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Beyond Hell and Back: How America's Special Operations Forces Became the World's Greatest Fighting Unit
An inside look at seven of the most harrowing and significant Special Operations missions ever.
Courage beyond reason. Loyalty beyond faith. Perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. These are just some of the qualities of the members of the U.S. Special Operation Forces. BEYOND HELL AND BACK details the seven defining Special Ops missions that have made the Special Operation Forces the best fighting unit in the world,
*THE RESCUE OF The largest and longest Combat Search and Rescue mission in the Vietnam War lasted 17 days and cost the lives of 13 Americans--all to rescue one man and the invaluable knowledge he alone possessed.
* TASK FORCE Planned in secrecy and executed with flawless efficiency, Task Force Normandy was an Army/Air Force Special Operations joint op that fired the opening shots behind enemy lines in Operation Desert Storm.
*OPERATION EAGLE The devastating Special Forces operation mounted to retrieve 52 American hostages in Iran resulted in the deaths of
eight members of the rescue team. This failure ultimately led to the creation of Special Operations Command.
*BASHER 52: Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down over the "no fly" zone above Bosnia, and his daring rescue was one of the Marine Corps' finest operations ever.
These are a few of the dramatic true tales that represent the defining moments that helped shape the operational methods, planning, and deployment for all future Special Ops missions. BEYOND HELL AND BACK is the greatest collection of Spec Ops missions ever assembled.
Courage beyond reason. Loyalty beyond faith. Perseverance in the face of overwhelming adversity. These are just some of the qualities of the members of the U.S. Special Operation Forces. BEYOND HELL AND BACK details the seven defining Special Ops missions that have made the Special Operation Forces the best fighting unit in the world,
*THE RESCUE OF The largest and longest Combat Search and Rescue mission in the Vietnam War lasted 17 days and cost the lives of 13 Americans--all to rescue one man and the invaluable knowledge he alone possessed.
* TASK FORCE Planned in secrecy and executed with flawless efficiency, Task Force Normandy was an Army/Air Force Special Operations joint op that fired the opening shots behind enemy lines in Operation Desert Storm.
*OPERATION EAGLE The devastating Special Forces operation mounted to retrieve 52 American hostages in Iran resulted in the deaths of
eight members of the rescue team. This failure ultimately led to the creation of Special Operations Command.
*BASHER 52: Captain Scott O'Grady was shot down over the "no fly" zone above Bosnia, and his daring rescue was one of the Marine Corps' finest operations ever.
These are a few of the dramatic true tales that represent the defining moments that helped shape the operational methods, planning, and deployment for all future Special Ops missions. BEYOND HELL AND BACK is the greatest collection of Spec Ops missions ever assembled.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2007
6 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Dwight Jon Zimmerman
110 books15 followersDWIGHT JON ZIMMERMAN is an award-winning author and producer. His most recent book, Uncommon Valor: The Medal of Honor and the Six Warriors Who Earned It in Afghanistan and Iraq, co-authored with John D. Gresham and published by St. Martin’s Press, received the 2010 Founder’s Award from the Military Writers Society of America, the organization’s highest honor. Zimmerman’s other books include the award-winning The Vietnam War: A Graphic History (Hill & Wang), with artist Wayne Vansant, the first-ever single-volume graphic history of the Vietnam War; the critically acclaimed Beyond Hell and Back (St. Martin’s Press), with co-author John D. Gresham, about seven pivotal special operations missions from Vietnam to present day, and the award-winning First Command: Paths to Leadership (Vandamere Press), about the pivotal moments in the early careers of some of America’s most important generals. First Command later became an award-winning mini-series on the Military Channel. Zimmerman has lectured at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Naval War College and has written numerous articles on military history subjects. His articles have been selected by the Naval War College for use in their curriculum and recognized by the prestigious Journal of Special Operations Medicine. Zimmerman began his career in publishing at Marvel Comics, where he held a variety of editorial positions. In 1992, Zimmerman became executive editor of Topps Comics and was responsible for the editorial and art direction of its lines of media tie-in comics.
His next book is Saga of the Sioux an authorized young adult adaptation of Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Zimmerman lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and daughter.
His next book is Saga of the Sioux an authorized young adult adaptation of Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. Zimmerman lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 1, 2015
I started out giving this 4 stars. I am not sure why exactly I pulled it back to three. I suppose as I write this review I will be able to bring clarity to my thoughts on this book. As sometimes, you don't quite know what your feelings are on a book until you start to talk about it/write about it.
The book was very well researched. Impeccably so. I have to commend the authors for compiling such small and finite details. And then for managing to pull them together to give the reader a clearer awareness of the operational field within each event.
Those events being;
Operation Kingpin: The Son Tay Raid
The Rescue of Bat 21
Operation Eagle Claw
Task Force Normandy
The Rescue of Captain Scott O'Grady
ODA 551 In the Karbala Gap
Task Force Viking at Debecka Pass
However, I feel they actually may have gone a little too far in trying to recreate that operational field and the place I think they went too far on occasion was in the air.
Of course air is as much a part of the modern Special Operations Force as ground and sea. You can't have one without the other. But in this book I found the authors concentrated a lot of their efforts on the tactical air component of the above mentioned operations.
While it was needed, I think maybe they could have cut some of that detail.
This is one of the reasons that sometimes I was on the bench with the book. Not really enamoured.
The biggest problem I had with the book actually came from the place you'd least suspect. The sub title.
Firstly, there is no 'greatest fighting unit' in the world. To even boast of such a thing to the rest of the world makes me grind my teeth.
I do not question that America has 'one' of the greatest fighting units, but saying you are 'the' greatest does not sit well with me.
Then again, I come from a country where we only say we are the greatest at something in jest or in the spirit of good fun. We never actually think it. And we would not put it on a book cover unless the intention was satirical.
I can get over a bad sub title though. It was the contributing factor behind my owning this book since about 2010 and not reading it until late 2014, but it wasn't what bugged me enough to give it three stars.
It was that the authors did not write a book to live up to that subtitle.
The problem with titles like that is that the reader will go into the book with a certain expectation. If those expectations are not met, then it can frustrate your reader.
If the Operations outlined were going to impress anything on the reader, it is that America's SOF history was marred by a bumbling, underwelming over-strategised melee of failed operations and that it was not until the 21st century that they got their act together.
I am sure this was NOT the message the authors were trying to get across, but it is the message I got. Which seems unfair to the men responsible for tightening up and professionalising 'one of' the greatest fighting units in the world.
The book was very well researched. Impeccably so. I have to commend the authors for compiling such small and finite details. And then for managing to pull them together to give the reader a clearer awareness of the operational field within each event.
Those events being;
Operation Kingpin: The Son Tay Raid
The Rescue of Bat 21
Operation Eagle Claw
Task Force Normandy
The Rescue of Captain Scott O'Grady
ODA 551 In the Karbala Gap
Task Force Viking at Debecka Pass
However, I feel they actually may have gone a little too far in trying to recreate that operational field and the place I think they went too far on occasion was in the air.
Of course air is as much a part of the modern Special Operations Force as ground and sea. You can't have one without the other. But in this book I found the authors concentrated a lot of their efforts on the tactical air component of the above mentioned operations.
While it was needed, I think maybe they could have cut some of that detail.
This is one of the reasons that sometimes I was on the bench with the book. Not really enamoured.
The biggest problem I had with the book actually came from the place you'd least suspect. The sub title.
Firstly, there is no 'greatest fighting unit' in the world. To even boast of such a thing to the rest of the world makes me grind my teeth.
I do not question that America has 'one' of the greatest fighting units, but saying you are 'the' greatest does not sit well with me.
Then again, I come from a country where we only say we are the greatest at something in jest or in the spirit of good fun. We never actually think it. And we would not put it on a book cover unless the intention was satirical.
I can get over a bad sub title though. It was the contributing factor behind my owning this book since about 2010 and not reading it until late 2014, but it wasn't what bugged me enough to give it three stars.
It was that the authors did not write a book to live up to that subtitle.
The problem with titles like that is that the reader will go into the book with a certain expectation. If those expectations are not met, then it can frustrate your reader.
If the Operations outlined were going to impress anything on the reader, it is that America's SOF history was marred by a bumbling, underwelming over-strategised melee of failed operations and that it was not until the 21st century that they got their act together.
I am sure this was NOT the message the authors were trying to get across, but it is the message I got. Which seems unfair to the men responsible for tightening up and professionalising 'one of' the greatest fighting units in the world.
March 13, 2019
Certainly a very engaging and informative account of several US SF operations from Vietnam to the second invasion of Iraq.
For the most part, the focus is of course on the missions themselves, the planning, the key personnel and equipment, without siding politically. It is however, not surprisingly, in the final chapter on the Debecka Pass and the subsequent Afterword, where the flags start to wave and some objectivity is lost.
Still, an insightful and consumable piece.
For the most part, the focus is of course on the missions themselves, the planning, the key personnel and equipment, without siding politically. It is however, not surprisingly, in the final chapter on the Debecka Pass and the subsequent Afterword, where the flags start to wave and some objectivity is lost.
Still, an insightful and consumable piece.
February 9, 2024
Having served in two units that fell under the SOCOM flag in the ‘90s and ‘00s, reading this book was kind of a nostalgia ride reminding me of the great people and soldiers I had the privilege of serving with in my career.
The book is well-written with a good but not overwhelming level of detail on the challenges of planning and executing a military operation in the SOF world.
To those who are interested in the military arts, particularly special operations, this book gives a well-described and varied overview of the land/air portions of the spec ops mission.
Isaiah 6:8.
The book is well-written with a good but not overwhelming level of detail on the challenges of planning and executing a military operation in the SOF world.
To those who are interested in the military arts, particularly special operations, this book gives a well-described and varied overview of the land/air portions of the spec ops mission.
Isaiah 6:8.
April 12, 2010
A fairly well written and detailed look into the world of special operations and operators. Detailing not only the successes, but also the challenges faced, from World War II to Iraq by the American forces of unconventional warfare.
The writing style is a little curious though, every darn chapter starts with the outcome, and then goes back through the set-up of the actual operation.
This book isn't particularly moto in it's presentation of situations either, so don't expect a lot of oorah!
The writing style is a little curious though, every darn chapter starts with the outcome, and then goes back through the set-up of the actual operation.
This book isn't particularly moto in it's presentation of situations either, so don't expect a lot of oorah!
January 25, 2009
an excellent book. it gives histories of seven game-changing special ops missions in a detailed, interesting fashion. pretty much the only problem is some language, just so you know. excellent reading!
February 10, 2009
Informative.
August 1, 2010
Not what I expected. It was a series of short stories regarding special forces missions.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews