Guts To Try, The

Rating:
Summary: Fuctual to a certain point
Review: A pretty good book on the accounting of Operation Eagle Claw/Evening Light. What the book clearly shows is that there are U.S. Military Branches that still display true honor. I'm proud of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps paricipants that to this day still observe their sworn honor. I also respect the Air Force and Army personnel for their participation in the operation.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: A very detailed story of a real U.S. military operation. You can feel what those men went through. No fiction here.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: A very detailed story of a real U.S. military operation. You can feel what those men went through. No fiction here.

Rating:
Summary: USAF Combat Controller. I was there! This books tells most
Review: Col. Kyle does a good job of presenting the fact. Only recently has more information came to light about the ground operation at Desert One. This book is a good study of need to know information.

Rating:
Summary: USAF Combat Controller. I was there! This books tells most
Review: Col. Kyle does a good job of presenting the fact. Only recently has more information came to light about the ground operation at Desert One. This book is a good study of need to know information.

Rating:
Summary: The inside story from the Air Force's perspective
Review: Everyone is familiar with the overall story of the Iranian hostage rescue mission. However, this narrative is told from the perspective of the senior Air Force mission commander. Col Kyle was involved with the planning from just about the beginning and was able to observe, and comment on, the creation of the plan. Kyle was actually on board the rescue aircraft and was the on-scene commander when the fateful decision(s) was made to abort and the catastrophe that followed.
For those who are interested in the foibles of complex command and control regimes, Kyle has penned quite the case study. Moreover, many of the problems that surfaced during this mission were studied, solved, and incorporated into standard operating procedures in the future.
While there is a slight bias in the book (you can determine for yourself), you cant get much closer to ground truth than one of the senior planners. A good story, with an unfortunate ending. Recommended to anyone concerned with leadership and military planning.

Rating:
Summary: The inside story from the Air Force's perspective
Review: Everyone is familiar with the overall story of the Iranian hostage rescue mission. However, this narrative is told from the perspective of the senior Air Force mission commander. Col Kyle was involved with the planning from just about the beginning and was able to observe, and comment on, the creation of the plan. Kyle was actually on board the rescue aircraft and was the on-scene commander when the fateful decision(s) was made to abort and the catastrophe that followed.
For those who are interested in the foibles of complex command and control regimes, Kyle has penned quite the case study. Moreover, many of the problems that surfaced during this mission were studied, solved, and incorporated into standard operating procedures in the future.
While there is a slight bias in the book (you can determine for yourself), you cant get much closer to ground truth than one of the senior planners. A good story, with an unfortunate ending. Recommended to anyone concerned with leadership and military planning.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Account of Operation Eagle Claw
Review: Excellent account of the planning and execution, and ultimate failure, of Operation Eagle Claw. This book is just as good as Charlie Beckwith's "Delta Force," but much less famous. It covers the overall planning of Eagle Claw at a joint-forces administrative level above Beckwith, and covers the joint-forces command of the actual mission, since Kyle was the overall commander at Desert One. The mechanical and personal failures of the helocopters and their crews are also discussed, as well as Kyle's conclusions on why the mission failed. Beckwith's book covers SFOD-Delta issues more closely, but Kyle's book examines why Eagle Claw failed.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Account of Operation Eagle Claw
Review: Excellent account of the planning and execution, and ultimate failure, of Operation Eagle Claw. This book is just as good as Charlie Beckwith's "Delta Force," but much less famous. It covers the overall planning of Eagle Claw at a joint-forces administrative level above Beckwith, and covers the joint-forces command of the actual mission, since Kyle was the overall commander at Desert One. The mechanical and personal failures of the helocopters and their crews are also discussed, as well as Kyle's conclusions on why the mission failed. Beckwith's book covers SFOD-Delta issues more closely, but Kyle's book examines why Eagle Claw failed.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Account of Operation Eagle Claw
Review: Excellent account of the planning and execution, and ultimate failure, of Operation Eagle Claw. This book is just as good as Charlie Beckwith's "Delta Force," but much less famous. It covers the overall planning of Eagle Claw at a joint-forces administrative level above Beckwith, and covers the joint-forces command of the actual mission, since Kyle was the overall commander at Desert One. The mechanical and personal failures of the helocopters and their crews are also discussed, as well as Kyle's conclusions on why the mission failed. Beckwith's book covers SFOD-Delta issues more closely, but Kyle's book examines why Eagle Claw failed.