An unconventional war requires unconventional men—the Special Forces.
Green Berets • Navy SEALS • Rangers • Air Force Special Operations • PsyOps • Civil Affairs • and other special-mission units
The first two Commanders books, Every Man a Tiger and Into the Storm, provided masterly blends of history, biography, you-are-there narrative, insight into the practice of leadership, and plain old-fashioned storytelling. Shadow Warriors is all of that and more, a book of uncommon timeliness, for, in the words of Lieutenant General Bill Yarborough, “there are itches that only Special Forces can scratch.”
Now, Carl Stiner—the second commander of SOCOM, the U.S. Special Operations Command—and Tom Clancy trace the transformation of the Special Forces from the small core of outsiders of the 1950s, through the cauldron of Vietnam, to the rebirth of the SF in the late 1980s and 1990s, and on into the new century as the bearer of the largest, most mixed, and most complex set of missions in the U.S. military.
These are the first-hand accounts of soldiers fighting outside the lines: counterterrorism, raids, hostage rescues, reconnaissance, counterinsurgency, and psychological operations—from Vietnam and Laos to Lebanon to Panama, to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, to the new wars of today…
Amazon.com Review
Shadow Warriors is the third of Tom Clancy's commander books, and this time around Clancy teams up with General Carl Stiner, retired, to recount the recent history of U.S. Special Forces. Clancy notes that while Special Forces played important roles in World War II and Vietnam, the U.S. military has always been uncomfortable with "elites" and their unconventional methods and thus tended to view them primarily as a "sideshow." However, in 1980 when 53 Americans became hostages in Tehran, it became painfully clear that the conventional military tactics of the day, aimed at countering the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, simply could not deal with this new kind of threat. Most of the book revolves around Stiner's military career: its beginning in the late '50s, his tour in Vietnam as a Green Beret, various assignments in the Middle East, and his final stint as commander of SOCOM (U.S. Special Operations Command). Particularly interesting are Stiner's firsthand accounts of the Achille Lauro hostage rescue, the invasion of Panama, and operations in Desert Storm. Clancy fills in and adds context to Stiner's career and to the Special Forces themselves, including short stories of the Jedburgh teams in World War II and the formation of the Green Berets in the early '60s. Though at times disjointed, the result is a fascinating and timely glimpse into the evolution of U.S. Special Forces. --Harry C. Edwards
From Publishers Weekly
This is the third volume in Clancy's series presenting modern war from the perspective of its commanders. Here the focus is on special warfare: Rangers, SEALs, Delta Force, the Green Berets and other less familiar organizations. Stiner headed the newly created Special Operations Command during the Gulf War. His experiences and Clancy's investigations combine to describe how the perennial outsider troops became frontline insiders. Many of the book's anecdotes from the 1950s and '60s support an image of a special operations community not exactly at war with the army, but trying to establish parameters for what its advocates considered a new approach to war, incorporating military, political and social elements under military control. Following about 40 pages on Vietnam, the second half the book takes us through accounts of the pinpoint strikes on the hijacked cruise ship Achille Lauro, two operations in Panama and Desert Storm activities that included Scud missile takedowns. The book ends with a 10-page chapter on September 11 and its aftermath, and appendixes on Special Ops Command history and "Leadership." Readers looking for an up-to-the-minute account of the ways and means of the war in Afghanistan will not find it here, but the plethora of insider history and firsthand operation specifics from insertion to "exfiltration" up to the early '90s will please the historically minded. (Feb. 4)Forecast: The Clancy name and events of September 11 have combined to make this a BOMC main selection, but the Gulf War material will have trouble competing with live television reports and newspaper accounts of current systems and teams. Expect a short run as a bestseller on the strength of Clancy alone.
Description:
An unconventional war requires unconventional men—the Special Forces.
Green Berets • Navy SEALS • Rangers •
Air Force Special Operations • PsyOps • Civil Affairs •
and other special-mission units
The first two Commanders books, Every Man a Tiger and Into the Storm, provided masterly blends of history, biography, you-are-there narrative, insight into the practice of leadership, and plain old-fashioned storytelling. Shadow Warriors is all of that and more, a book of uncommon timeliness, for, in the words of Lieutenant General Bill Yarborough, “there are itches that only Special Forces can scratch.”
Now, Carl Stiner—the second commander of SOCOM, the U.S. Special Operations Command—and Tom Clancy trace the transformation of the Special Forces from the small core of outsiders of the 1950s, through the cauldron of Vietnam, to the rebirth of the SF in the late 1980s and 1990s, and on into the new century as the bearer of the largest, most mixed, and most complex set of missions in the U.S. military.
These are the first-hand accounts of soldiers fighting outside the lines: counterterrorism, raids, hostage rescues, reconnaissance, counterinsurgency, and psychological operations—from Vietnam and Laos to Lebanon to Panama, to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq, to the new wars of today…
Amazon.com Review
Shadow Warriors is the third of Tom Clancy's commander books, and this time around Clancy teams up with General Carl Stiner, retired, to recount the recent history of U.S. Special Forces. Clancy notes that while Special Forces played important roles in World War II and Vietnam, the U.S. military has always been uncomfortable with "elites" and their unconventional methods and thus tended to view them primarily as a "sideshow." However, in 1980 when 53 Americans became hostages in Tehran, it became painfully clear that the conventional military tactics of the day, aimed at countering the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, simply could not deal with this new kind of threat. Most of the book revolves around Stiner's military career: its beginning in the late '50s, his tour in Vietnam as a Green Beret, various assignments in the Middle East, and his final stint as commander of SOCOM (U.S. Special Operations Command). Particularly interesting are Stiner's firsthand accounts of the Achille Lauro hostage rescue, the invasion of Panama, and operations in Desert Storm. Clancy fills in and adds context to Stiner's career and to the Special Forces themselves, including short stories of the Jedburgh teams in World War II and the formation of the Green Berets in the early '60s. Though at times disjointed, the result is a fascinating and timely glimpse into the evolution of U.S. Special Forces. --Harry C. Edwards
From Publishers Weekly
This is the third volume in Clancy's series presenting modern war from the perspective of its commanders. Here the focus is on special warfare: Rangers, SEALs, Delta Force, the Green Berets and other less familiar organizations. Stiner headed the newly created Special Operations Command during the Gulf War. His experiences and Clancy's investigations combine to describe how the perennial outsider troops became frontline insiders. Many of the book's anecdotes from the 1950s and '60s support an image of a special operations community not exactly at war with the army, but trying to establish parameters for what its advocates considered a new approach to war, incorporating military, political and social elements under military control. Following about 40 pages on Vietnam, the second half the book takes us through accounts of the pinpoint strikes on the hijacked cruise ship Achille Lauro, two operations in Panama and Desert Storm activities that included Scud missile takedowns. The book ends with a 10-page chapter on September 11 and its aftermath, and appendixes on Special Ops Command history and "Leadership." Readers looking for an up-to-the-minute account of the ways and means of the war in Afghanistan will not find it here, but the plethora of insider history and firsthand operation specifics from insertion to "exfiltration" up to the early '90s will please the historically minded. (Feb. 4)Forecast: The Clancy name and events of September 11 have combined to make this a BOMC main selection, but the Gulf War material will have trouble competing with live television reports and newspaper accounts of current systems and teams. Expect a short run as a bestseller on the strength of Clancy alone.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.