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

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 11:37 am
by Paladin

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

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 1:15 pm
by Rafe
A reprint from 2013, and I've never read it. How have I never read it? I'm gonna die with about 300 books on my to-read list.

But I just bought the Kindle version of this one; only $4.99. It's next up on my nonfiction list. ;-)

Thanks, Paladin.

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

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 2:39 pm
by Paladin
COL Beckwith is remarkably candid in the book. I found myself very much identifying with him and his struggles to make America's elite the best in the world. Outsiders don't really grasp how difficult it really is to drive an organization to be the best.

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

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 5:25 pm
by Rafe
Even before I crack the book, I'll trust he doesn't approach things or write like Richard Marcinko.

On a semi-related note about applying military discipline to business/organizations, a book I can semi-recommend is Extreme Ownership (2017), by SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Some reviewers panned it as having too many war stories and too few innovative ideas, so I'll leave it as semi-recommend. Not necessarily a classic to keep on the shelf, but I personally enjoyed it. They did a follow-up book titled The Dichotomy of Leadership that I haven't read.

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

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:12 pm
by Mike S
Rafe wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 5:25 pm Even before I crack the book, I'll trust he doesn't approach things or write like Richard Marcinko.

On a semi-related note about applying military discipline to business/organizations, a book I can semi-recommend is Extreme Ownership (2017), by SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. Some reviewers panned it as having too many war stories and too few innovative ideas, so I'll leave it as semi-recommend. Not necessarily a classic to keep on the shelf, but I personally enjoyed it. They did a follow-up book titled The Dichotomy of Leadership that I haven't read.
It's been a long, long time since I've read Beckworth's book, but as I recall it was pretty legit. Nothing at all like Marcincko's self-aggrandizing work.

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

Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 9:51 pm
by Jose_in_Dallas
Mike S wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:12 pm It's been a long, long time since I've read Beckworth's book, but as I recall it was pretty legit. Nothing at all like Marcincko's self-aggrandizing work.
Is this just a reprint of an earlier book from a few decades ago?

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

Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2020 9:19 pm
by Mike S
Jose_in_Dallas wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 9:51 pm
Mike S wrote: Wed Jul 22, 2020 8:12 pm It's been a long, long time since I've read Beckworth's book, but as I recall it was pretty legit. Nothing at all like Marcincko's self-aggrandizing work.
Is this just a reprint of an earlier book from a few decades ago?
Yup, originally printed in 1983. Here's a little more recent book, from just a decade ago, by another Delta officer

https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Men-Me-L ... 5V7ZBSBNZ7