Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL (Hardcover)

by Chuck Pfarrer (Author) "IT WAS A FRIDAY NIGHT, and Gate 14 at Norfolk International was not crowded..." (more)
Key Phrases: advanced operator training, poodle shooter, landing team headquarters, Green Beach, Team Six, Green Team (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Pfarrer, a former Navy SEAL assault element commander and now a Hollywood screenwriter (The Jackal; Navy SEALS; Darkman, etc.), looks back on his time in the special forces in this adrenaline rush of a memoir that grabs readers from the first page (in which he readies for his final-and nearly fatal-jump). Writing with the efficient clarity and brawn of one of the U.S. military's most special operators, Pfarrer describes the rigorous, nearly sadistic SEAL training that propelled him toward covert operations in the 1980s and early 1990s. He recounts his missions to various Cold War hotspots in Central America and the Middle East, where he patrolled Beirut's bombed-out streets as part of a multinational peacekeeping force during Lebanon's ravaging civil war. Pfarrer's somersaults through Navy service and personal challenges, including failed marriages and a bout with cancer, expose an introspective tug-of-war between disciplined combatant and human spectator, scruffy team leader and reluctant hero. Although chock full of military jargon (thankfully Pfarrar also includes a glossary of terms) and detailed descriptions of special operations, the story remains solidly human, highlighting this "Frogman's" facile combination of self-control and survival smarts in the face of adversities that most readers can only imagine.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Had the author written his memoir in the 1980s, when he was an officer in the U.S. Navy's special-forces organization, he might have been busted to the fleet or thrown in the brig. Even now that his stories can be told, Pfarrer masks many of the names of his fellow "operators," a plain label that carries the highest cachet in the world of the SEALs. Earning and maintaining that designation is the theme that unites Pfarrer's memoir, as he relates his training, relations with comrades and superiors, and discharge. The values of the operator are crystal clear in Pfarrer's account: intolerance for mistakes and mastery of fear--with disdain for operators who can't command courage. These martial values are necessary for survival, and their enforcement by in-group psychology is amply illustrated by operations in Honduras, Beirut, and an unnamed Arab country, which are among the stories Pfarrer recounts. A must for military affairs readers, Pfarrer's recollections, allied with those of another SEAL (One Perfect Op by Dennis Chalker, 2002), vividly portray the elite warrior's arduous, perilous calling. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400060362
• ISBN-13: 978-1400060368
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #339,525 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gut busting humor, tempered with the reality of combat, April 24, 2004

By	Steven L. Waterman (South Thomaston, ME USA) - See all my reviews

Chuck can take simple words and twist them into a visual image that needs no further input. Going from the mundane hurry up and wait mentality of typical military ops, he takes you from humorous bar scenes to the horrors of terrorism and the mayhem resulting from underestimating the enemy and complacency. Political correctness takes its toll in attitudes, men, and the morale of entire countries. This can be read between the lines. Chuck pulls no punches and lays it out for anybody to see. The men who do the fighting and the ones who create the need for these men to fight are not generally on the same sheet of music. Politics and appeasement are the enemies. WARRIOR SOUL is not just another 'SEAL' book in typical fashion. I DO NOT compare it to the other books by former SEALs. This one is in a class by itself. Thanks for a great book and thanks for your service to our nation. Grab a copy of WARRIOR SOUL and devour it.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning and Powerful, December 30, 2003

By A Customer

Sometimes an author's work transcends the genre. Warrior Soul is one of those rare and wonderful surprises. Pfarrer has written the finest memoir to emerge from the SEAL Team experience. At times humorous and tragic, it never fails to grip the reader, and hits the target again and again. Without bravado or conceit, Pfarrer's silky, powerful prose puts the reader into the heart and mind of a SEAL operator on patrol through the streets of Beirut, during the storming of the aircraft containing the Achille Lauro hijackers and off the Mosquito Coast of Honduras in a deadly game of cat and mouse with a Sandinista patrol boat. Warrior Soul stands with its comrades in arms, Jarhead (Anthony Swofford), In Pharaoh's Army (Tobias Wolff) and The Hunters (James Salter), as three of the finest books on men in combat written in the last fifty years. Honest, troubling and emotionally rich. Mark my words: this book will become a classic.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A globe-spanning military memoir, March 4, 2005

By	Michael J. Mazza (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy Seal (Mass Market Paperback)

"Warrior Soul: The Memoir of a Navy SEAL," by Chuck Pfarrer, takes the reader into the world of the U.S. Navy's special warfare community: "the smallest and most elite special operations force in the United States military" (ix). Pfarrer also notes that the acronym "SEAL" stands for the elements in which he and his sailors were trained to operate: sea, air, and land.

Pfarrer's story has a truly global scope, moving from the States to Lebanon, Europe, and Central America. He vividly describes the rigors of SEAL training and the high-adrenaline missions he took on afterwards. Along the way are some colorful portraits of SEALs he knew, including those who mentored him. Particularly powerful is Pfarrer's account of his tour in Lebanon in 1983, during which a devastating attack was unleashed on U.S. forces.

Pfarrer writes about the particular mystique and distinctive qualities of the SEAL community. He discusses SEAL encounters and collaborations with foreign military forces all over the world. Also intriguing are his descriptions of SEAL relationships with other communities within the U.S. military--Marines, surface warfare sailors, Army paratrooper instructors, etc. He also doesn't shy away from discussing problems within the SEAL world or the toll this demanding life can have on people.

At over 400 pages, this is a substantial text. But despite its length, it's a lean and polished work. Pfarrer fills the book with just the right amount of technical and tactical details--enough to complement the human story without overwhelming it. His prose is vigorous, flavorful, and solid, with an occasional satiric edge which I found most refreshing. "Warrior Soul" is truly an outstanding American military memoir.