First SEALs: The Untold Story of the Forging of America's Most Elite Unit

This is an important book for those who have an interest in Navy SEALs. It gives the roots of how Seals came about.<br /><br />I learned quite a lot about how the war in Italy was fought, during World War II.<br /><br />Was exceptionally well researched and referenced.<br /><br />I enjoyed this book and recommend it to all.

Patrick K. O'Donnell just keeps topping himself. <br /><br />First SEALs is a great example of what's becoming the O'Donnell standard. Beginning with a never-before-told story of the Maritime Unit, precursor to today's SEALs.<br /><br />It's a story almost too amazing to believe. Yet, O'Donnell manages to bring a master historian's understanding and research to the pages--plowing new ground never before unturned in the search for details that richly bring the story to life.<br /><br />But O'Donnell doesn't there. He has a gift for storytelling one might expect to find in a fiction novel. His skill in placing the reader in the mind, time period, and setting of the principle players is an extra gear not found in most accounts of military history.<br /><br />Italians riding torpedoes. A famous matinee idol. Inflatable surfboards. An NFL kicker of note. Developing the first SCUBA gear. All spearheaded by an adventure-addicted dentist.<br /><br />And that's just scratching the surface. If you're a fan of military history, non-fiction in general, or just an untold story being unveiled in a masterful fashion, get First SEALs.<br /><br />It'll require a special operations team to pry it from your hands.

Patrick K. O'Donnell always gives his readers great research, wonderful story-telling and engaging writing. His credibility as a historian is unblemished and his contributions to 20th century military history is significant. With First SEALs, however, O'Donnell has surpassed his prior works and delivered his finest work of scholarship to date. Mining largely untapped, and certainly unexhausted resources, O'Donnell gives his readers a brilliant exploration of the birth and evolution of the SEALs during WWII. First SEALS is exciting and eye-opening, and a must-read for anyone who studies military history and for anyone who just wants an exciting reading experience!

Audible.com 7 hours Narrated by John Pruden(B)<br /><br />Perhaps it's because I recently read the biography of "Wild Bill" Donovan and was therefore aware of his creation of various sections within the OSS, I was riveted by the stories of men who were a part of WW Two. I've come to trust Patrick O'Donnell for well-written stories that might otherwise gone untold. Men who wwould otherwise have lived ordinary lives sacrificed "ordinary" to play extraordinary roles in war. There are millions of war stories--many untold by choice, but these particular stories were classified and couldn't be shared-- only relived in dreams. 4.5 stars

Great research, fascinating book, great read.

Als je interesse hebt in de Tweede Wereldoorlog en verhalen van de SEALs, dan geeft dit boek je een inkijk in de speciale troepen van de Marine Unit van de OSS. <br />Het boek geeft een mooie inkijk in het pionieren van deze mannen qua uitrusting en missies. <br />Alleen de overdreven manier van schrijven stond me erg tegen, soms komt het over of de oorlog alleen gewonnen is door de Marine Unit.

And with that, I have finished my challenge for 2017!<br /><br />I loved this book. This was not what I expected but wow did it deliver. Especially after reading "The Nightinggale" it was really interesting to get the outlook of WWII from Eastern Europe instead of France and I'm really glad I read it.

The title of the book could be somewhat misleading. One might think this is a book on the early history of the US Navy SEALs which began its origin with the Navy Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT) during World War Two. Typically most books on the history of the SEALs trace their lineage to the UDTs. Instead this book focuses the Office of Strategic Services’ Maritime Unit (MU). After getting over the initial expectation that this was going to be about the SEALs or the UDT the book turned out to be an amazing account of the men and the operations of Maritime Unit that was much ahead in their days of Naval commando operations even compated to their contemporary UDTs with the MU’s advance technological breathing masks, sea-to-land direct actions, parachuting capabilities, support for partisan fighters behind enemy lines, sabotage and advanced reconnaissance. Like the modern SEALs of today the role of those in the MU were at times blurred from land and sea operations. This book tells the incredible stories of these men that read like a novel. The most harrowing account in the book is the story of Navy Lt. Jack Taylor who was captured by the Nazis deep within enemy lines and was sent to a concentration camp. Taylor was marked for death many times by the Nazis but camp clerks who were made up of prisoners themselves kept on erasing his name and/or going in line ahead of him whenever the Nazis gathered people to be killed. Many of these European prisoners wanted Taylor to be alive so that America and Western Europe would have an American witness of the Camp’s atrocities and therefore convinced the West that the Holocaust was real. It made me tear up seeing how those in the Concentration Camp can act almost like animals in survival mode but somehow in the midst of the all the salvage brutality the all too human concern for truth and justice manage to come out. This is an incredibly good book.

Patrick K. O'Donnell's First Seals tells the story of how the OSS established the foundation for the future Green Berets and Navy Seals. The book takes an indepth look at the development of the first scuba gear, the Navy's interest in an underwater demolitions team, and the formation of the first clandestine units that saw action in all three theatres of war. <br /><br />What is the most interesting to me was the first operator, Lt. Jack Taylor. He was instrumental in developing covert ops to support the Allied war effort. Also, I loved how the inspiration for the MU came from the Italian Decimas, especially since the Italians get a undeserved bad rep as fighters in WWII. <br /><br />It's a good book for anyone looking for a lesser known part of WWII.

An expertly told story about a piece of American history that could have easily been lost. The story is wonderfully written and I found myself engulfed in the tale. Jack Taylor is the ultimate survivor! The book is yet another stellar piece of work by Patrick K. O'Donnell. The detail and intimacy allowed by the personal interviews was far beyond what most historians could achieve. Although many interviewed were O'Donnells personal friends he managed to deliver an unbiased book that provides a balanced view of the units strengths and weaknesses . Once I cracked the spine I could not put it down.