List Price: $30.00 Details

Save: $20.00 (67%)

$2.99 delivery March 28 - April 1. Details

Or fastest delivery March 23 - 28. Details

Only 5 left in stock - order soon.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

[{"displayPrice":"$10.00","priceAmount":10.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"10","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"hh4knkWQbfbpI%2FITp%2Bps4tnel%2BhALWdX4yjIa56sPesM%2B0fyztgf%2BKybe9GktPPLfrMC%2FjMXnenF%2FYzuGM24DgJo6QVdYXSHet1hgmCkO%2BaNl1JniP7IwtI9JRPhglgVzt4j6%2BjdVAvlJR3lfQJxkSEfyUkYKcfihsir9sAv76Kv2%2FgODgc6pw%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW"},{"displayPrice":"$8.99","priceAmount":8.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"MiFgU1WUTsaDgmUl%2B21KUT6bu30xdR5p6DUDZhOxi6x9n%2F9gXJE2dgYj37AwVIS9te8iONbeQkfCYa%2FkONRmt6qCy18IFM16155eklnqCBQUARR0TsYBW2e0R3uILeBmtu6Ks74BDS%2B%2Fqus7N46qeurTRSobCCDbg4zvl9hpRrxjQnMQUFwsfN8NXBDdg9mQ","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]

$$10.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Kaltenburg Books

Sold by

Kaltenburg Books

Details

Ships from

Kaltenburg Books

Sold by

Kaltenburg Books

Return policy: Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement.

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Thursday, March 24 if you spend $25 on items shipped by Amazon. Order within 1 hr 6 mins

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Jenson Books Inc

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers on Amazon

Added

Not added

$20.97
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Bridge_Media

Added

Not added

$20.98
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Gordion Group LLC

Added

Not added

$21.45
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Sold by: Amazon.com

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See this image

Follow the Author

Mark Moyar

Oppose Any Foe: The Rise of America's Special Operations Forces Hardcover – April 25, 2017

by Mark Moyar (Author)

50 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$17.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$10.00

$3.50

Enhance your purchase

Oppose Any Foe is the epic story of America's most elite warriors: the Special Operations Forces. Born as small appendages to the conventional armies of World War II, the Special Operations Forces have grown into a behemoth of 70,000 troops, including Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Special Operations Marines, Rangers, and Delta Force. Weaving together their triumphs and tribulations, acclaimed historian Mark Moyar introduces a colorful cast of military men, brimming with exceptional talent, courage and selflessness.

In a nation where the military is the most popular institution, America's Special Operations Forces have become the most popular members of the military. Through nighttime raids on enemy compounds and combat advising of resistance movements, special operators have etched their names into the nation's registry of heroes. Yet the public knows little of the journey that they took to reach these heights, a journey that was neither easy nor glamorous.

Fighting an uphill battle for most of their seventy-five year history, the Special Operations Forces slipped on many an occasion, and fell far on several. Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Barack Obama have enthusiastically championed Special Operations Forces, but their enthusiasm has often surpassed their understanding, resulting in misuse or overuse of the troops. Lacking clearly defined missions, Special Operations Forces have had to reinvent themselves time and again to prove their value in the face of fierce critics-many of them from the conventional military, which from the start opposed the segregation of talent in special units.

Highlighting both the heroism of America's most elite soldiers and the controversies surrounding their meteoric growth, Oppose Any Foe presents the first comprehensive history of these special warriors and their daring missions. It is essential reading for anyone interested in America's military history-and the future of warfare.

Print length

432 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Basic Books
Publication date

April 25, 2017
Dimensions

6.5 x 1.25 x 9.63 inches
ISBN-10

0465053939
ISBN-13

978-0465053933
See all details

Frequently bought together

David O. Stewart
303
Paperback
111 offers from $1.35
Charles C. Turner
37
Hardcover
31 offers from $4.00

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Oppose Any Foe] needs to be taken seriously by policy makers."―Wall Street Journal

"[Oppose Any Foe] provides a good overview of the genesis, history, and thorny relationship these elite units have had within the American military."―New York Journal of Books

"[Oppose Any Foe] will serve as an invaluable and highly readable overview of SOF's history not just for those newly joining its ranks but also for anyone who seeks to know more about these glamorous and little-understood forces.... Given the extent to which the nation now relies on its special operators, it is imperative to better understand their background and culture. Moyar's book is an excellent starting point."―National Review

"Many books have been written about particular special operations services, units and/or missions. Oppose Any Foe...succeeds brilliantly in presenting a sweeping 100,000-foot view all the way down to ground, dirt, sweat and blood level. A must-read."
―American Spectator

"Moyar admires these elite units, and his enthusiastic, warts-and-all approach to discussing Special Forces fireworks will surely raise some eyebrows."
―Publishers Weekly

"A definitive account that reads like a well-crafted novel. Mark Moyar balances the audacity, egos, expertise, and mistakes that comprise the true history of America's Special Operations Forces to produce a fascinating story that is as instructive as it is entertaining. A must read for current and future policymakers."―Stan McChrystal, General (ret), US Army, commander of Joint Special Operations Command, 2003-2008

"Oppose Any Foe is a superbly researched, wonderfully readable account of the evolution of America's Special Operations Forces, with very thoughtful-and thought-provoking-reflections on the employment of SOF in our recent wars. Oppose any Foe is, in particular, a fitting and timely tribute to the extraordinarily talented, courageous, and selfless Special Operators with whom I was privileged to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan."―David Petraeus, General (ret.)commander of U.S. and coalition forces during the "surges" in Iraq and Afghanistan and, subsequently, Director of the CIA

"Mark Moyar's Oppose Any Foe is both a history and an analysis of America's formation and use of Special Operations units and their suitability for nonconventional and often stealthy operations. As in his past explorations, from Vietnam to the contemporary 'war on terror,' Moyar's work is characterized by exacting research and common sense. He is becoming our most engaging, analytical, and reliable historian of the postwar American military."―Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and author of The Savior Generals

"This truly extraordinary book combines the scholarship of a profoundly impressive work of history with the white-knuckle tension of a thriller. The reader is naturally overawed with the sheer courage of the American Special Ops Forces, but also with the quality of their training, the depth of their professionalism, the acuity of their instincts, and the decency apparent in their innate modesty. Mark Moyar has done them, and us, a fine service in writing this groundbreaking book."―Andrew Roberts, professor, War Studies Department, King's College, London

"Mark Moyar has written an important history of US Special Operations Forces that eloquently records their recent rise in prominence. In this well-referenced and highly readable book, Moyar highlights the chronic challenges that Special Operations Forces have faced in working for conventional commanders and describes the limits of the military instrument in its current configuration in achieving US foreign-policy objectives. He shows the need for fresh thinking on how America conducts its own irregular warfare activities and a better understanding by policymakers and their senior military advisors on what is possible through military force."―Charles T. Cleveland, Lieutenant General (ret.), commander of the United States Army Special Operations Command, 2012-2015

"Historian Mark Moyar weaves together nuggets of history from Special Operations past to create an in-depth account of America's elite forces. But Oppose Any Foe's best part comes at the end. Moyar offers advice to future Special Operations Forces. Recommended reading for the current administration and future SOF leaders."―Kevin Maurer, co-author of No Easy Day, the Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden

"It is exceptional to find a writer who has the diligence and depth of the careful scholar, with the skill to tell a rattling good tale-but Mark Moyar is that author. This is a masterly account of the rise of American Special Forces, a compelling account not just of the derring-do, but the Washington politics and organizational rivalries that went into forging the tip of the American armed forces' spear."―Eliot A. Cohen, Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and author of The Big Stick

"Simply put, Oppose Any Foe is now the single best account available of US Special Operations Forces from their creation in World War Two to today's brushfire wars. An accomplished military historian, author Mark Moyar writes with the precision of a scholar and the vibrancy of a journalist. Moyar's sweeping history will superbly serve government and military professionals, and the nation's citizens, in fully understanding the extraordinary character and capabilities-and limitations-of this elite grouping of American warfighter."―Dr. Kalev I. Sepp, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations and Counterterrorism

"Mark Moyar's first-rate book is the best popular history of the Special Operations Forces to date and will remain an indispensable source of information, with memorable personalities and dramatic battle scenes, for the foreseeable future."―Thomas Henriksen, senior fellow, Hoover Institution, and author of Eyes, Ears, and Daggers

About the Author

Mark Moyar is the director of the Center for Military and Diplomatic History in Washington, DC. The author of five previous books, he has served as a senior fellow at the Joint Special Operations University and a consultant for the US Special Operations Command. He lives in Oak Hill, Virginia.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; 1st edition (April 25, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465053939
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465053933
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.46 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.63 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #859,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,531 in Intelligence & Espionage History
- #2,135 in Military Strategy History (Books)
- #9,487 in American Military History

Customer Reviews:
50 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Mark Moyar

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

5 star		66%
4 star		19%
3 star		10%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		5%

How are ratings calculated?

Reviews with images

See all customer images

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Andrew R. Finlayson

The Definitive Book on Special Operations

Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2017

Verified Purchase

Once again, Mark Moyar has produced a terrific piece of history, one that is the first, and probably the best, history of our Special Operations warriors from their beginnings in World War II to the present day. I have read many accounts of US special operations, but this book covers the entire US history of such operations, not just a few or during a specific time in our history. For anyone interested in US special operations this is a must read and one that should be on the book shelf of any professional soldier. What I found so refreshing about this book was the way Dr. Moyar laid out both the positive and negative aspects of this very unique form of warfare. He brought his extensive experience with special operations, as currently employed, to his strong background as an historian to produce a book that is filled with both exciting examples of the art and a cool- headed assessment of the lessons learned about special operations over the course of their existence. I loved this book and highly recommend it.

12 people found this helpful

Helpful

Timothy928

Uneven Discourse

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2020

Verified Purchase

Not sure what I expected from this book, maybe something more along the lines of Triumph Forsaken which was also well researched and in my view broke new historical ground. In this case too much time was spent recounting various battlefield events throughout the formative years of SOF but could have been about any group of soldiers. Sprinkled throughout the book were comments on politics behind the scenes and towards the end a little more focus the potential future of Special Forces especially as it relates to the "conventional" military. I can see how other commenters may have found the discussion a bit negative. The discussion was often dry and maybe tried to cover too much history at the expense of depth. 3-4 stars.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

TGoodwin

Informative and Engrossing

Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2017

Verified Purchase

This takes a whole lot of facts and presents them in the form of a good story. Extremely informative, full of insights, and totally engrossing.

Aside from learning about the SOF you'll learn almost as much about the politics involving the US military. It's the latter that I wish more citizens understood.

I read the entire thing on two round-trip flights during a business trip, and I literally couldn't put it down.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Samuel L Garcia

Reading history is essential for understanding and employing SOF

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

The application of Special Operations Forces (SOF) in achieving military objectives and U.S. national policy is an issue that no lack of ardent supporters and vehement opponents. Mark Moyer is correct in stating that the study of and the honest assessment of our U.S. SOF is essential for military leaders and U.S. policy makers in shaping, training, and utilizing these forces. Policy makers also need to study the history and capability of these forces to understand their capabilities and usefulness in executing U.S. policy. This book is a good starting point for those needing to increase their understanding of the history of SOF and their application.

Helpful

Eugene F. Kriegsmann

Very well researched and written with some great insights into the limitations of special forces

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

Very well researched and written with some great insights into the limitations of special forces. The lionizing of SEALs, Rangers, Delta, et al.. has made it seem that they can do it all. Not so, according to Mark Moyar. He gives the history of each unit, and a brief summary of their succsses and failures. The message is clear. These units have their place, but they can't do it all, and staffing them removes some the best fighting men from larter units where they are needed for leadership. It is an interesting and timely topic well worth reading.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

;Hobbs

SOF history unvarnished by an expert in military history

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2017

Verified Purchase

Mark Moyer's excellence in research, history and unbiased revelation gives the best historical guide to understanding Special Operation forces, as well as a guide to civilian and military leaders on how to properly train and utilize these limited resources in he future.

Mark's suggestion on personality selection for positions in the leadership ranks is spot on!

If you haven't already, read his Triumph Forsaken to understand Vietnam. I look forward to his follow on to it as well as any other books he writes!

Well done sir!

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

RWB

This book must be read, no studied, by ...

Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

This book must be read, no studied, by our political and DoD policy makers. The history of and employment of Special Operations Forces must be known and understood. They should pay particular attention to chapters 10 and 11 where lessons learned are coupled with solid advice for future employment decisions. RWB

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

One sided views

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2018

Verified Purchase

In one of the first pages in the book the author mentions “the US Air Force Night Stalkers”. For a book about the details of the SOF community how could you make such a big mistake like that? This book is mostly anti-sof. This is clearly from the perspective of a big army type person. And I️ agree with another comment, the whole book is set on finding facts that support one position. Outsider view!

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Dp

Informative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2019

Verified Purchase

If you are interested in the history of Special Forces then this book is an excellent read. Informative and has good stories on why they where formed and how they where/are used in combat.

Belfast Boy

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2017

Verified Purchase

Dull and slow paced read

See all reviews