Customer Reviews

The Element of Surprise: Navy Seals in Vietnam

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is about the best book I have read on SEALs in Vietnam. It rings true and does not have a bunch of filler and B.S. This guy and men like him are national treasures. A good solid read and well worth the money. 5 BIG Stars.

This book tells it all, and it took real testicles to go there. Some items were probably best not to be put into print, but Daryl Young had the guts to spill it all out and let you decide. You're left wanting more information when you finish. You're also left with the question: what do men like these do for fun now?

I liked the language the author used to write his story of being a SEAL in Vietnam. However, I found that he went into detail about the same type of mission over and over again. I understand the fact that many of the missions were similar and maybe even the same, but he could have gone into less detail for the second or third time a similar mission came up in the story. Overall a good story.

Being on a Navy SEAL and Vietnam kick at the moment, I decided to pick up Darryl Young's The Element of Surprise. I enjoyed reading this book, but felt that Mr. Young was a little repetitive when it came to the majority of the missions that they were involved in. Don't get me wrong, some of their missions were captivating and different from the others...but it's the ones that were similar kind of threw me towards giving this a three star review. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in what the SEALs did in Vietnam under the radar. Some of the events that unfold within Young's book will drop the jaw of the reader.

A friend referred me to this book who served with the Author in Vietnam. As a former Marine sniper from Nam myself this book is the real deal. The Author gives a little more detail on weapons than I care for but I can overlook that when you read a first person account that takes you there. He gives you the language of the time and his personal feelings in an honest way that most authors dont. If you want a first person account of Navy Seals and the crazy role they play in our wars then this book takes you there and then some. Loved it.

I first read this book when I was a kid in my early 20's. I lost that copy so I'm buying it again.

This is a great book. It has everything you could want in a book of this type. The author includes personal details about his experiences and his thoughts and feelings at the time. The descriptions of the people and places let us get immersed in the story. You can practically taste the mud. There is plenty of technical detail for those of us who want to know what daily life was like for these heroes and enough action to keep you reading long past bed time. I'm looking forward to reading it again.

Darryl Young writes this book with a lot of detail. Sometimes books that are heavy in detail tend to bog you down, like the mud in the author's boots as he trudged along on patrol in Vietnam. However, in this book the detail is such that it makes you feel like you are actually there with him.

The author's writing is very readable and moves along at a good pace. He mixes action with tedium, the way it appears to have been as a SEAL in Vietnam.

The politically correct may have trouble with some of the adjectives used in describing the Vietnamese, but the author stresses in the Author's Note at the back of the book that that is how they talked back then to help them deal with the danger that they were in.

This was my first book that I had ever read that involved Navy SEALs in Vietnam and it hit me like a shock wave. This book is full of action, emotion, and spirit that makes this book reach another level. This book inspired me to read more Navy SEAL books and to join the TEAMs after highschool. HOO YAH!!!

great book I own this book and it gives you a good view of the war. I like it because of Darryl youngs expierence in the war. I recommend it !

This book was great, it told alot about Navy Seals and what they have to do and how they do it. I recamend this book to anyone who likes adventure