Seal Team One [Paperback]

Dick Couch (Author), null (Editor, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2008

This now-classic tale of SEAL combat action in Vietnam marked Dick Couch's debut as a novelist in 1990 and sold more than 100,000 copies. Hailed for its authenticity, it was the first novel about Navy SEALs to be written by one of their own. Couch, a SEAL platoon leader in the Mekong Delta from 1970 to 1971, includes gripping descriptions of dangerous operations that continue to attract a broad audience, with many bestselling authors calling his book a sensational story they can't put down. This new paperback edition features a foreword by the former head of the Naval Special Warfare Command.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Vietnam portrayed in this violence-glorifying first novel is unlike the real Vietnam. It is a Vietnam full of gung-ho soldiers who are almost all white and completely drug-free. Lieutenant James McConnell, the leader of the elite Navy SEAL Team One, has the outlook of a teenage boy, and he is the old man in his platoon: "The SEALs were consistently the wildest and probably the raunchiest of the bunch. What tied this collection of officers and hooligans together was a seemingly inexhaustible supply of women." We follow McConnell from his boyhood as an ace marksman in skeet club through his signing up to be a frogman, the standard basic-training-is-hell, and his deployment to a Vietnam he knows nothing about. Despite the earnestness with which McConnell questions his purpose theree.g. p. 153 (Couch was a SEAL commander), the tale is rife with racist and misogynist comments, and the dialogue and "humor" detract from any possible moral seriousness. One of McConnell's drunken boys says to him: "Yuh know, Lootenant, yer not such a bad guy fer an ossifer."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'A hell of a good read. . . . I just could not put it down . . . a sensational story.' --CLIVE CUSSLER, author of The Chase, The Navigator, and Plague Ship

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (May 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591141346
• ISBN-13: 978-1591141341
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DICK COUCH is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who has served as a Navy SEAL and as a CIA case officer. He has written six novels and the nonfiction works Down Range, The Finishing School, and The Warrior Elite. He lives in central Idaho.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Seal Novel, October 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Seal Team One (Paperback)

Dick Couch was a REAL navy Seal officer, (vs the usual phoneys who are crawling out of the woodwork). This is probably the best novel ever written about Viet Nam seal operations. I rate it up there with "The Element of Surprise" with "Element" being possible the best non-fiction book. Couch's other fiction books are , unfortunatly not as good.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping and intense. Gave me nightmares., August 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Seal Team One (Paperback)

This was a bit slow to start, but quickly evolved into a book that was difficult to put down. It did an excellent job of describing combat situations that could only be handled by individuals as tough and tenacious as Navy SEALs. I rate it as one of the best military action books I've had the pleasure to read in a long time. In fact, I 've made it a point to seek out other books by this author.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seal Team One, October 26, 2008

By 

J. J. Marold (Yokosuka, Japan) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seal Team One (Paperback)

Captain Couch mentions in his introduction (updated from the original) that he felt this, his first effort, was his best. He may be right. This is the first book of his that I've read and it is excellent. I'm currently working on his "Sheriff of Ramadi" - his latest effort. Since I'm only in the third chapter, I'm not ready to review this book but so far, it's pretty dry. As for "Seal Team One", the semi-fictional (more fact than fiction in my opinion) story of a Seal team in country is fascinating and an eye opener. Since I was in the Navy in the same area during the same period (and beyond), I can relate to the story quite easily. I was not a Seal and this story is an excellent description of another war that was going on at the same time and in the same place as the war I fought. But if the reader is not former military or has no combat experience (give a prayer of thanks), this book will still make a terrific introduction to the soul of a warrior. You will enjoy it.