No Easy Day: The Autobiography of a Navy Seal: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden
“Mark Owen” is a pseudonym for Matt Bissonnette, a Navy SEAL who took part in the 2011 raid on a compound in Pakistan that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. His muscular memoir was cowritten by Maurer, a journalist who has covered American special-ops forces for nearly a decade, including a stint as an embedded reporter in Iraq. Owen was already a SEAL at the time of the 9/11 attacks; the book begins shortly thereafter, as he is qualifying for the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group (otherwise known as the famed SEAL Team Six), and follows him through various missions, culminating with a detailed account of the planning and execution of the assault on bin Laden’s compound. His version of events has already sparked some controversy—no surprise there, since the mission itself is still a controversial subject—but it doesn’t feel as though Owen intended to add fuel to the fire. Incendiary subject matter aside, this might feel somewhat familiar due to its thematic similarities to such books as Anthony Swofford’s Jarhead, Evan Wright’s Generation Kill, and Mark Bowden’s Black Hawk Down. Like those modern classics, No Easy Day doesn’t merely tell war stories—it also explores the culture of war and what it means to be a soldier.      HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: This is the book of the moment and has already ended 50 Shades of Grey’s record-setting run at the top of various best-seller lists. Last Sunday’s 60 Minutes interview with the heavily disguised author only added fuel to the fire. --David Pitt