Delta Force: The Army's Elite Counterterrorist Unit [Mass Market Paperback]

Charlie A. Beckwith (Author), Donald Knox (Author), C. A. Mobley (Epilogue)

Book Description

Release date: May 18, 2000

The only insider′s account ever written on America′s most powerful weapon in the war against terrorism

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Delta Force, considered the equivalent of SEAL Team 6, are far more tight-lipped than the SEALs.” (New York Times )

“Delta Force is arguably the most effective fighting unit in the world.” (Washington Post )

“Absolutely compelling...nations without men like this simply don’t survive.” (The Wall Street Journal )

“The Army’s most elite commando unit.” (Los Angeles Times )

“A page turner. ... Hard to put down. ... One of those rare books that military people will annotate and underline and hesitate ever to lend out. ... Beckwith’s candor is extraordinary.” (Armed Forces Journal )

About the Author

U.S. Army Colonel Charles A. Beckwith was the founderand first commanding officer of Delta Force. For his service,he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star,Legion of Merit, and Purple Heart. He is interred in the FortSam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 365 pages
• Publisher: Avon; Reissue edition (May 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380809397
• ISBN-13: 978-0380809394
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 6.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #359,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > History > Military > Life & Institutions

More About the Author

U.S. Army Colonel Charles A. Beckwith was the founder and first commanding officer of Delta Force. For his service, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and Purple Heart. He is interred in the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio, Texas.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and engaging July 1, 2003

By Del C Brown

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book was very difficult to put down once I started reading it. Beckwith has a way with words that makes it seem like he's sitting next to you telling you a story. While reading the book, I felt like I knew Charlie Beckwith and his way of thinking--that's how much personality he put into this book.

1st Special Forces Operational Detachment--Delta (SFOD-D) is the military's formal name for Delta Force. Delta is perhaps America's foremost elite counterterrorist unit along with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and Navy SEAL Team Six. Beckwith created Delta Force after spending a year with the British Special Air Service (SAS) and seeing how the US had a void that a unit like the SAS could fill. Thus, Delta was formed with the SAS in mind.

A word of caution to people who are considering reading this book. The book tells of how Delta Force was formed...from its beginnings as a US version of the British SAS to its failed first mission freeing the hostages in the Iran. If you're looking for something on what Delta Force currently does and how its operators are currently trained or selected, this isn't the book for you. Beckwith tells us how the first Delta operators were trained and selected, but that selection process has probably changed some by now. This book is more a detailed history on the formation of the Delta Force, and not a book on its current engagements and operations (which are most likely classified anyway).

I HIGHLY recommend this book.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" for any Infantry or Special Ops vet March 7, 2002

By "vfgraphics"

Format:Mass Market Paperback

...

Rather, Delta Force is the plain-spoken memoir of a real-life Special Forces officer's long career advancing his art, if not his army career. Charlie Beckwith was a prophet before his time, and his campaign for the creation of an SAS-style special ops unit in the U.S. Army was stymied at every turn for nearly his entire career. Branded a rogue, even a traitor to the S.F. community, in the end, of course, his ideas won out, and Delta came into being, with Beckwith as it's first commander.

There are Vietnam war stories here, but this is not a book of "there I was. . ." tales. Beckwith also offers the reader a glimpse of Army politics, but this is not a book about vain and self-absorbed senior officers. A few chapters are devoted to Delta's baptism by fire in the Iranian Hostage rescue operation, but it's not really a book about the debacle at Desert One. In Delta Force, the reader will find a memoir of one of the pivotal figures in modern ground warfare. This is the story of one tough, dedicated hombre; what he learned, and how he learned it.

I'm not sure the average reader would get all of Colonel Beckwith's humorous asides and throwaway lines. Some are pretty wry, and would probably require that the reader have a military background to even notice. This edition has a few annoying typographical errors (is proofreading truly a lost art?), and Beckwith's prose occasionally lapses from one tense to another and then back again, which creates a slight feeling of disjointedness. Given those very minor caveats, for a reader with some familiarity and interest in the operational art, this is a must read.

Sua Sponte.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars America's Elite Counter-Terrorist Unit March 11, 1998

By TMac

Format:Hardcover

This was a fascinating book covering a fascinating topic. The creation of "Delta Force" is a topic that should interest all military history buffs. Col Beckwith gives a blow by blow account of the obstacles endured in creating Delta. He sometimes drowns you in the day to day bureacratic fight but the reader gets an appreciation for the difficulties he faced. Col Beckwith gives an excellent narrative of the fiasco at "Desert One" in 1980 while attempting to save the American hostages in Iran. It was a difficult time for all Americans and most would not wish to be reminded, but lessons are to be learned. And in order to learn those lessons Col Beckwith takes us back to that night in the desert. Overall a very informative read.