Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of an American Warrior [Hardcover]

Hugh Shelton (Author), Ronald Levinson (Author), Malcolm McConnell (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 12, 2010

The powerful unvarnished memoir of General Hugh Shelton, war hero, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during 9/11, and one of the leading military figures of our time

Whether serving under a Democratic president or a Republican president, General Shelton was never afraid to speak out and tell it like it is. Shelton chronicles his incredible journey from a small farming community in North Carolina to the highest level of American military and political power at the Pentagon and White House.

As one of the nation’s elite Special Forces soldiers, Shelton served twice in Vietnam, commanding a Green Beret unit and then an airborne infantry company. He was awarded a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart for a wound suffered when a booby trap drove a poisoned stake through his leg.

Shelton rose up the ranks and was assistant division commander of the 101st Airborne Division as they invaded Iraq in the Persian Gulf War, then led the 20,000 American troops tasked with restoring Haiti’s deposed President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power. Promoted to 4-star General, he became Commander in Chief of U.S. Special Operations Command (including Delta Force, Navy SEALS and other top secret Special Mission Units).

But it was while serving as Chairman during both the Clinton and Bush administrations that he faced his biggest challenges, including his role as chief architect of the U.S. military response to 9/11. General Shelton speaks frankly of how decisions were made behind the scenes in the inner sanctum of the E-Ring and Oval Office, and reveals key military operations and meetings that have not yet been revealed, including:

* High-ranking Cabinet member proposes intentionally allowing an American pilot to be killed by the Iraqis to have an excuse to retaliate and go to war.

* Details of a contentious Camp David meeting among President George W. Bush and his National Security Council immediately after 9/11, where internal battle lines were drawn---and Shelton (along with Colin Powell) convinced President Bush to do the right thing.

* How Rumsfeld persuaded General Tommy Franks to bypass the Joint Chiefs, leading to a badly flawed Iraq war plan that failed to anticipate the devastating after-effects of the insurgency and civil war.

* Attempts to kill Usama bin Laden that were shot down by our State Department.

* CIA botched high-profile terrorist snatches, leaving Shelton’s Special Operations teams to clean up their mess.

* How Shelton “persuaded” Haiti’s dictator to flee the country.

* And much more.

Yet it's Shelton’s amazing personal story that puts his military career in perspective. It began with a fall from a ladder in his backyard, resulting in total paralysis from the neck down---and a risky experimental procedure, so dangerous that if it didn’t cure him, chances are it would kill him.

Revealing, compelling, and controversial, this is the story of a man whose integrity and ethics were always above reproach, and who dedicated his life to serving his country.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“General Shelton is a man from another time, when honor and one's word were more important than personal gain and the fiscal bottom line. I hope there are more like him out there. We need them now, more than ever.”

 --Tom Clancy, New York Times bestselling author

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Born in North Carolina, GENERAL HUGH SHELTON served in the U.S. Army for thirty-eight years as a specialist in airborne operations and special operations tactics, was Commander in Chief of the U.S. Special Operations Command (including Delta Force, Navy SEALS, and other top secret Special Mission Units). Shelton was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under both Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. He lives in North Carolina.

RON LEVINSON is a veteran film and television producer, director, writer, and studio executive. A past board member of the U.S. Air Force Public Advisory Counsel (where he counseled the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force on motion picture and television production), he currently lives in Los Angeles.

MALCOLM McCONNELL is the author or co-author of twenty-nine books, including the New York Times #1 bestseller, American Soldier, with Gen. Tommy Franks. McConnell lives in Queenstown, MD.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; First Edition edition (October 12, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312599056
• ISBN-13: 978-0312599058
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read About A 38-Year Career October 12, 2010

By The Cashmere Bookworm

Format:Hardcover

In General Hugh Shelton's autobiography, the reader is taken through his thirty eight year career, starting with his days in ROTC as an undergraduate at North Carolina state. While it would have been tempting for General Shelton to focus only on his most noticeable position --namely his stint from 1997-2001 as the Chairman, he conveys to the reader that it was all the other positions where he learned, implemented and worked to refine the leadership principles that led him into that position. Readers of current history will find many insights into the leadership of President Clinton that has been continually debunked, and also that of Rumsfeld, which has been hopelessly overplayed. There's plenty of anecdotal stories here, but all pale in comparison of the man who deftly fielded challenges with a combination of brains, and tenacity while keeping not only Army values, but his own intact.

Coming in at just over 500 pages, Shelton covers a lot of ground in this account of his 38 year career in the Army. He covers his childhood in North Carolina, Vietnam, other wars, small posts, exotic ones, and insight about the difficulties in moving a family around twenty-three times. This is a much-examined life, and throughout he gives thanks to the support of his wife Carolyn, and their family. He does much to tell everyone about the sacrifices military families make, starting with his own, with much candor.

This is good reading for anyone who has ever wondered, "How does someone become the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?" or "What does a military career look like? What does it entail?" It's a valid question, since these men and women lead legions of warriors and also show up one day on our television screens. Younger readers will find the passages on Vietnam worth reading. While a big deal has been made by people like Thomas Ricks or MSNBC about his naming names, Shelton is even handed in telling readers who deserved kudos and who didn't. Perhaps this is the advantage of waiting almost ten years after retirement to write your memoirs! However, I am not convinced that many who are running quips have actually read the book as a whole.

Where the book does best is in the recounting of events that happened during war. The book could have used some editing to quicken the pace in a few places. It gets bogged down a bit, but oftentimes this is the case when a book is being written in chronological order. Regardless, this is a book worth reading. General Shelton comes across as an tireless, determined and insightful man. A person whom we were lucky to have as a leader, and fortunate to have written his memoir. -Kanani Fong, The Kitchen Dispatch, A military blog

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT "HESITATE" YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!! October 15, 2010

By Rita Tisinger

Format:Hardcover

I was given this book as a gift and thought it was a strange choice since I'm neither a military nor history buff, and had never heard of General Shelton... but after reading the book, all I can say is WOW! Putting his awesome military career aside, I was blown away by his personal triumph - a complete recovery from a near-death injury in which doctors said he would be paralyzed for life. Not taking that as an acceptable answer, he battled back to a near-perfect recovery - according to the book, the only one in medical history to do so. Too bad his successors didn't listen to him regarding Iraq; for if they had, I'm convinced that thousands of our nation's finest would be home with their wives, husbands and children, rather than laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery. An important book about an inspirational leader.

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars honesty at last October 13, 2010

By Charles A. Krohn

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

When the film Ben Hur was first released, stories circulated about movie goers who timed their arrival at the theater to coincide with the chariot race. For readers with a military background and for about the same reason, I recommend starting this extraordinary book at chapter 13, when General Shelton becomes chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His comparison of Defense Secretaries Bill Cohen to Don Rumsfeld is insightful, entertaining and persuasive, candid almost beyond belief. If Shelton is no fan of Rumsfeld or General Tommy Franks, he sets forth the reasons and the context in the language of the street.

General Shelton may not be a great theoretician--nor does he claim to be--but he is a world-class observer of the first order.

His run-ins with Senator McCain weren't fun, but Shelton's recollections of professional encounters are entertaining and also insightful. (They're too hilarious to repeat here).

If chapters 1-13 are foreplay, they explains how general are born and bred. General Shelton is one of the top.

My only complaint is the length of the book, although the core is critical to understanding why the invasion of Iraq was pre-ordained to (you pick the word).