Book Review: No Easy Day- Bio of a navy SEAL

        What really happened to Osama Bin Laden?  Who pulled the trigger during the climatic raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan?   How did it happen?   Read it all in this fine book written by a Navy SEAL participant.   Mark Owen(not his real name) and Kevin Maurer, a writer by trade, collaborated on this work telling the story of this modern, daring raid that took place on May 1, 2011(May Day across a wide swath of the world).
       The author details his  career experience as a SEAL leading up to his participation in the raid as a member of a 24 man team that was delivered to Osama's housing compound adjacent to the Pakistani Military Academy.   Many books have been written that detail the rigors of elite force training regimens, whether Green Berets, Army Rangers, Marine Recon, or Navy SEALs.   Needless to say, many fail to make the cut along the way, and among SEAL aspirants, the washout rate is higher than bootcamp.
       In the modern era, small wars seem to be the norm, with anti-terrorist activities dominant.   The SEALs have been enlisted to engage the likes of Al Queda, jihadists, Islamist radicals, and Somali pirates and warlords.   The actions are most often clandestine and rarely explained in detail to the public.   This raid was different: it was carefully controlled by Pres. Barack Obama in real time.  It took about an hour, start to finish, the finish being the removal of Osama's body back to Afghanistan for positive identification and disposal(burial at sea from an aircraft carrier!).   The raid is chronicled in detail, down to the smallest fact.  It is absorbing for any reader to follow the raiders as they search the house for the most wanted man in the world.
     It is a great, quick read, with minute details and sparse extraneous material.  A civilian with a non-military background can appreciate all the aspects of the story.  Photos and great graphics complete the book.
Mayor rating **** 1/2 stars