
Black Ops
The Rise of Special Forces in the C.I.A., The S.A.S., and Mossad
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Narrated by:
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Mirron Willis
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By:
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Tony Geraghty
About this listen
A hard-hitting history of special-forces operations over the past fifty years in the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel.
After eight challenging years in Afghanistan, the new U.S. strategy, aimed at winning hearts and minds rather than search-and-destroy, refocuses the conflict on Special Forces: unorthodox soldiers who work outside of traditional military forces to combine secret military operations with nation building.
Tony Geraghty, an expert author in this field for almost thirty years, unveils the extraordinary evolution of this refined style of war-making from its roots in anti-guerrilla warfare in Ireland and Palestine, by way of the creation of the C.I.A., the S.A.S., the Green Berets, America’s Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), and many others, including Mossad.
This history is more than a tale of derring-do, although James Bond-like characters stalk every page. It is a sweeping examination of Black Ops at a time when they represent the future of an open-ended global war against terrorism.
©2010 Tony Geraghty (P)2013 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Former soldier and war correspondent Tony Geraghty takes a comprehensive look at the evolution of special-forces units and covert operations from the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel. With extensive research and hard-hitting prose, Geraghty outlines the history of Black Ops units from the Cold War's use of espionage to fighting off guerilla warfare in Vietnam and America's current tactic of nation building under the specter of terrorism. Mirron Willis gives Geraghty's complex history a refreshing clarity with his precise performance; his delivery of the fascinating material is explanatory while being methodical and sharp.
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While America held its breath in the days immediately following 9/11, a small but determined group of CIA agents covertly began to change history. This is the riveting first-person account of the treacherous top-secret mission inside Afghanistan to set the stage for the defeat of the Taliban and launch the war on terror. As thrilling as any novel, First In is a uniquely intimate look at a mission that began the US retaliation against terrorism - and reclaimed the country of Afghanistan for its people.
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A Courageous tale
- By DKSTRYKER on 02-19-25
By: Gary C. Schroen
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Day of the Rangers
- The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On
- By: Leigh Neville, Matt Eversmann - foreword
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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On October 3, 1993, Task Force Ranger was dispatched to seize two high-profile lieutenants of a Somali warlord. Special Forces troops were transported by ground vehicles and helicopters, and the mission was meant to be over within the hour. They quickly found themselves under heavy fire, and two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down. With a hastily organized relief column many hours away, the American troops faced a desperate battle for survival.
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Wow. Great story
- By dexter on 09-21-18
By: Leigh Neville, and others
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Delta Force
- A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military's Most Secretive Special-Operations Unit
- By: Charlie A. Beckwith, Donald Knox
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Wanted: Volunteers for Project Delta. Will guarantee you a medal. A body bag. Or both. With this call to arms, Charlie Beckwith revolutionized American armed combat. Beckwith's acclaimed memoir tells the story of Delta Force as only its maverick creator could tell it - from the bloody baptism of Vietnam to the top-secret training grounds of North Carolina to political battles in the upper levels of the Pentagon itself. This is the heart-pounding, first-person insider's view of the missions that made Delta Force legendary.
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Good Military History
- By Drew on 02-01-15
By: Charlie A. Beckwith, and others
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Black Site
- The CIA in the Post-9/11 World
- By: Philip Mudd
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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When the towers fell on September 11, 2001, nowhere were the reverberations more powerfully felt than at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Almost overnight, the intelligence organization evolved into a warfighting intelligence service, constructing what was known internally as "the Program": a web of top-secret detention facilities intended to help prevent future attacks on American soil and around the world. With Black Site, former deputy director of the CIA Counterterrorist Center Philip Mudd presents a full, never-before-told story of this now-controversial program.
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A lot of insight and context
- By Syrus Tam on 05-16-22
By: Philip Mudd
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The Ghost
- The Secret Life of CIA Spymaster James Jesus Angleton
- By: Jefferson Morley
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Ghost, investigative reporter Jefferson Morley tells Angleton's dramatic story, from his friendship with the poet Ezra Pound through the underground gay milieu of mid-century Washington to the Kennedy assassination to the Watergate scandal. From the agency's MKULTRA mind-control experiments to the wars of the Mideast, Angleton wielded far more power than anyone knew.
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Flawed Superpatriot
- By Bubblehog on 11-23-17
By: Jefferson Morley
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Operation Gladio
- The Unholy Alliance Between the Vatican, the CIA, and the Mafia
- By: Paul L. Williams
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In this disturbing exposé, journalist Paul L. Williams describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence, in many European countries, of "stay-behind" units consisting of 5,000 to 15,000 military operatives.
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A haunting, spellbinding tale.
- By Anthony on 12-07-15
By: Paul L. Williams
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World War II at Sea
- A Global History
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U-boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina - at the start of the war the fourth-largest navy in the world - and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; and much more.
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Outstanding
- By Patrick on 02-14-19
By: Craig L. Symonds
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The Green Berets
- The Amazing Story of the U.S. Army's Elite Special Forces Unit
- By: Robin Moore
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Robin Moore became one of the first true embedded journalists by training with and fighting alongside the Green Berets in Vietnam. Though fictionalized, his work is an eye-opening exposé of the horrors of the Vietnam War and the basis for the hit John Wayne movie of the same title. Taut, fast-paced, and interspersed with unforgettable accounts of combat, Moore’s novel features an American major who goes "native" with Montagnard tribesmen, a courageous Vietnamese girl who poses as a rabid anti-American Communist to capture a murderous Viet Cong officer, and the unforgettable acts of courage of soldiers in the field.
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Green Berets Nam and beyond
- By Jawbone on 10-07-17
By: Robin Moore
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The Craft of Intelligence
- America's Legendary Spy Master on the Fundamentals of Intelligence Gathering for a Free World
- By: Allen W. Dulles
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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This classic of spycraft is based on Allen Dulles's incomparable experience as a diplomat, international lawyer, and America's premier intelligence officer. Dulles was a high-ranking officer of the CIA's predecessor - the Office of Strategic Services - and was present at the inception of the CIA, where he served eight of his 10 years there as director. Here he sums up what he learned about intelligence from nearly a half-century of experience in foreign affairs.
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Absorbing
- By Jean on 12-14-17
By: Allen W. Dulles
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Kill Bin Laden
- A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man
- By: Dalton Fury
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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This work offers a firsthand account of the Battle of Tora Bora and an insider's look at the extraordinary nature of America's supersecret counterterrorist unit---an elite and mysterious group known as Delta Force.
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Ex-military that can relate.
- By William on 02-10-15
By: Dalton Fury
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No Way Out
- A Story of Valor in the Mountains of Afghanistan
- By: Mitch Weiss, Kevin Maurer
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In a remote enemy-held valley in Afghanistan, a Special Forces team planned to scale a steep mountain to surprise and capture a terrorist leader. But before they found the target, the target found them. The team was caught in a deadly ambush that threatened not only their lives but the entire mission. The elite soldiers fought huddled for hours on a small rock ledge as rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine-gun fire rained down on them.
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Great book
- By Retired Recruiter on 03-31-17
By: Mitch Weiss, and others
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Uncommon Valor
- The Recon Company that Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America’s Most Decorated Green Beret
- By: Stephen L. Moore
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert US military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, and far more.
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Pass this one by
- By WE Cleghorn on 01-21-21
By: Stephen L. Moore
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The Art of Intelligence
- Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service
- By: Henry A. Crumpton
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A legendary CIA spy and counterterrorism expert here tells the spellbinding story of his high-risk, action-packed career while illustrating the growing importance of America's intelligence officers and their secret missions. The Art of Intelligence draws from the full arc of Henry Crumpton's espionage and covert action exploits to explain what America's spies do and why their service is more valuable than ever.
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Looking for a place in History?
- By Anne on 05-20-12
What listeners say about Black Ops
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Spike Hopkins
- 08-04-21
Informative
The book had a lot of information. Had to get past the narrators voice.
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- David Goad
- 03-04-21
Is this narrator a robot?
Worst narrator ever. The content is interesting, but the narration sounds like a low end robot voice.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Jane
- 04-05-14
You Paid The Guy To Narrate This?
If you could sum up Black Ops in three words, what would they be?
Great Historical Information
Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Mirron Willis?
Dick Hill (actually almost anyone would have been a better choice)
Any additional comments?
I'm not trying to be disrespectful, it just wasn't a good choice as a narrator. I usually don't write reviews, but when I spend money to listen to a book - I expect that the person hired to narrate the book is going to do a decent job. This book is hard to listen to because the narrator isn't conversational - it's like reading one word at a time, thus the narration provides no sense of engagement. It is very mechanical with has no rhythm. He constantly mispronounces common words that are used within special operations or the military in general.
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1 person found this helpful
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- John A.
- 08-29-21
Really awesome stuff
This is a really interesting book that I think is very informative and intriguing. Highly recommended!
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- JWS
- 12-18-20
Painful narration
The narrator lacked any semblance of familiarity with military ranks. He would read the abbreviation for Master Sergeant as M-S-G. Further, he was unfamiliar with the places calling Doha, Qatar D-O-H-A. Being military, this sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. Subject matter was interesting however.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Wrong Parts
- 04-25-22
Distracting Narrator
The book itself was really informative and interesting, but the way the narrator dictates everything in this random staccato ruin any chance of immersion into the story.
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- Martyn C. Keen
- 06-01-22
Meh
Uninspiring reading by a narrator who either wasn’t very well educated or who did zero background research!
Countless errors, with an absolute classic occurring when referring to Pablo Escobar’s infamous cartel as the Medallion cartel!! Admittedly the spelling may be similar but…….. please 🤦♂️
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- Shannon Schwarz
- 01-26-25
informative but scattered
This book overall was ok. The information and history was really good but it was scattered back and forth throughout history. It would jump around in timelines then back again. It would have been better to start at point in history and move forward with the creation of certain groups and their accomplishments and failures. Then move to the next group. This made it hard to follow.
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- Brian
- 10-07-15
Favorite Part was the Epilogue...
First book in my life where th epilogue, the Commentary after it all, the conclusion, was my favorite part. The book was ok...kinda boring and I did struggle to get through a few parts...many actually. . .and the narrator surely wasn't helping, he sounded stiffer than the sheets of paper he was reading off of, but the Epilogue made sense to me so that's what I'm taking from this. Now was it worth this entire book to get me to that point? To listen to one chapter? I can think of quite a few other much better ways to get there.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Guy Incognito
- 08-01-21
Could have had less Obama worship
The author wrote this before Obama created ISIS. But his over the top praise of Obama was embarrassing.
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1 person found this helpful