Masters of Chaos

The Secret History of Special Forces

By: Linda Robinson

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Special Forces soldiers are daring, seasoned troops from America's heartland, selected in a tough competition and trained in an extraordinary range of skills. They know foreign languages and cultures and unconventional warfare better than any U.S. fighters, and while they prefer to stay out of the limelight, veteran war correspondent Linda Robinson gained access to their closed world. She traveled with them on the frontlines, interviewed them at length on their home bases, and studied their doctrine, methods and history. In Masters of Chaos she tells their story through a select group of senior sergeants and field-grade officers, a band of unforgettable characters like Rawhide, Killer, Michael T, and Alan -- led by the unflappable Lt. Col. Chris Conner and Col. Charlie Cleveland, a brilliant but self-effacing West Pointer who led the largest unconventional war campaign since Vietnam in northern Iraq.

Robinson follows the Special Forces from their first post-Vietnam combat in Panama, El Salvador, Desert Storm, Somalia, and the Balkans to their recent trials and triumphs in Afghanistan and Iraq. She witnessed their secret sleuthing and unsung successes in southern Iraq, and recounts here for the first time the dramatic firefights of the western desert. Her blow-by-blow story of the attack on Ansar al-Islam's international terrorist training camp has never been told before.

The most comprehensive account ever of the modern-day Special Forces in action, Masters of Chaos is filled with riveting, intimate detail in the words of a close-knit band of soldiers who have done it all.

Really Excellent . . . very well done!

Well written, factually accurate story which details the Special Forces soldiers and their missions since their inception. The author tells a very entertaining recount of the dramatic stories of the brave men and their missions over the past 5 decades while maintaining the perfect mix of subjective advocacy and rational objective assesmemt. The narrator brings it all together with a solid performance.

Complete thorough and detailed

This book offers the lsy person a keen inside look at The Special Forces and the dedication of the soldiers who are willing to give all for America!

Great listen

The book was very well researched and clearly written. It really is the best account of special forces post Vietnam that I have read or listened to so far. To be totally honest I wasn't sure about the reader at first but after a short time her voice grew on me.

Cery informative SF history.

This was a very detailed comprehensive history of the modern special forces. It's a great read and I recommend it to anyone.

Great book

I'm a huge history fan, especially military history, and I absolutely loved this book. I teach history and believe there is a lot to learn from this, and you'll have a great time doing it.