The Operator Audiobook By Robert O'Neill cover art

The Operator

Firing the Shots That Killed Osama Bin Laden and My Years as a SEAL Team Warrior

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The Operator

By: Robert O'Neill
Narrated by: Robert O'Neill
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About this listen

Stirringly evocative, thought provoking, and often jaw dropping, The Operator ranges across SEAL Team Operator Robert O'Neill's awe-inspiring 400-mission career that included his involvement in attempts to rescue "Lone Survivor" Marcus Luttrell and abducted-by-Somali-pirates Captain Richard Phillips and culminated in those famous three shots that dispatched the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden.

In this book O'Neill describes his idyllic childhood in Butte, Montana; his impulsive decision to join the SEALs; the arduous evaluation and training process; and the even tougher gauntlet he had to run to join the SEALs' most elite unit. After officially becoming a SEAL, O'Neill would spend more than a decade in the most intense counterterror effort in US history. For extended periods, not a night passed without him and his small team recording multiple enemy kills - and though he was lucky enough to survive, several of the SEALs he'd trained with and fought beside never made it home.

The Operator describes the nonstop action of O'Neill's deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, evokes the black humor of years-long combat, brings to vivid life the lethal efficiency of the military's Tier One units, and reveals firsthand details of the most celebrated terrorist takedown in history.

©2017 Robert O'Neill (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio
Afghan & Iraq Wars Afghan War Iraq War Military Politicians Special & Elite Forces War Veteran Witty Inspiring Feel-Good
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Critic reviews

"Gripping...this story is impossible to put down.... What O'Neill has written is unique, surprising, a kind of counternarrative." (Doug Stanton, New York Times best-selling author of In Harm's Way and Horse Soldiers)
"O'Neill wrote himself into American history with the three shots he fired into Osama bin Laden...intensely moving and awe-inspiring." (Marcus Luttrell, New York Times best-selling coauthor of Lone Survivor and Service)

Featured Article: The 20 Best Military Audiobooks from History to Fiction and Beyond


The titles that fall under the designation of military audiobooks are more varied and diverse than you might think. From firsthand combat accounts to imaginative works of fiction, these listens cover a lot of ground on both domestic and international disputes, scientific and sociological analyses, male and female perspectives, lessons from victory and loss, and more. What they have in common, though, are themes of courage, loss, and determination.

What listeners say about The Operator

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Complete inside look into the teams and the life story of a great American patriot

I was a tad hesitant to order this book due to my thinking that Navy SEALs should keep their missions Top Secret. However, this book, narrated by the author himself, tells his life story and what led him to be the best at everything.

This book is beautifully written and explains the internal Drive to win at life.

Highly recommended

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29 people found this helpful

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The Best

Followed Robert's story through the Fox News Special a year ago and it was incredible..this inspiring book was even better -- The Best I've ever listened to. Robert and his brave warriors are heroes in every sense of the word. Y'all make me proud to be an American.

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9 people found this helpful

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Bad Ass

Robs story is utterly amazing. He tells it well. To hear him read the story adds a level of authenticity that is really neat.

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3 people found this helpful

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after watching Zero Dark Thirty several times this

this book scratched my tactical itch. fast paced and never dull. ONeil and his teams are heroes

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Great book but...

I loved the entire book, from cover to cover. However, after a few chapters it seemed like a new narrator was used and the second person was more stoic then the first. Whoever started the read was more exciting to listen to. Again great book other then that.

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Riveting depiction of real combat at the highest l

Riveting depiction of real combat at the highest level. Riveting depiction of real combat at the highest level

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kick booty

A straight forward, no punches pulled account of the life of a Navy Seal. The OSB story is just a small part of the journey. The real story is the path this man takes to becoming one of the USA's best operators.

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Very well written and very well read!

This is a damn good book! I'm thinking of listening to it again. Mr. O'Neill's choice of reading it himself was a good one. Hell he should write another one.

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Love it

Gets to the point, great collection of stories, true american patriot. Also a very good narrator (if you’re listening).

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army aviator

As a member of the service and a helo pilot, I loved your story and the in depth look into what you guys go through. Bad Ass. Good on you and your teammates. highly recommend

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