing, he would be the one on the receiving end of the gunshot.”


As Chairman of the JCS in the late 1990s, one of his projects was requesting an immense budget increase to improve readiness across the armed forces, an effort that undoubtedly contributed to the speed and effectiveness of the U.S. military response to 9/11 in the early 2000s. This project was remarkable for a few reasons. First, when Shelton initially approached the Joint Chiefs to ask about their readiness, they all responded that their respective services were basically good to go. Based on anecdotal reports, he was skeptical, and conducted somewhat of an end-run around the Chiefs, gathering readiness reports from a random sampling of battalions, squadrons, and ships. Only when he essentially smacked the Chiefs in the face with these reports did they reconsider and acknowledge the readiness issues.

What are the learning points? None of us likes to sound like we don’t have it together in our organization, so there is always the tendency to get the “bobbing head” response when you ask “is everything okay?” However, as a leader it is also important to be fairly specific when you ask about readiness. In the place of one of his subordinates, I can imagine wondering “is he asking me if my organization is doing as well as it can, given the current resources?” or “What does he mean exactly by ‘ready’?”. As a leader, a better way to approach such issues could be to re-frame the question: what level of readiness are your organizations at right now, overall? How realistic are the metrics that you are using to measure their readiness? What are the biggest challenges to readiness?

Once the JCS came up with the amount that they needed to improve readiness to acceptable levels - $155 billion - Shelton plowed ahead with the request, despite warnings from the Chiefs that this budget request would fail and thereby mar his tenure as Chairman. His response is worth quoting:

“You know what, Joe? I would rather go down as a failure trying to do the right thing than to go down as one who was successful in achieving the low standard that I set for myself.”

Another element of this story is interesting: the USMC was afraid of the DoD submitting such a massive request, because of the possibility that Congress might gut certain programs (like the V-22) to fund the readiness budget. Shelton’s response was essentially to say that this was a problem for Congress and for the defense contractors; his mindset was that the contractors would fight tooth-and-nail through their lobbying firms to protect those programs, but that no one besides the JCS would fight the battle to fund all the other things necessary for readiness.


Shelton rebuts the claim that Clinton tried to use the missile strikes against UBL as a distraction from the investigation into his personal actions, and in fact argues that Clinton made a courageous decision to order the strikes, despite the strong possibility that such action would be seen as self-interested.

As Shelton describes it, the back-and-forth between the military and Richard Clarke, the “counterterrorism czar” during the pre-9/11 days sounds like a bit of a circus of impractical ideas about how to strike at UBL. In terms of “direct action” against terrorists, Shelton saw the CIA as somewhat of a junior partner, full of enthusiasm but without the capability to carry out their ideas. Shelton was careful to delineate between CIA and DoD operations, for fear that the CIA’s paramilitaries would screw up and leave the military to face the blame. However, he acknowledges that the CIA’s paramilitary capabilities seemed to have improved by the time of Operation Jawbreaker in the aftermath of 9/11.

Shelton is critical of General Wes Clark, both in general as well as in terms of his performance in Allied Force.

Donald Rumsfeld is often a polarizing figure. Even those senior leaders who worked well with him typically acknowledge that he could be difficult to work with. Shelton has predominantly negative things to say about Rumsfeld, describing his leadership as the “worst I experienced in 38 years”. According to Shelton, Rumsfeld was a micromanaging know-it-all who prioritized turf battles over results, didn’t pay attention to what others said, and who discouraged dissenting opinions.

Like Robert Gates and Norty Schwartz, Shelton’s tenure gave him a unique vantage point to observe the differences as presidential administrations changed. Interestingly, he sees the Bush administration has having played a major role in the trend towards partisan politics that we are recognizing as such a big problem in our politics today, specifically the administration’s refusal to appoint anyone with any sort of Democratic background to the various positions.

From Shelton’s perspective, the senior members of the Bush administration were more set on their own agenda and less open to outside influences than had been the case with the Clinton White House. He argues that a major failure was Bush’ failure to fire Rumsfeld much earlier, despite calls to do so from within the Republican Party. From a practical standpoint, the Bush administration struggled to get its various cabinet officials “on message” in terms of delivering a consistent message to the press.


Shelton is extremely critical of the decision making process leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He says that he clearly and forcefully made the point to Bush and members of his cabinet that Iraq posed no threat to the US and did not have meaningful links with Al Qaeda, but could still tell that it was highly likely that Iraq would be invaded during the administration’s first term.

Perhaps most damning to the Bush administration, Shelton says that, prior to the invasion of Iraq, several active or retired members of the JCS expressed serious reservations about the plan for ensuring stability in the aftermath. The complex mix of civil and military resources required to restore stability had been exercised in Haiti in the mid-1990s, and a formal government study (PDD 56) had been produced as a result, but these lessons learned were apparently not studied or applied in the initial phases of OIF.

Continuing on the themes of the importance of asking for the resources required to do the job, and Rumsfeld’s incompetence, Shelton states that Rumsfeld tried to browbeat the DoD into using an even smaller footprint than in did during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Had MG Dell Dailey not stood his ground on the JSOC forces required, Shelton argues, the Afghanistan operation not have gone as well as it did. His message to Dailey:

…whatever you do — do not let them browbeat you into trying to do something without the right - size force to make it successful , because ultimately it will all come back to you for having failed militarily to achieve your goals . You can’t let them cut you to the bone and not have sufficient backup in case things don’t go exactly as you thought they would . It’s that redundancy that is going to save lives . Nobody will remember — or care — about the force level you wanted before they cut you back .

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing and standup guy. Reads like MOH recipient Wesley Fox's book in that the chapters are by rank/grade with leadership lessons. However, a very different book considering the length and breadth of General Shelton's experiences and the chapters have some great subtitles too. He also interjects into the beginning of every chapter a small segment about the life changing event-his accident in 2002 that would have left most people paralyzed.

Initially I thought this book would be too preachy and arrogant but it quickly turned into a colorful and entertaining read. He is humbler in telling the stories of his early years and more strident and profane when telling of his four star tenure-and you can see why very quickly with some of the insane ideas broached by amateur experts from both parties. Some unbelievable stories of fate and heroism in his Vietnam days. He shows Clinton in a very favorable light but really takes the broom to Rumsfeld and McCain. Very surprised more people aren't talking about this book. It could have been shorter. Some parts weren't needed at all and military purists will be mortified to find several minor errors in nomenclature between services; e.g. confusing admirals and generals, commanders and colonels and forts and camps.

This book just confirms what everybody down in the trenchs thought was happening in the Pentagon when Rumsfeld took over.

[Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent autobiography of quite an interesting life. Having never previously knowing anything about Hugh Shelton, I now know everything about his life.

[Larry Vick · Rating 5 out of 5]

It isn't often I get to read a book about someone I know personally. What surprised me most was how much I didn't know about General Shelton even though I served as his legal advisor for almost five years. Written like a novel, "Without Hesitation" describes General Shelton's life as a warrior vividly, candidly, and inspirationally. You are in the jungles of Vietnam, the deserts of Iraq, the island of Haiti, and the top secret briefing rooms of the Pentagon and White House. You feel a part of the life and death conversations with Presidents, cabinet officials, and other foreign leaders both military and civilian. More revealing than the descriptions of his own sacrifices are the descriptions of the sacrifices made by his family which faithfully supported him during almost 40 years of military service. One thing's for sure, once you've finished this book, you'll have an appreciation for the men and women in uniform like you never had before.

[Zach Wriston · Rating 3 out of 5]

General Shelton's biography was interesting and takes the reader through 40 years of service. It was not earth shattering like Grant's biography. It is a valuable resource as it does capture the transition of Soldier treatment and care. The way Shelton was treated as a new husband, the sacrifices in a demanding career with his children, and the cavalier attitudes of his superiors shows the progression of the Army. Shelton had the unenviable luck of being at the helm of 9/11. Shelton's strength of character, compassion, and discipline left a lasting impact on the Army as a values based organization.

[John H. Warren III · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a great book by a great North Carolinian. General Shelton offers a unique and personal insight into the workings, and trappings, of our military. He is honest, transparent, and seemingly without bias towards any political party. It is refreshing and unnerving to read THIS book, in light of today's demonstrably inept intelligence community. The more things stay the same, as it were....

[James Cape · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was interesting and a trivial read. But, like most recently military autobiographies it's a bit self-serving, in the "everyone is an idiot but me" way I've also seen from Tommy Franks, Wes Clark, Norman Schwartzkopf, etc.

The best part of the book was the dirty laundry about the way White House-level politics operated 1997-2001.

Had I known, for example, that a *Clinton* official wanted to get a plane shot down to start a war with Iraq, or that Rumsfeld was trying to bullshit his way into Iraq on 9/11, I would not have been nearly so conflicted about Saddam's potential WMDs and imaginary ties to terrorists. I also wouldn't have been so incredulous when a friend of mind predicted we'd invade Iraq on 9/11, even though we all knew that Iraq and al-Qaeda were not related.

To hear the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs admit that the Sudanese aspirin factory strike was also wrong and the CIA's poor excuse for justifying evidence was as bad as it turned out to be is encouraging as well.

Unfortunately, that encouragement is pretty thin: it's too late for any of this information to truly matter, the best you can do is treat it as evidence of a simultaneously deeply rooted and deeply disturbed culture in Washington.

And, of course, assume every statement by a power-holder anywhere is a filthy self-serving lie, a distortion, or the babbling of a madman until it's proven true, accurate, and sane.

[Astin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm about 1/3 through this book, and it looks like I might not finish it given the direction my life is taking - too much else to do/focus on. However, I can definitely comment on what I have read.
Overall, this is an autobiography of a man who represents the best of our armed forces. General Shelton's generation of warriors experienced a kind of warfare that will never exist again. There are a lot of Vietnam memoirs and books out there - but the first part of this book is an exceptional first-hand account that is unforgettable. General Shelton's experiences in Vietnam give him the credibility, perspective, and wisdom to go as far as he did. The part of the book I have yet to read is likely to shed light on how his experiences informed and shaped his work as Chair of the Joint Chiefs.

Two themes emerged for me. The first: if Hugh Shelton rose to the top, then our nation's military is effective at promoting its finest. He represents all that is admirable and good in our armed forces, and his remarkable personal and professional journey bears this out. The second theme: this is definitely an AUTObiography. I'm somebody who tends to ask for proof or appraisal in everything I read - looking for unbiased sources to verify facts rather than relying on one point of view. This is story about a remarkable man, from his perspective. I couldn't help but wonder if the guys next to him in the field saw it the same way as he did.

[Kevin O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a departure for me. I got interested while listening to talk by Ruth Suehle at Ohio LinuxFest in 2011. Gen. Shelton had become Chairman of the Red Hat board (Ruth works for Red Hat), and so she took a look. She said it was not the sort of thing she would normally read, but that it surprised her. I decided that was enough of a recommendation, pulled out my phone, and bought it from Google Books as an eBook.

I must confess this was my first military autobiography. I had read Steven Ambrose's biography of Eisenhower, which I greatly enjoyed) but this was different because it was so contemporary. Gen. Shelton served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff first under Pres. Clinton, and then for about a year under Pres. Bush. He has great praise for Clinton and his Sec. of Defense William Cohen, but pretty much despises Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld.

But I would not recommend the book to get his views of politicians, since his opinions are not all that different from a lot of other people. What really made this book a great read for me was getting to know the man and his values, as well as the values of so many others in the U.S. military. As long as we can attract people of the caliber of Gen. Shelton we will be in good shape.

[Antimidas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first half of the book focuses on General Shelton's early life and rise through the ranks of the military to the position of Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. In it, he details military missions with which he was involved, what went wrong, and what worked.

The second half of this book is definitely a no-holds-barred commentary on military operations through the Clinton / G. W. Bush administrations. General Shelton is not afraid to tell it like it is offering praise when it is deserved and a full thrashing when he feels it is required.

Throughout, he gives an effective lesson on leadership which will prove to be of benefit to many in the civilian world as well as those in the military.

More than a "what-to-do" memoir, he also provides the "what-not-to-do" aspect.

While not entirely self-aggrandizing, I cannot recall him ever pointing out faults in his judgement at any time he discusses his 38-year military career. It would have been nice to see him humanize himself a bit more in his examples rather than pointing to the faults of others.

[Gregory Lamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually did not finish reading this book. Not because it wasn't good either. My problem with this type of material is that it is entirely too detailed on topics that I am pretty familiar with. If Gen Shelton's experiences as a Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lt Col, or Colonel were that much different than mine, I would have locked on and endured sore fore arms and read the whole thing. Bottom line is the book is too damn thick. I didn't even get to the good stuff when he had more than two stars on his shoulders. I only hope that the reading audience has the patience and "strength" of strong forearms and non-arthritic hands to learn what the General has to offer. I personally respect the man for many reasons and as a former U-2 pilot who was asked the stupid question about flying over downtown Baghdad at 45K, he is my personal hero for putting a lid on the insanity that sometimes comes from the mouths of civilians who have never served.

[Greg Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lindsey was leaving for the Army so what do I read. A book that was damned good about the man that became the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff during the Clinton administration. You follow his career through Viet Nam, the Middle East, The Balkans and the first Persian Gulf War. You do not rise to his rank without being a very intelligent individual and he was. Wasn't sure how I would like the book when I started it and hated being done with it.

[J. Ewbank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book to read. It is an autobogrphy, but at least it is an interesting one. A key part for me was his dealings with two Presients and their Secretary's of Defense. Obviously an outstanding man and General, this book is well worth the time it takes to read it and get by the necessary abreviations.l

J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natual Man, and the Isms" and "Wesley's Wars"

[John Hibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book from a good man. He is a pretty frank individual and it was amusing to hear his low opinion of Rumsfeld. Surprising to most of my military compatriots, he had a high degree of respect for Clinton, who comes across as a very humane individual. This volume is pretty much proforma for modern military biographies. If you are in between reads, you could do much worse.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honest account well worth the read. Lacks any serious discussion of mistakes but general officers tend to have perfect records - without such a record, becoming a general is near impossible. Presents several lessons, most important is knowing when to fall on one's sword over an issue. Also presents several good examples of the policy/strategy nexus.

[Ralph Roe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting character, but too self-congratulatory throughout the book which casts doubt on his achievements.

Vietnam through Haiti and Afghanistan. None of the Presidents show well, he is fair and equal in critiquing them all.

Useful for insight into military structure and point of view. An average read.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. I usually don't read memoirs or biographies, but this man is an intelligent gentleman who is able to accomplish so much in his life he should be very proud. They don't make them like that anymore!

[Maxo Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it because he earned his position through hard work. The memoir gives one the feeling that Gen. Hugh Shelton is a good and decent man. Also, the style of writing was straightforward and crisp; you'll love it.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to know and associate with this great man when I was a young Captain. He made numerous contributions to the Army but perhaps the greatest was the design of Goretex lined waterproof boots!

[Christopher Oakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent book. Especially considering I got it at the dollar store for a buck. Shelton lead a pretty amazing life and it was a pleasure to read about such an accomplished and important figure. The whole book was a kind of inspiration.

[Joni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh what a read...I strongly suggest this book. Yes it is so thick you could use it for a door stop, but it was a page turner for me! :)

[Bryan Bridges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who wants/has the honor of wearing the gold bar should read this book.

[Michael Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome biography

[Ellie Revert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rev does not recommend this book--too pedantic. Okay, I've gots lots more books to read!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moral compass always pointed in the right direction. Historical and informative with a personal touch of being decisive with a base of humility.

[Patrick Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

General Shelton was a great leader of men and his determination to walk out of Walter Reed is astonishing.

[Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Bio on the former Chairman, Joint Chief s of Staff. His memories are precise and memorable. Great boo about Defense.

[Michael Barr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome audiobook. Great read for military members or history/war buffs anywhere.