William Doyle (2) (1957–)

In PT 109: An American Epic of War, Survival, and the Destiny of John F. Kennedy, author William Doyle convincingly posits the case that the wartime PT 109 incident shaped JFK's adult persona and world view, and framed his political candidacies, thereby leading to his presidency.

Doyle's account of the events of August 1943 amidst the Pacific's Solomon Islands, when a Japanese destroyer split in two the PT 109, skippered by Kennedy, is told in heart-pounding cinematic style. Equally show more compelling is the immediate aftermath in which JFK's leadership and heroics ensure the miraculous survival and ultimate rescue of ten of his crew members.

After the wartime death of his older brother Joseph Jr., the wealthy family patriarch Joseph Sr. anointed JFK as the son who would enter politics with the aim of eventually winning the White House. JFK, who would have preferred a career in journalism, without a possibility of defying his father, reluctantly agreed. And from there, the wartime heroics comprised the fabric of JFK's political campaigns, from the House of Representatives, to the Senate, and to President of the United States. Doyle has written the definitive story of PT 109, perhaps the key element in the career and legacy of John F. Kennedy. show less

If you are looking for the "untold story", as promised by the title - keep looking. There is very little in this history of the Navy Seals that hasn't been written elsewhere. Much of what the authors choose to write about has been covered in much more detail, and with much more engagement of interest, in other books and articles.

Part of this is the nature of the book. Dick Couch is a prolific author of military books, and is a former SEAL himself. But because of that, he is extremely careful show more to write only authorized material. This book not only went through the normal vetting process that former SEALS and others must submit to when writing of their experiences - the Navy gave particular blessing to this work, and gave a lot of access to Couch and his co-author William Doyle that other authors can't get. That access came with strings - big strings.

UnSEALed is a hagiographic work - you won't find much, if any, criticism of SEAL operations or operators. The closest we get to that is when a few SEALS make critical remarks about how the teams were used in conflicts past. For example, several operators from the Vietnam era are quoted as believing that if the entire military had taken a more SEAL-like approach, the Vietnam War could have been won by the US. Whether you buy into that rather dubious idea or not, it isn't really a criticism of SEAL operations or tactics. You won't find anything like real criticism in this book - all SEALS are heros, and any mistakes made are left unaddressed, or at most attributed to rear echelon brass.

In their zeal to never write about what the government doesn't want them to write about, they leave a lot of known material out. They reference the fact that US POWs in Hanoi were in direct communication with the US military/government during their imprisonment - but say that the method used is still "classified", over 40 years later. These methods have been written about extensively in other works - but you wouldn't know these methods are available publically by reading this book.

The beginning of the book is also rather boring. In an effort to give a more full history of where the SEAL teams came from, the authors go back to WWII and the Naval Combat Demolition Teams, and the later UDT teams. While these men were extremely brave and worthy of writing about, the authors have little source material to work from. Most of the NCDT members are dead, and operational after-action reports were not the norm at that time. It takes quite a while into the book before things get interesting.

I would love to see an outside author tackle this subject at length - without the hagiography, without the overly-adhered to restrictions of "national security". show less

Navy Seals, coauthored by Dick Couch, a former United States Navy Seal and, starts at the birth of the America’s most elite soldiers during World War II and the missions they undertook starting around the time of the D-Day invasion at Normandy. It explores how the training has evolved from the 1940s to the present day. The book also dives deep into other missions that occurred in Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, and the killing of Osama bin Laden along with several others. I had a personal show more interest in this book because a neighbor of mine has a son who was a Navy Seal from my hometown. This book has many nail-biting scenes that comes from interviews with men who were on some of America’s most daring and influential missions. I found this book very interesting in the various steps it takes to become a Navy Seal, and then after all the rigorous training, a Seal candidate’s final selection process is a vote among Navy Seals to see if they want that person on their team. I also found this book interesting because it also talks about the mistakes that have been made in the past and how they learned from those mistakes to become the premier fighting unit in the world. Although the book talks about missions, the book doesn’t go into unnecessary detail that would be too much for a young adult to read. The book could relate to a history assignment for a student in a history class. show less

3665. An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962, by William Doyle (read 18 Dec 2002) This is a thoroughly satisfying and exciting book, being the story of the effort to get James Meredith into the U. of Mississippi. I guess I had not realized or had forgotten just how awful those horrendous events connected therewith were. While the author appears to rely on mainly anti-Kennedy books to relate the actions of the President and his brother, yet the book is sheerly show more interesting and while it is appalling that sane people could act as so many did at the time, yet it is a joy to realize how things have changed, with Ole Miss in the year 2000-2001 having the student body president, the newspaper editor, the quarterback and the head basketball coach black. This is a well-constructed book and well worth reading. show less