Rogue Warrior [Mass Market Paperback]

Richard Marcinko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Here is the explosive autobiography of the brilliant, death-defying founder of the Navy's top-secret counterterrorist unit: Seal Team Six. Following that success, he organized a group of military terrorists to test the defenses of the Navy's facilities, only to incur the wrath of the Navy brass. 8 pages of photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Special-warfare devotees will find this to their liking: an insider's account of the Navy's amphibious commandos known as SEALS, by one of the group's most controversial veterans, along with Weisman (coauthor of Shadow Warrior ). Marcinko describes his combat adventures in Southeast Asia in the '60s; his command of SEAL Team Six, one of the most effective counterterrorist outfits in the world, in the '70s; and his pioneering leadership in the '80s of Red Cell, a unit designed to test the Navy's vulnerability to terrorists. Super-macho in outlook and behavior, Marcinko delights in recalling the traditionally gross behavior of the SEALS as well as his own unique experiences such as eating the brains of a live monkey to impress his Cambodian allies. The super-secret Red Cell successfully penetrated many key U.S. naval installations, creating so much havoc that Marcinko was arrested. He is evasive about the conspiracy charges brought against him but reveals that he is currently serving time in a federal prison. Marcinko's anti-authoritarian behavior, as he improvises his own doctrine of unconventional warfare, makes for entertaining reading. Military Book Club selection.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

An autobiography of a career naval officer who dropped out of high school, enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and spent his ca reer struggling to win acceptance for special warfare SEAL (sea-air-land) units within the Navy establishment from the late 1950s to the present. Marcinko provides detailed descriptions of the early transformation of underwater demolition teams (UDT) into SEAL units. With interesting vignettes about training and actual missions during the Vietnam War, he gives a close-up view of this specialized and little-known brand of warfare. Marcinko's participation in the Iran hostage rescue attempt in 1980 and the U.S. invasion of Grenada in 1983 provide a perspective vastly different from the accepted versions of these events. However, the overuse of salty language throughout the book that lends new meaning to the phrase "curse like a sailor" and Marcinko's polemical accounts of his struggles to win acceptance for specialized warfare within the Navy are unfortunate. Not a necessary purchase. Military Book Club main selection.
- Harold N. Boyer, Marple P.L., Broomall, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671009826
• ISBN-13: 978-0671009823
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (188 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,360,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!, February 1, 2003

By 

microjoe - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rogue Warrior (Mass Market Paperback)

UPDATE ALERT: The reviews on this page are being used for more than one book. Most of the reviews are from the Marcinko Autobiography, and for some reason thay have been added to other books by the author. As you read these, don't blame the reviewers if you are reading about the wrong book. On to my own review...
For sheer adventure and excitement, this is hard to beat. The autobiographical account of one of the original creators of the deadly Seal Team covert operations squads. Richard was a former frogman and UDT member. He was also a wild, drinking, swearing, fighting guy whose outrageous courage and antics led him from a man with little education, to a top official in the US Navy Seals. On the way he broke the rules, rankled officers, and pushed for the best treatment and gear he could get for his men. By necessity these man lived hard and fought hard.

In the end of his career he claims the navy went after him on a personal agenda to drive him out on drummed up criminal charges, jealous officers and so forth. It may be true, and it may also be that the exact skills and temperament that made him so effective against the enemy were a detriment when dealing with the whitewashed pencil pushers at the pentagon. It is tough to be a stone cold killer in peacetime and just turn that aggression on and off.

To hear another persons opinion on what happened to Marcinko, read "Brave Men Dark Waters" also sold at Amazon.com. It's author, Orr Kelly, says he was in the Seals with Marcinko and as part of his own book tells his version of Marcinko as an out of control egotist, a real rogue warrior. Read these and other books, and you be the judge. Regardless, I could not put this book from Marcinko down, very exciting.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you're scared, then go to church!, June 23, 2001

By 

rugby player (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rogue Warrior (Mass Market Paperback)

I actually read this book in 1996, so it has been a while. I can tell you that it influenced me to enter the military to find a life that most people never experience. After being in the service I can tell you that the language in this book is par for the course, it is the nature of being in an environment where quick responses are valued and the majority of your training really does f*$!ing suck. So if you are scared or offended by the language then just suck it up and try to deal with it. If it is too much then put the book down and be glad you never joined the service, it may have been too "rude" of an environment for you. There are alot of important lessons to be learned if you pay attention to why the training is set up the way it is and why you lead from the front. While Marcinko is arrogant you have to love the man's style. From the outside I can easily see how he could irritate the people not directly under his command. On the other hand there are very few things in the military as valuable as a leader who is willing to put you through the most realistic training possible and do it with you. There is no doubt whatsoever that Marcinko leads from the front! The more people we have like him the better.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardcore, April 21, 2000

By 

Daniel A. Duffield (NAVSTA, San Diego) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rogue Warrior (Reissue) Cassette (Audio Cassette)

CDR Marcinko bears all in his first book of a widely successful series. As the first Commanding Officer of the highly secretive Seal Team 6, his adventures took him across the globe. The reader is included in the story in the clever style of writing that Marcinko delivers. He "talks" to you, as though he were standing right beside you. But Marcinko is not Rambo. He is not invincible, nor does he think he is. His adventures leave him (and his team) battered and bruised. In an embarrasingly blatant story about himself, he leaves out the hype and glory, and instead finds himself slammed, smacked, dropped, whacked, dinged, scraped, and coming back for more. He tells how his missions consistently go FUBAR, and how the everpresent Command Master Chief Murphy (of Murphy's Law fame) is along for the ride to ensure all his plans are ruined. His "shocking" language is just what you'd expect from a mustang sailor. This book is not a Hollywood creation... it's not even a movie (yet). If you want to hear it from someone who was there, this is it. This book is a ride.