More good guys, please

SEAL Target Geronimo: The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden by Chuck Pfarrer

Sometimes I do really weird reader behavior things. Example: When I picked up this book, I opened it up to a random page, and I went (internally), “Eee-ooooo.” I was doing the not-so-happy sound in my mind because I didn’t like… the page margins.* That’s dumb, right?

But I’m telling you, those narrow margins made me think these two things:

1. This might just be an academic book, and if so, I’m outta here.

2. Probably the writing’s going to be deadly.

But it turned out OK. I actually started reading the book, and I discovered that the author, a former Navy SEAL himself, writes quite well. And the book was smart but not scholarly (sometimes scholarly can be agonizing—sad but true). Thank all goodness.

So, on to the book itself. I’m no bloodthirsty killer (aren’t you relieved?) but when it comes to the really, really bad guys (we’re talking Hitler, Stalin, Bin Laden—that ilk), I feel a quiet sense of relief when those dudes die.

And I like it when the good guys win.

So the one thing I didn’t like about this book was that there sure was a whole lot about Osama bin Laden. And I don’t want to read about Osama bin Laden (the Bad Guy). I want to read about Navy SEALs (the Good Guys). So while, yes, I realize some back story about bin Laden was important, it seemed to me like there was Too Much of It.

The SEALs stuff, though, was pretty amazing to read.

Here’re my favorite few sentences, which describe their launch out of the helicopter onto the roof of bin Laden’s compound: “He jumped, and his SEALs followed him, throwing themselves into a lime-colored void. They landed on the roof with a series of heavy thumps. Under the weight of their gear, several of the assaulters landed hard. They crawled to the edge of the roof and dropped onto the third-floor patio.” (p. 187)

I mean, seriously. It just makes my eyes go wide and my heart pound. ("Holy crap!" is this reader's response. [I'm very genteel like that in my head when I'm reading.])

So, yeah, my favorite parts of this book were the chapters about the SEALs and their operations, which were completely fascinating. The other stuff? I'll confess: I skimmed. 

More good guys, please. 

* Judge a book by its cover? Not me. No, I go for the page layout.