The Operator

By Robert O'Neill

The Operator - Robert O'Neill
  • Release Date: 2017-04-25
  • Genre: Military History
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 1,679 Ratings

Description

This instant New York Times bestseller—“a jaw-dropping, fast-paced account” (New York Post) recounts SEAL Team Operator Robert O’Neill’s incredible four-hundred-mission career, including the attempts to rescue “Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell and abducted-by-Somali-pirates Captain Richard Phillips, and which culminated in the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist—Osama bin Laden.

In The Operator, Robert O’Neill describes his idyllic childhood in Butte, Montana; his impulsive decision to join the SEALs; the arduous evaluation and training process; and the even tougher gauntlet he had to run to join the SEALs’ most elite unit. After officially becoming a SEAL, O’Neill would spend more than a decade in the most intense counterterror effort in US history. For extended periods, not a night passed without him and his small team recording multiple enemy kills—and though he was lucky enough to survive, several of the SEALs he’d trained with and fought beside never made it home.

“Impossible to put down…The Operator is unique, surprising, a kind of counternarrative, and certainly the other half of the story of one of the world’s most famous military operations…In the larger sense, this book is about…how to be human while in the very same moment dealing with death, destruction, combat” (Doug Stanton, New York Times bestselling author). O’Neill describes the nonstop action of his deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, evokes the black humor of years-long combat, brings to vivid life the lethal efficiency of the military’s most selective units, and reveals details of the most celebrated terrorist takedown in history. This is “a riveting, unvarnished, and wholly unforgettable portrait of America’s most storied commandos at war” (Joby Warrick).

Reviews

  • Must read

    5
    By Jimmmmayyy
    Great book, read it!
  • Glad I heard it from O’Neil’s point of view

    5
    By Bonimarci
    I liked having read about the killing of Ben Lauden written by someone else first then by O’Neil
  • Great Book

    5
    By jamills452
    Gives details about not only the op on OBL but what Mr. O’Neill went through to get to that point. His childhood, teen years, young adulthood and his decision to join the navy to try out for the seals. What the training is really like, from someone who went through it’s perspective. A taste of the hundreds of missions he participated in. Can not recommend it more.
  • Simply excellent

    5
    By LHGS2202
    A thrilling read
  • Read it

    5
    By ap9575729584
    Unbelievably good.
  • Absolutely amazing

    5
    By ModernNinja71
    His whole life story is written perfectly and he talks like he is sitting right next to you just telling his story
  • Excellent read

    5
    By JackHaldeman
    I’ve read almost all of the Navy Seal books on the market and this book is the most well written of the bunch. It will keep you riveted from cover to cover.
  • O’niel. On deck!

    5
    By omsdoc
    Strong work! Good job at letting us in the head of an operator. A true show of honor, courage and commitment. Reach out and help a vet.
  • 👍👍🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸💪💪💪🦞 🦞🦞

    5
    By F/V Endurance 🦞🦞🦞
    🙏🙏🙏 Wicked good book read all the way from Maine. lobster on me if u ever come to the Maine me and my cap will take u out to haul , read it in 3 days. Seal team books are my favorite reminds me of playing sports being on a team creating bonds that last forever. Thank you for your heroism, u and every other soldier/warrior in all branches of military serving now or having already served u are all fn animals 💪I wish I was as brave as u and fought for my country. It is because of u mr O’Neill and ur military brethren that makes me most proud to be American 🇺🇸 🙏🙏🙏
  • Excellent Account

    5
    By Paulippoi
    I admire the life the author led and continues to lead; don’t sweat anything - jealousy and backbiting are among the worst of human deficiencies and they exist in every facet of human relations. I held out hope that Seals would be impervious to this, but they’re human too.