Customer Reviews

Good to Go: The Life And Times Of A Decorated Member Of The U.s. Navy's Elite Seal Team Two

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a frank and honest look at the exploits of a Navy SEAL.
While his actual combat exploits I have no way of proving true, his revealing and in-depth look at his own personal failures and in service power struggles surely don't all have happy endings, and the author is unflinching in his appraisal.

His time in country could of ended on his first mission. He first got tangled in the tow rope, and the boat pulling away dragged him underwater before he cut himself free, struggling with his gear and swimming back to shore. He then mistakenly interpreted a hand signal and made his first killing as a scared SEAL when he silently intercepted a VC lookout and knifed him. He was told to keep silent. He then got seperated from his recon platoon and made his way back to the rendevous point by himself while being pursued, and all the while he was unsure of which way to go. This was the start of three tours of duty that saw much action and direct combat with VC and NVA. This elite soldier found himself in the business of hand to hand combat many times, and his stories are told as if this author actually relished the amount of violence he was able to bring to bear. A warrior who looked for action, he later leaves this theater and sees firsthand the rivalry and disrespect he and other warriors feel for those officers spent little or no time in Vietnam and looked disdainfully upon those who actually fought there. This jealously, and the countering lack of respect, almost cost the author his Navy career on more than one occasion. In the end it proved his undoing in the military.

A very interesting tale of an insiders view of Vietnam, this book also explores his personal struggles and the bonds he forged in combat.

I've read dozens of Navy SEAL personal accounts of Vietnam and this ranks up there as one of the best, along with Daryl Young's "Element of Surprise" and Jim Watson's "Point Man". Most of the book deals with his battle experiences. The great thing about the book is that every op was very different and refreshing. There's not a whole lot about his training to make UDT and SEAL Team and there is a chapter or two devoted to his personal life during his Navy career and after but the book flows so well that you find yourself really liking Harry and wanting to read these things. Several chapters at the end dealt with post-nam experiences which weren't all that interesting but the writing is so engrossing for the most part that it'll keep you up at night.

I thought the subject matter would make for interesting reading. It could have. The book seemed to have very little cohesion from chapter to chapter. Instead, the chapters seemed to jump from one story outline to another. It was as if Mr. Constance was reciting a war story, took a break, and told another, and so on. I would have preferred a thread running throughout the entire book, not just disjointed stories (even though most of them were interesting).

This is NOT your typical SEAL book, at least at the heart of it all. Harry Constance writes about his fears, his mistakes, the things that didn't go the way he planned. Because of the humanity Harry shares with the reader, you come away feeling like you understand things a little bit better.

The first portion of this book takes part in Vietnam, and the stories dovetail well with other SEAL books I've read. I like the contrasts between this book and Point Man, by Chief Watson, for instance. The remainder of the book spans several locales and operations and continue's Constance's great attention to the emotions behind the thoughts and actions.

I enjoyed the book immensely.

I am a NAVY SEAL buff and this book clearly gives anyone interested in the SEALS an electical charge. Mr. Constance tells his story vividly and without all the profanities found in other books about the SEALS. I felt I was a part of the battle during the Tet Offensive. a must have book for any Vietnam historian. I EVEN HAVE MY GIRLFRIEND HOOKED ON THIS BOOK!

If you were ever a soldier or enjoy books on war,soldering or any interest in the military then this book is for you. Exciting true tales of a Navy Seals tour of duties in vietnam. The missions are breath taking and adrenaline pumped. Although alot of it gun on the run gory missions,Harry also goes into the problems on the home front. Problems with a cheating lover. Back stabbing within the seals,so on and on.

A great read. And its true.

I was amazed when I saw this book being advertised on Amazon, and sickened when I read a number of positive reviews. The fact of the matter is, SEAL team leader Charles Watson successfully sued the author, Harry Constance, and the publishing company, William H. Morrow, for defamation of character in Federal Court in Norfolk, Virginia in 1999. In his book Mr. Constance claims that Mr. Watson ran from the enemy with the platoon's only radio during an intense firefight. During the trial no witness testified that he ever saw Mr. Watson run in the face of the enemy, contrary to the author's assertions. In fact, as the trial revealed, Mr. Watson never abandoned the platoon and used the unit's radio to call in gunship support which saved them. The five day trial ended with a monetary settlement and an in-court apology by the author and the publishing company to Mr. Watson. What sort of person must Mr. Constance be to make up such a story?

In addition to this lie official records and testimony from the author's commanding officer and fellow soldiers proved that many of the combat actions described by him were not based in reality, but were 100% fiction. The scenes in the book wherein he is a hero exist only in his imagination and those he manages to trick.

The trial was covered extensively in Virginia newspapers and information concerning it is readily available. My advice to those who have purchased this book is to throw it in the trash, where it belongs.

I had high hopes for this book, having enjoyed Marcinko's various highly entertaining forays (most, after "Rogue Warrior" clearly labeled as "fiction") and "Patches" Watson's book, but I had misgivings about this from page one. Evidently, Harry's neighbor (the "as told to") was fascinated with Constance's war stories (and, really, who wouldn't be?), interviewed him and changed the tall tales to the first-person perspective. I found the technique clunky and obvious whenever the "real" writer's voice conflicted with the tales of derring-do (e.g., misidentifying the M-203 grenade launcher, calling it a ".two-oh-three, as though that was the launcher's caliber, or something, clearly shows the writer slavishly scribbling down as much of the stories as he could and doing little fact checking).

Now let's face it, anybody who had the balls to not only volunteer for membership in an elite group and who survived multiple tours in Vietnam is worthy of respect, but I actually wasn't terribly surprised to see that Constance's many accusation leveled at SEAL teammate Charlie Watson were untrue and he was forced to apologize in court (and pay nearly half a million dollars in damages). Much of the tone of the book seems to come from a sour-grapes guy with some scores to settle against former friends, colleagues and lovers. It's a shame that the obvious fraud and mean-spirited tone here taints the real-life Vietnam SEAL team heroics.

Good To Go is a book written by ex-NAVY SEAL Harry Constance regarding the time that he served in the Vietnam War. Constance recounts his three tours of duty as a SEAL during the war and describes his missions in great detail. Though some of the missions sound exaggerated, most of them are believable. He doesn't try to make himself out to be a super hero, but comes across like one in several parts of the book. While Harry was serving duty he was also going through personal problems that he briefly describes. Politics played a large role in the Vietnam War and Harry shares his opinions on this.

One of the only complaints I have about this book is that it lacks flow. The chapters skip around a lot and are not linked very well. In one paragraph he will be in the jungles of NAM and the next he is sitting in his kitchen arguing with his wife.

Over all this is great book until the later chapters, when Constance starts talking about his personal life, which most of us couldn't care less about. I could not quit reading until the last four or five chapters. After that it was a struggle to finish the book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in war tactics and a "behind the scenes" look at some of the amazing stuff that goes on. Good To Go gave me a whole new outlook on the Vietnam War and what the soldiers were going through as they were being forced to fight and die in a battle halfway around the world, while being criticized for it back in the US.

I agree with the general comments of reviewers here. This book is much more user-friendly than many similar first-person accounts, in that it doesn't assume that the reader is familiar with military ranks, anagrams, abbreviations, etc. It's also remarkably free of the braggadocio of many similar books, and Mr. Constance comes off - in the early chapters at least - as a self-deprecating wide-eyed kid who has no idea what he's actually in for.

Did anyone notice that starting on page 53 of the paperback, we're introduced to Senior Chief Rudy Boesch, who would of course turn out to be the cantakerous Rudy from the reality-TV show "Survivor???" (Who, as I recall, was blasted by his island teammates for not being able to start a fire despite his 42 years as a SEAL!).