Customer Reviews

Suffer in Silence

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I decided to read this book because I had a friend that went through SEAL training. I was always curious about his experience. I got much more than I bargained for, inspiring me to write my first amazon review. Starting to read the book was like stepping into a roller coaster - once on, I couldn't step off till the ride was over! I was in the world... to the point where I was shivering every time they got surf torture.

After finishing Suffer in Silence, I was pretty disturbed. I couldn't believe that anyone (let alone anyone I knew) could/would go through this kind of experience. I asked my friend about his SEAL experience, specifically about the interaction with the instructors. He was surprised at what I knew, and pretty much confirmed that the kind of stuff portrayed in Suffer in Silence really happens. When I told him that I got the info from a book, he said that he wished he had read it to be able to mentally prepare himself before he had gone!

I feel pretty lucky to have had such a window into a world that I could otherwise never know, and I'm grateful for the new sense of connection that I feel with my friend. An outstanding book on every level!!

I did 12 years in the Teams, and I didn't want to like this book. There are just way too many books on SEALs out there. Didn't think the author could add much of value. I was wrong. Don't be mistaken. This book is not fiction. Yes, the characters have made-up names. Yes, the ending is clearly meant to entertain. Everything else is right on, and is as real as I've read. Reading the book brought me back a dozen years. This will give anyone a real sense of what BUD/S is like, fictional characters or not. Overall, impressive read.

Reid's Suffer in Silence is riveting from cover to cover. It's raw and intense, and rings of authenticity. It will give pause to anyone contemplating the agony of BUDS program, but incite and inspire those as focused and masochistic (self-declared by the author) as Reid. The details of the story are exhaustive, and the rhythm of the book follows the undulations of the long, sleepless nights of the Hell Week experience, leaving the reader spent by the end of the book and craving for deeply needed sleep (or just a nice afternoon nap, as in my case-- of course, after I finished the book!). Though portraying experiences that push the limits of human endurance, and offering a glimpse into a (sometimes dark) mindset and world far from most of our comprehensions, Suffer in Silence succeeds in also being fun and engaging... a great read.

Search for books on Navy SEALs and you will find yourself bombarded with approximately 200 books. To be blunt, most of them are terrible. Even the books that sell well have some problems... The author of the Rogue Warrior series is a complete blowhard, and Couch's books are carefully researched -- just not very exciting. Buried amidst all these mediocre books, though, is a diamond. Reid describes his book as "raw" look at SEAL training. "Raw" is exactly right -- and that's the way it should be. He doesn't shy from the homoerotic humor, the instructors' sometimes sadistic tendencies, the after-hours abuse. At the same time, though, he makes his characters human. The majority of the instructors come across as people you would gladly trust with your life -- true professionals, good-natured human beings, perhaps a little devious, but fair. And of course, his descriptions of the few bad eggs are fantastic and disturbingly accurate.

Reid's book is fiction, but it's clear that much of the material is derived from his own experiences. Some the scenarios are too outrageous to be made up. The storyline itself takes a while to get moving, but it's worth the wait. The ending was unexpected, which I liked, and it pulls everying together well, but not so neatly that it seems improbable.

While the characters and plot are strong, and the descriptions of training are equally good, what I enjoyed the most are the details you won't find on the Discovery channel. There's the "silver bullet," a special thermometer used on hypothermia victims (don't ask), the "Bat Cave," a secret trainee hiding spot, SIN (the Student Inforation Network), the healing properites of hot chocolate, and the pleasing heat-transferring nature of urine. Although I would recommend this book to everyone but grandma and grandpa, it should be considered essential reading for anyone contemplating attending BUD/S. To those who have been there, Suffer in Silence will bring back some interesting and long-repressed memories. To those who haven't, it will transport you to a place so painful and bizarre, you'll wonder how anyone graduates. This is a must read... enjoy it.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone seeking an entertaining read. The descriptions of SEAL training are very intense; as promised, Reid doesn't spare the reader any of the darker aspects of life at BUD/S. I liked the array of characters he used, although Grey remains somewhat of a mystery. The plot moves along at a good pace, only occasionally slowing down for some lengthy descriptions of training (which are entertaining by themselves). Having read several accounts of SEAL training, I found Suffer in Silence the most enjoyable to read, and despite the fictional plot, also the most illuminating. Reid will take you into the hearts and minds of BUD/S students as they suffer through almost unimaginable torture -- the result is some seriously gritty material. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest in seeing how the human psyche reacts when the body is pushed its physical limits. Captivating stuff...

From the opening pages of "Suffer in Silence" you know you are in for a wild ride. Author David Reid puts the reader in the sand and surf alongside Ensign Mark Grey, a natural athlete and overachiever facing perhaps the supreme challenge of his life.

The Basic Underwater Demolition course (BUD/S) is the first step in becoming a Navy SEAL. The young men accepted for BUD/S training possess some of the best minds and bodies in the Navy, and still the majority will not complete the course. "Suffer in Silence" eloquently shows the reader why that is, and what it takes to become a SEAL.

We join ENS Grey in the second week of training for BUD/S Class 283. Hell Week is still a month or more away, and graduation just a distant mirage. Yet Grey and his classmates have already said goodbye to the ordinary world and accepted another; one of constant physical and psychological pressure, all-powerful instructors, and moments of good or bad luck that can make all the difference.

Mr. Reid skillfully conveys this atmosphere, and his characters are just as convincing. Class 283 is filled with memorable human beings, with all their strengths and weaknesses, being stretched to the breaking point. The BUD/S instructors are no less diverse or sharply drawn. Some are decent and others are arbitrarily cruel. Yet each is complex; moments of honor and grudging respect are intermingled with random acts of violence and pettiness.

There is one more character in this book that deserves mention - the sea. After finishing this book the reader will have a new respect for the quick, cold sea; it is more impartial, more implacable and more capricious than any BUD/S instructor could dream of being.

And that is the key to understanding this book and BUD/S. Like war, the sea is unforgiving of the smallest error, and sometimes takes its due even when no mistakes are made. Ensign Grey and his classmates will learn this lesson well both in and out of training during their time at BUD/S. With "Suffer in Silence", Mr. Reid expertly allows the reader to gain from some of that hard-won wisdom.

A great read, engaging and raw. The characters are excellent, the diversity of characters really help the story develop. The description of the physical and emotional torture is quite vivid and unforgetable. The author does a wonderful job in describing the experience of Hell Week and the pain and suffering that the recruits are forced to endure. A quick read and a book you won't soon forget.

The promise of an unabashed glimpse into the torture of becoming a SEAL draws you in; the riveting story line won't let you put it down. Reid successfully intertwines the fictional storyline with a behind the curtain look at BUDS so well that it leaves you guessing where reality ends and story begins. I couldn't put it down - a great read.

From the first page to the last, David Reid provides an insider's look into BUDs that you cannot turn away from. You either push it out, or ring it out! That's your choice. And that is the choice of every man that comes to BUDS. To truly fathom the small percentage of human beings within the United States that pass this grueling detailed challenge is remarkable. By the end of this book you will understand.

At first glance you think this is the most extreme form of hazing that you can possibly imagine. It's not a window into military jargon and method as a matter of fact its not sexy at all. The author presents BUDs as a dull repetition of physical demands that build a mentally strong warrior. It almost seems infantile in approach until you really start to think about how brilliant it really is and what it they are trying to achieve. The countless push ups and elephant walks with the rubber boats at extended arm carry are constant reminders that this is not a sexy lifestyle. Each exercise teaches discipline, endurance and that the fact that it pays to be a winner! Each candidate submits themselves to a life of physical pain and physical repetition that are the basic building blocks for a strong warrior and a test of every man's personal level of endurance. These volunteers are not quitters and they do not want them in their midst. The characters in this book come from every slice of life and endure pain the likes of which the common observer will never truly understand. The countless hours of surf torture, endless insults, being cold wet and sandy and mental endurances that these individuals have to experience is to say the least remarkable. And this is only the beginning! You are not even a SEAL when you finish this training.

If you are looking for the perspective of an outsider looking in on the SEAL candidates go pick up Dick Couch's Elite Warrior. You want to experience every twist, turn, pain-filled moment of endless pushups, surf torture, endless cold and a mentality to endure anything that is tossed at you while dealing with mental and physical fatigue of every type then you've found the right book.

If BUD's training is this severe and the percentages that pass this guelling test are accurate I am grateful that these guys are at the tip of the spear. I personally will never know the pain or sacrifice that these men experience. (and voluntarily at that!) If they seem overly cocky and they come across with an attitude that they are "the best in the business" it's because they've earned the right and fought the percentages to be that way. Give 'em a little room.

I am a Navy vet, but NOT a Navy SEAL. I am fascinated with the BUD/S training, and very much enjoy reading accounts of BUD/S. Suffer In Silence seems to be the most realistic portrayal of the reality of BUD/S. I enjoyed this book very much, and I am glad that I bought this one!