Masters of Chaos

The Secret History of Special Forces

De: Linda Robinson

Narrado por: Kirsten Potter

Special Forces soldiers are daring, seasoned troops from America's heartland, selected in a tough competition and trained in an extraordinary range of skills. They know foreign languages and cultures and unconventional warfare better than any US fighters, and while they prefer to stay out of the limelight, veteran war correspondent Linda Robinson gained access to their closed world. She traveled with them on the frontlines, interviewed them at length on their home bases, and studied their doctrine, methods, and history. In Masters of Chaos she tells their story through a select group of senior sergeants and field-grade officers, a band of unforgettable characters like Rawhide, Killer, Michael T, and Alan - led by the unflappable Lt. Col. Chris Conner and Col. Charlie Cleveland, a brilliant but self-effacing West Pointer who led the largest unconventional war campaign since Vietnam in northern Iraq.

Robinson follows the Special Forces from their first post-Vietnam combat in Panama, El Salvador, Desert Storm, Somalia, and the Balkans to their recent trials and triumphs in Afghanistan and Iraq. She witnessed their secret sleuthing and unsung successes in southern Iraq and recounts here for the first time the dramatic firefights of the western desert. Her blow-by-blow story of the attack on Ansar al-Islam's international terrorist training camp has never been told before.

The most comprehensive account ever of the modern-day Special Forces in action, Masters of Chaos is filled with riveting, intimate detail in the words of a close-knit band of soldiers who have done it all.

©2013 Linda Robinson (P)2013 Random House Audio

Really Excellent . . . very well done!

Well written, factually accurate story which details the Special Forces soldiers and their missions since their inception. The author tells a very entertaining recount of the dramatic stories of the brave men and their missions over the past 5 decades while maintaining the perfect mix of subjective advocacy and rational objective assesmemt. The narrator brings it all together with a solid performance.

in depth

this is a very in-depth look at Special Forces. an excellent read or very long distance depending on the format. will work for anybody interested in the intricacies of Special Forces.

Like listening to a history book

This book gives a great overall view of Special Forces from Panama to Iraq, but it lacks intimate details. The performance was superb, but the content was surprisingly dry for a book, even a history book, about Special Forces.

overview of sf

the book covers a lot of history of special forces as well as political influences on the uses of special forces in the past and into the future.

Great listen

The book was very well researched and clearly written. It really is the best account of special forces post Vietnam that I have read or listened to so far. To be totally honest I wasn't sure about the reader at first but after a short time her voice grew on me.

Cery informative SF history.

This was a very detailed comprehensive history of the modern special forces. It's a great read and I recommend it to anyone.

Great book

I'm a huge history fan, especially military history, and I absolutely loved this book. I teach history and believe there is a lot to learn from this, and you'll have a great time doing it.

Just okay

Military words and phrases were mispronounced, like most other books on here. I think I have a permanent headache from rolling my eyes too hard after every "emkay-19". Lots of details were skipped or incorrect.

Excellent and Informative

The book was absolutely excellent as it weaved story after story throughout as the author sought to give a summary of green beret history. Very informative read.

Good listen

I enjoyed it. It was a good peak behind the curtain of events that I remember as a kid but never knew the back story behind. Not sure what others were expecting that rated it poorly.