Hunting the Jackal : A Special Forces and CIA Ground Soldier's Fifty-Year Career Hunting America's Enemies

Rating:
Summary: Required reading for all who enjoy freedom
Review: Harvard Law School professor Alan M. Dershowitz last April complained to Publishers Weekly about its negative review of his new book. Amazingly, the editor-in-chief agreed and had the book re-reviewed. Billy Waugh should have them do the same. HUNTING THE JACKAL is an incredible look into the world of secret warriors working around the clock to safeguard our freedom. He has hunted--and found--terrorists who top the Most Wanted lists. And here he writes about Carlos the Jackal and Osama bin Laden and others. He's done the dirty work in the world's hellholes (just the descriptions of which seem to upset book reviewers). It is not pretty work, and what they do and how they do it is not particularly appropriate for some polite conversations. But that is the point. This is a well-written book--better than most--that lays out the real underworld in a clean, engaging fashion. You're quickly taken along on an amazing life, and before you know it, you're at the last page, overwhelmed at what you've "witnessed" ... and wanting more. The best-selling author W.E.B. Griffin said it best: "Waugh is the warrior's warrior. From Special Forces missions in Vietnam to black ops work around the world, he has fought our worst enemies hellbent on harming America in ways unimagined. We sleep soundly, our freedoms defended, thanks to men like Waugh. This is his remarkable story -- read it and understand what too few do."

Rating:
Summary: Very well done
Review: I don't usually write reviews, but the difference between what the Publisher's Weekly review said and what this book is is like night and day.

If you're familiar with any of the books about MACV/SOG, especially the writings of John Plaster, then SGM Billy Waugh's name is slightly familiar to you. He participated in one of the first combat HALO jumps in Southeast Asia and had many other adventures.

This is a fast read, split between the author's time in Vietnam, his experiences in the Mideast as a contractor for the CIA, his surveillance of Bin Ladin, Carlos the Jackal, and others.

I must have read a different book. This is actually more poignant then most. Waugh describes running away at age twelve to join the USMC (didn't make it), the bonds of some of his comrades who are shot rescuing him while he is injured, his role saving a Cambodian colonel, and his 'final mission' going to Afghanistan at age 71.

If you are a 71 year old man in Afghanistan in 2002 and COL Mulholland, the commander of 5th Special Forces Group, walks up to YOU because he wants his picture taken with YOU, then there is something here. That's the author's life in a nutshell. This is a great work about an adventurous life well lived

This is a great book--five stars.



Rating:
Summary: Great insight
Review: I first read about Mr. Waugh in John Plaster's SOG book. Mr. Waugh is a real character and one of the true BTDT warriors we should all be proud to have serving our country. That said, what he lacks in writing ability he more than makes up for with guts and whit. This book gives you a pretty good feel for what CIA field ops do and how they do it. Even though Billy gets a bit redundant in his writing I recommend this book for those interested in his past experience as a gallant member of SOG and his work with the CIA.

Rating:
Summary: Hunting the Jackal
Review: I found the book to be engrossing and very enlightening. Waugh shows the rest of us non-military Americans the difficult and sometimes horrible circumstances our military is subjected to, all in the name of preserving our freedom and blessed way of life. After reading this book, my heart and eternal thanks go out to every U.S. soldier, for their dedication and sacrifice. Thank God for our soldiers - without them, our way of life would likely not exist as it does today.

Waugh does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into his world, allowing us to glimpse his experiences in a very personal way. He is a true hero.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing American
Review: I take my hat off to Mr. Waugh who is a soldier's soldier. His book highlights how long America has been fighting, pursuing, and surveilling the bad guys. Some of the stories/chapters are rather tepid and not really entertaining, but some of the other chapters on Carlos the Jackal and Usama Bin Laden are a little more interesting. In this book one gets to read about the author's exploits in Vietnam, Middle East (Libya & Sudan,) and in Afghanistan which is about 30 years worth of history from a man who lived to fight for America.

Rating:
Summary: Disregard Publisher's Weekly Review
Review: I used to subscribe to Publisher's Weekly, willing to put up with some of that publication's obvious left-leaning sympathies in order to get the most recent publishing news. But no more. I have just cancelled my subscription based on the incredibly biased and belittling review of American patriot Billy Waugh's book. I can only assume that the review was written by the same editor that reviews (negatively, of course) anything that is positive about America, our current President, conservatives, or the military. The author of this poison pill of a review chooses his adjectives as carefully as if he was attempting to craft fine literature. It is obvious that even a well-told tale of a life lived making sure that rags like PW can be published will never receive a fair review from the commissars at Reed Elsevier, Inc. Billy Waugh is not "a one dimensional, blustering character" and anyone who knows him will attest to that. What he is represents what the left so hates: a man who has devoted his entire life to the defense of this Nation, our Nation, his Nation . . . and you ought to be damn proud that he has.

Rating:
Summary: Disregard Publisher's Weekly Review
Review: I used to subscribe to Publisher's Weekly, willing to put up with some of that publication's obvious left-leaning sympathies in order to get the most recent publishing news. But no more. I have just cancelled my subscription based on the incredibly biased and belittling review of American patriot Billy Waugh's book. I can only assume that the review was written by the same editor that reviews (negatively, of course) anything that is positive about America, our current President, conservatives, or the military. The author of this poison pill of a review chooses his adjectives as carefully as if he was attempting to craft fine literature. It is obvious that even a well-told tale of a life lived making sure that rags like PW can be published will never receive a fair review from the commissars at Reed Elsevier, Inc. Billy Waugh is not "a one dimensional, blustering character" and anyone who knows him will attest to that. What he is represents what the left so hates: a man who has devoted his entire life to the defense of this Nation, our Nation, his Nation . . . and you ought to be damn proud that he has.

Rating:
Summary: A great book about a modern day American hero.
Review: This is truly an excpetional book about one of America's greatest modern day patriots.

I first heard of Waugh from a Retired Marine Corps Captain, when I was a 19 year old Force Recon Marine in Kosovo. Now after reading this book I know the full story of just who this man was and what he has done for our country.

My dad used to tell me about the SOG soldiers in Vietnam, and how they were pivital in America's war in Vietnam. The fact that Waugh left SOG and then contiued to work for the CIA hunting down terrorist filth like Carlos "The Jackal" and even fought in Afghanistan at age 72 is truly remarkable.
Probably the thing that will anger readers the most in the fact that Waugh could have assassinated Bin Laden if only his higher ups had found the guts to allow him to do it. I wonder how those people felt on the morning of September 11th, when they realized they had allowed Bin Laden to commit the worst terrorist act in History ON AMERICAN SOIL.


Rating:
Summary: One of The Best Books I've Ever Read
Review: What I love about Hunting the Jackal is the author's humility. To the best of my knowledge, he tries not to invent unbelieveable war stories like many other military authors do. Instead of recalling "the time when he eliminated 300 enemy soldiers singlehandedly," he instead accounts the most interesting and challenging moments in his army career. Some of these events certainly are not very flattering or impressive. Waugh does not come off as Superman, but instead admits, without writing it, that being in the Special Forces, and in the army, is no video game and that he is in no way invincible. Certainly, he has many war stories, but the ones he chooses to tell in the book are the best, and most certainly believeable.

It's truly refreshing to read a book that shows a Special Ops soldier as a HUMAN BEING, and not the Terminator. Many commendations to the author.

It truly boggles the mind how Anthony Swofford can get so much praise for his garbage, urban legend-laden book "Jarhead," but Billy Waugh's gets virtually no press at all.

It also boggles the mind how some people can lie about their careers in the military. There have certainly been many delusional liars.

This book is a must read, guaranteed. Hopefully, someone will take it to the screen and do a decent job with it. This book is definitely movie-material! I highly recommend this book! Five stars!

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Have, Behind the Scenes SpecOps Story
Review: Wow...for those who are not that familiar with how the Special Operations/Clandestine intelligence communities work, this is your book. Billy Waugh provides an invaluable history of special operations and CIA clandestine operations from the early 60s to the present. To think that someone in his mid-70s is still in the thick of things with regard to the global war on terrorism is amazing.
Waugh's book provides some interesting insights into the genesis of America's interest with Usama Bin Laden, and how close we actually were to him in the early years of his rise.
However the best background this book provides (aside from his unbelievable 10 years in Vietnam with SOG) is his pursuit and role in the capture of Carlos the Jackal. A good review of how case work is done.
If you are looking for serious prose, this book is not for you. However, if you are looking for an incredible page-turner written by someone who was intimately involved in many classified operations, buy this book. Highly recommended!