Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The title sums up the percentage of SEAL applicants who actually join the operational teams after surviving the notoriously rigorous selection and training. The author, a former director of basic and advanced SEAL training, makes it clear that Rambo-types need not apply, unless they can match their physical prowess and weaponscraft with their ability to mesh everything they do with their teammates every second of the mission, and most of the rest of the time as well. This is a life-or-death matter and makes running the training almost as stressful as undergoing an actual operation something that this book makes clearer than ever before, even to the seasoned student of special-ops warriors.--Green, Roland Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A 14-year veteran of more than 200 combat missions reflects on a career training and leading the Navy's elite warriors. Thanks to their many conspicuous successes since 9/11, the SEALs are enjoying a golden moment, celebrated in a number of books and films. Though they number barely 2,500, the SEALs' special skills have proven especially effective in an unconventional terror war, so much so that intense pressure exists now to create more of these special operators, even as the brotherhood attempts to hold the line, fearful of compromising standards and quality. Denver addresses this intraservice controversy, but his story explains why it will take more than a Pentagon fiat to create more SEALs. The fact remains: Few people have the strength, resilience, aggressiveness and mental toughness sufficient to survive BUD/S, their tortuously rigorous entry program, and the subsequent years of advanced training and moment's notice, high-risk deployments. SEALs come in all shapes and sizes, and it's impossible to predict who will succeed. With the help of Newsday columnist Henican (co-author: In the Blink of an Eye: Dale, Daytona, and the Day that Changed Everything, 2011, etc.), Denver takes us through a few SEAL missions, including the bin Laden raid, the sniping of Somali pirates and some house-to-house operations in Iraq. But his focus here is on the training, the lessons taught--that winning pays, that small details matter, that thorough preparation is essential, that nothing about war is fair--and on explaining the SEAL culture, from the outrageous "van brawls" (don't ask) and the enduring fraternal network, to the solemn significance of the gold Trident and the unique self-knowledge that comes with being a "meat eater," a man who's killed someone on the battlefield. "What can't these SEALs do?" To hear Denver tell it, when it comes to special operations, hardly anything at all. Good reading for military buffs.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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Denver and journalist Henican (Home Team) take readers from Hell Week to the battlefield and back to base in this portrait of the grueling life of a Navy SEAL. Having led over 200 missions as a SEAL officer, Denver is acutely accustomed to the bizarre mix of lucidity and confusion that can descend on the minds of even highly trained soldiers in the midst of war. It's his job to make sure that heady blend doesn't come as a surprise when it matters most. Denver explains that joining "the greatest man club in the world" requires "talent, training, and instinct," and each of these is subjected to systematic honing in the leadup to induction. The program begins with a six-month marathon course of "medieval ferocity," during which 70%-80% of the class drop out. After that comes the infamous "round-the-clock relentlessness" of Hell Week, five 24-hour days of punishing physical challenges. The titular few that survive then enter into a kind of liberal arts program of war making-courses run the gamut from parachuting to computer hacking and language studies. The result: warriors "in every sense of the word." Interweaving tales of battle and reflections on what it means to be a professional killer, Denver crafts an awe-inspiring sketch of soldierly excellence. 16-page b&w photo insert. Agent: Peter H. McGuigan, Foundry Literary + Media. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Navy SEAL Denver's debut work, co-written with veteran ghostwriter Henican (The Party's Over), gives listeners an all-access pass into the SEAL world. In stunning detail, Denver shares his journey from SEAL hopeful to combat veteran and SEAL training officer. Denver shares a story in which simply dropping an M&M in the field led to an enemy ambush. A truly gripping aspect of the book deals directly with the brotherhood that is the backbone of the SEALs. From "Hell Week," the impossibly grueling training tradition, to fighting bad guys in the toughest of situations, Denver's stories and experiences illustrate the true connectedness of these elite warriors. Denver shares many difficult experiences, including repeatedly saying goodbye to his wife and wishing that he, instead of a SEAL brother, had fallen in combat. Denver's self-narration provides authenticity to the content, but at times the author sounds rigid, like a soldier carrying out a task. -Verdict Recommended for military fans.-Sean -Kennedy, Cleveland Marshall Coll. Law Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.