Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism by Dick Couch
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Book Reviews of Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on Terrorism
Book Review: Down Range Review
Summary: 3 Stars
Personally I would have enjoyed more reports of actual action involvements. Although there were numerous reporrts of Seal involvements the narrative,for me , became slowed down and complicated by the frequent acromyms and description(s) of command decision chains. Am looking forward to strarting "Chosen Soldier" next Book Review: Humbling to Read About Such Dedicated Service
Summary: 5 Stars
Apart from being exciting and informative,it is impossible to put down this book without the utmost respect for the men serving our country (and indeed all of mankind) in the world's most dangerous places. This is real, these men are heroes, and we must all hope that they succeed in their missions. Clearly, we couldn't put our hopes in any better warriors.Book Review: Not up to snuff
Summary: 3 Stars
I thoroughly enjoyed "The Warrior Elite" and everything I enjoyed about that book was gone from this one. Dick Couch did a good job of making the trainees of BUD/S Class 228 personable, but "Down Range" is a very dry read. It might be due to increased security concerns and classified operational details, but I did not enjoy this book as much.Book Review: the filler thriller
Summary: 2 Stars
Well, I picked up this book because I thought, "Sweet. SEALs, middle east, covert ops, what's not to love??" Well the book was more like a documentary or briefing most of the time. It focuses far too much on the development of a SEAL and their organization. If I wanted to read about that, I would've picked up a book about the making of a Navy SEAL. I was disappointed. The story really only had a few exciting parts and those tended to come towards the end of the book. Let's put it this way, he spends around ten pages telling what should've been an exciting mission aboard a ship, only to tell us that the men on board were not dumb enough to carry weapons. Hmph. If you are looking for enemy contact, look elsewhere.
Book Review: Decent primer for casual military reader
Summary: 2 Stars
Like some of the other reviewers here have commented, based on the background of the author and the notes on the book's cover, I was expecting a much more exciting read. The reality, however, is that Couch hides behind the excuse of "classified details" for most of this work. The early pages are all extremely redundant if you have ever read anything at all about the SEALs; there is nothing new there. And much of the mission details are very sparse and vague. I do "get" that the very nature of the work these men do requires secrecy, but I always feel a little taken when a book promises to divulge some of this information and then ultimately fails to do so. Couch hints more than once at a seething tension between the different service branches by taking every opportunity to make sure many pats on the back are handed out all around. It starts to feel very plastic and forced after a while. Overall I would not recommend this book to anyone who has done much reading in this genre. Frankly it's just boring, light on operational nitty-gritty, and way too easy to read. It took me about 4 hours to read cover to cover, and for $15 for the paperback I feel a little ripped-off. It's an okay way to get an overview for what these incredible men do for our country, but a waste of time for anyone who has a few books under their belt. I won't be reading any of Couch's other works based on this piece.