Rating: 
Summary: On the cutting edge
Review: Author Eric Haney pulls back the curtain on the most secret counter terrorist unit in our country. As a career soldier who achieved the highest possible enlisted rank at the youngest age he is savvy enough to safeguard sensitive information while offering a true insider's look at what has been an enigmatic unit. Most Americans are probably ignorant of the very existence of Delta Force much less conversant with the demanding selection and training process that makes this unit so outstanding. Haney offers far more here than a mere kiss and tell work. His insightful look at the mental stresses he endured and life's lessons that he has discovered as a result offer the reader a level of revelation deeper than the surface story itself. Haney is an extremely talented and versatile writer who is able to weave a personal story with current history so well that the reader forgets that he is looking in from the outside and begins to imagine what life on the inside of this elite, cloistered unit must be like. And, friend, it ain't easy!
Inside Delta Force ought to be a must read for all Americans. Buy two and send a copy to your closest relative or best friend. In the times of crisis that we now endure just the knowledge that tough, smart, dedicated soldiers like Command Sergeant Major Eric Haney and his comrades stand between us and the horror of international terrorism gives great comfort to us all. Hats off to Haney as a terrific writer and a wonderful example of the best that America can produce!
Rating:
Summary: OPERATIONAL INTENSITY!!!
Review: I pre-ordered this book more than a month ago and it finally arrived yesterday. Well, twenty-four hours later I've read the book cover-to-cover, putting it down only twice and I can honestly say that this is the best book I've ever read. Period!
There are no "operational secrets" divulged, as it should be! Leave those "secrets" to the men who depend on them for success and survival. This book tells you first hand what it takes and what it's like to successfully live as a member of the world's most elite fighting force. I have the privilege of knowing another founding member of Delta Force, also a retired CSM, and he too is the embodiment of all the high-performance physical and personal characteristics of the warriors described in this book.
I'm proud to be an american and we as americans should all be thankful to have these dedicated, courageous men on our side. My personal thanks to you CSM Haney. This book is an absolute MUST READ.
Rating:
Summary: Finally a real look inside the Mystery
Review: Eric Haney lays out the facts without the self-serving statements. From the early days as fledgling force waiting to be tested, to the finely honed group of professionals that continue to serve as the pinnacle of excellence for all warriors. Mr. Haney's account of his life among these men keeps you wanting more once you turn the first page. It becomes easy to see how much these men have sacrificed personally and professionally to become the best. You feel the dedication of every man on each mission and you share their victories and their loss. This book is a must own for anyone who has ever served with a tight unit, or wondered what it would be like too.I would like the Honor of meeting him personally!
Rating:
Summary: OPERATIONAL INTENSITY!
Review: I pre-ordered this book a month and a half ago and waited with great anticipation until yesterday, when it finally arrived.
Well, 24 hours later I've read it cover to cover, only putting it down twice, and I can honestly say that this is the "BEST" book I've ever read. Period! There is no divulging of any "operational secrets", as it should be. Leave those "secrets" to the men who depend on them.
This book thoroughly explains the human side of what it takes to become, and successfully live as a member of the most professional fighting unit in the world. I feel very privileged to personally know another retired CSM who served for more than 10 years in Delta Force and he too is the embodiment ALL of the high-performance, personal characteristics of the warriors so accurately described in this book.
I was emotionally moved by this book. I'm proud to be an american and as americans we should all be thankful to have these courageous, honorable men on our side. Thanks to you personally CSM Haney.
Rating:
Summary: No better book on Delta Force than this...
Review: Well written and well paced, this is the best spec ops non-fiction work I have ever read. Haney was in the first group of Delta Force members back in the 70's. I've read Beckwith's book (he was the original unit commander), which tended to focus on organization/planning, but this gives a much more down and dirty perspective on being in SFODD. It has the obligatory training stuff, but Haney also talks about some of Delta's operations. A first as far as I know, though he is very careful not give out any info that might compromise a active team (in terms of entry patterns, etc) I hope the author will consider writing some "fiction" books (ala Marcinko or Bob Mayer) down the line because not only can he write...he's got some very good stories to tell.
Rating:
Summary: The ¿Hardy Boys¿ Revealed!
Review: This book is an incredible look in side the United States most secretive/covert unit (incedently they still refuse to admit its existence!) in the military, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-DELTA. This book provides all the background data Beckwith's book (Delta Force) does not cover, plus a lot more in-depth outline and descriptions of Delta selection and advanced training events (Operators Training Course). I found this to be one of the high lights. The book also goes in to first person detail of many operations conducted by Haney while serving in Delta, His insight and participation in these events gives a refreshing look at some of the more know escapades the unit has been involved with, like "Desert One" were he barely escaped with his life. The book also coves little know topics of Deltas operation and employment in Beirut, Grenada, and Honduras, which I found to be quite reveling and intriguing. I must let you know the book does not disclose any national secrets most of the information is over ten years old (as Haney retired from active duty in 1990.), but this work is proberly the most current information one will find on this organization. I highly recommend this book to any one with an interest in special operations, or anyone thinking of given "Selection" a go. I also recommend reading Beckwith's book "Delta Force".
Rating:
Summary: This is the definitive edition of Delta and what they are
Review: Haney takes you from the absolute beginnings of this organization. He then takes you step by step through selection, operator training, and finally some real world missions. A great read that you find difficult to put down once you start. Haney shows you how these guys bear their souls to become Delta operators then how many have given them up in pursuit of their missions around the world. A MUST for any military reader! I hope he has sequels.
Rating: 
Summary: a good look at selection & training, but thin after that
Review: "Inside Delta Force" provides a fascinating look at the unit selection process and the initial six months of unit training and tactics development for SFOD-Delta. SGT Haney's perspective is revealingly different from that of previous books covering the same time frame of Delta, like Col. Charlie Beckwith's "Delta Force" that was written from the command perspective. Haney's personal philosophy and his relaxed storytelling narrative, complete with lots of hilarious recounted jokes, give "Inside Delta Force" a working soldier's feel. Unfortunately, Haney's narrative thins out after the selection and initial period of training. He covers the training for and the abortive mission to Iran for Operation Eagle Claw in about 10 pages, with for example no mention of the joint training exercises with SFOD-Delta and the USAF units, as documented in books by Beckwith and USAF Col. James Kyle. Haney writes a great description of filthy, early 80s Beirut, but then summarizes all his missions there in a couple pages of vague one or two sentence paragraphs. Haney recounts SFOD-Delta's role in the sloppy invasion of Grenada, but this section remains brief since there wasn't much to cover. Haney clearly avoids compromising any events or tactics, but even given this secutiry consideration, portions of his book are threadbare. Finally, although Haney was in Panama in the late 80s, he was there with regular Army units after he left SFOD-Delta in 1987. Thus, "Inside Delta Force" contains no first-hand information on the three most famous SFOD-Delta deployments of the early 90s - the invasion of Panama, SCUD hunting in Iraq during Desert Storm, and Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu. "Inside Delta Force" is a great look at early SFOD-Delta selection and training, and a captivating look inside the mind of a thoughtful professional soldier of the 70s and 80s, but fails as a reference on SFOD-Delta itself, covering less than half of the period since the unit was founded.
Rating:
Summary: Throw salt between the pages and run a cold shower
Review: Take a chill pill Miss Edwards, for there are few things in life worth becoming so indignant over, the least of which are the "quasi-literate" rantings of CSM Haney. Sorry that you were treated rudely by another patron sometime in the distant past, but as a new Amazon user rest assured that neither this alleged character nor former author's collegue W.T. Opperman(lives in Thailand, pe- ned an equally skeptical critique)I are the same persons, and had you bothered to actually read my review you would have no- ticed that I gave IDF three stars and been emphatic that it was a pretty exciting book. No, I don't espouse on geopolitics to pick up girls, as innovative but unpragmatic a notion as that may be. Forgive me for being the douche bag to break the mold by not being brow-deep in media darling Haney's rectum and instead attempting to inject an iota critical thinking to this forum. As stated prior, the absense of innumerous intimate but decently docume- nted data and sheer emblishment in this "memoir" is more than conspicious. For all the author's lip service towards being a proud SOF operative, he doesn't seem to mind taking a cue from the mainstream media(his primary benefactors for the past two years now)in painting Delta soldiers as little more than assasins and demonic henchmen in an array of hyper-bizzare shadow conspira- cies not even the writers of "24" would be interested in glancing. At the heart of these, according to Haney, is virtually always the ever so-evil CIA . For all the US goverments flaws, this has be- en a largely invalidated line taken by so many self-loathing "exp- erts"at such length that it has now lost even parody value. Cons- idering all the swill our nation and her armed forces have been expected to eat before World War I and post-World War 2, would highlighting some of the more positive aspects be so terrible, such as our resolve to retrieve POWs even after the war in question had been over for close to 11 years? You are correct Miss Edwards, the veracity of IDF and Er- ic Haney himself cannot be tested when the Pentagon denies the unit's existence. How plausible, however, would "Speak, Memory" be sans the effect of the emigre experience and "Lolita" to the life of Nabokov?
Rating:
Summary: Haney is a Soldier's Soldier
Review: Inside Delta Force is the only book that reveals in detail albeit while some things he writes carefully to keep it classified, this top secret unit's history and training by a man who's actually been there and done that. he mentions what conspriacy theorists and Military Vets have spoken about time and time again. the real story of our POW's left behind in 'Nam to be used as bargaining chips against out Govt. and the aborted Delta Force rescue attempt which Military leaders either were manipulated or sold out to the vain, arrogant politicians who were scared of revealing the dirty dealings they did behind our American Backs. despite this, its a good book worthy of study for our troops.
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