| Title | : | The Making of a Navy SEAL: My Story of Surviving the Toughest Challenge and Training the Best |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1250069424 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781250069429 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 |
| Publication | : | First published August 25, 2015 |
| Awards | : | Evergreen Teen Book Award (2018) |
Adapted from Webb's Adult Bestseller The Red Circle for a Young Adult Audience
Brandon Webb's experiences in the world's most elite sniper corps are the stuff of legend. From his grueling years of training in Naval Special Operations to his combat tours in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan, The Making of a Navy SEAL provides a rare and riveting look at the inner workings of the U.S. military through the eyes of a covert operations specialist.
Yet it is Webb's distinguished second career as a lead instructor for the shadowy "sniper cell" and Course Manager of the Navy SEAL Sniper Program that trained some of America's finest and deadliest warriors-including Marcus Luttrell and Chris Kyle-that makes his story so compelling. Luttrell credits Webb's training with his own survival during the ill-fated 2005 Operation Redwing in Afghanistan. Kyle went on to become the U.S. military's top marksman, with more than 150 confirmed kills.
From a candid chronicle of his student days, going through the sniper course himself, to his hair-raising close calls with Taliban and al Qaeda forces in the northern Afghanistan wilderness, to his vivid account of designing new sniper standards and training some of the most accomplished snipers of the twenty-first century, Webb provides a rare look at the making of the Special Operations warriors who are at the forefront of today's military.
Explosive, revealing, and intelligent, The Making of a Navy SEAL provides a uniquely personal glimpse into one of the most challenging and secretive military training courses in the world.
The Making of a Navy SEAL: My Story of Surviving the Toughest Challenge and Training the Best Reviews
-
It was ok the beginning was very good but after he got his navy seal trident it started to get kind of repetitive and made me want to stop reading.
-
Thank you to Goodreads/St. Martin's Press for sending me a finished copy of The Making of a Navy SEAL!
What a stunning memoir. This was a fairly quick read, but was packed with a lot of cool and concise information. Reading this book feels like Brandon Webb is sitting right in front of you, sharing his story face-to-face.
What I liked:
Navy SEALS are a group of people that definitely spark my interest, so "getting in to" this book was something that was already going to be easy to do, but I feel like Webb made it even easier by finding that hard to achieve but incredibly rewarding balance of what information to share and information to leave out. The chapters were all fairly short and quick, but each one connected all of the dots and made sure the reader wasn't left questioning anything. The entirety of this story made me really love and admire Brandon Webb for all of the adversity he overcame and the severe determination he consistently displayed, whether he was struggling or succeeding. This book will be inspiring to many and entertaining to even more.
Its contents are spread out in six parts, which are as follows:
Part One Born Ready for Action: A look in to Brandon's childhood, which sets up explanations for some of the traits he portrays later in life.
Part Two Boot Camp Training: Brandon's experiences at the Naval Training Center, the first step in his long journey to become a SEAL.
Part Three Becoming a Navy Seal: This is the section of the book that describes the intense training Brandon went through to become part of one of the most elite and lethal military teams in the world.
Part Four One of America's Deadliest Snipers: Here is where Brandon and his buddy Glen are offered slots in the even more elite sniper school. He goes through what this training consisted of, and this part was the most shocking to me. The things the men in the sniper school were asked to do absolutely blew my mind.
Part Five Duty Calls: This is the section that is dedicated to Brandon's one tour. This section also contains multiple pages of black-and-white images of Brandon's life, from his childhood to where the memoir leaves off.
Part Six Continuing to Protect and Defend: Brandon ends his memoir by talking about his work in redesigning and creating completely new sniper training courses. This part is the "Training the Best" part of the book.
These sections help to differentiate between the stages of Brandon's life and make it much easier to understand and follow what goes on throughout the book. Even though they are separated, all of the parts connect to each other very well so that this book is a very smooth read despite the divides.
What I wasn't a fan of:
I don't have any complaints about this book! As I mentioned, the chapters are short and concise but each of them really packs a punch. I can confidently say that this would be a great read not just for people like me who are interested in Navy SEALS and the military in general, but also for those who are looking for a story that will give a great example of what it's like to persevere when it feels like the odds are, without a doubt, NOT in your favor.
Summary:
This book may not be exactly like what you're imagining in your head. There isn't a ton of actual on-duty action. Only one tour in Afghanistan is described, and while it was very interesting and nail-biting to read about, there isn't any of the gory warfare you might imagine when you think of a Navy SEAL sniper. With that being said, this memoir is still a wildly intriguing read. Brandon's accomplishments are something to be admired and I think his story is a great example of how greatness can come from any situation if you just persevere.
Thanks again to Goodreads/St. Martin's Press for sending me this book, and thanks to you guys for reading my review! -
I can't fathom how there are so many glowing reviews.
I found his book quite boring and poorly written. Most of the book consists of his training regimen and technical details about armaments.
Describing how early you have to get up, what type of guns you used and how many push-ups you had to do, doesn't make an interesting read to me.
I'm not sure I can actually finish it. Because of the lack of a "plot destination" I really don't have any interest about what happens next or how it ends.
I love army/war novels, but I think I'll stick to historical fiction. -
In the book becoming a navy seal it goes through the author, Brandon Webb's point of view before, during, and after Navy Seal training. Brandon Webb was doubted by a lot of people in his life but he overcame all the haters and became a Navy Seal sniper. At the age of 16 Webb was thrown off his fathers boat and forced to live with his summer boss and good friend. Webb heard people talking about Navy Seal training and he decided to do research about it. He found out that being a Navy Seal involved a lot of diving and underwater missions. Webb had been diving his whole life so he decided to enlist in training. Having read the book I found out that Navy Seal training is one of the hardest things the human body can endure. Webb makes it through training and becomes a very successful Navy Seal sniper. I hope you consider reading this book.
-
I've read this before, this book has been just sitting around in one of the bookshelves in my house and I picked it up because my family and I were talking about Navy SEALS and how crazy intense and hard their training is, and plus my kindle has been broken for a while, so I figured why not?
This is definitely a great little book, it explains things pretty simply and it is so fascinating the journey this guy goes through. It's insane.
This is definitely a great, easy read that really puts things into perspective. It is more of a middle grade book I feel, but I still enjoyed it and I believe that anyone can learn something from this book.
5/5 STARS -
Cole Lewis
Mrs. St. Clair
English 10
6 March 2017
The Making of a Navy Seal
The making of a Navy Seal by Brandon Webb truly tells the story behind americans greatest warriors. The book is a story of Brandons life ad how he got to the point he is at today. He starts his story with describing his life before the military with his parents. They would send him off to work on a boat every summer for massive time periods to get him out of trouble. He learned to love the sea and began scuba diving at a young age. He then hears about the SEALS and turns his focus on becoming one. He goes through many different programs before being allowed to go to BUD/S to train to be a seal, once in BUD/S he is pulled aside and is asked to join the sniper category of the seal training course. And from there on he becomes a master sniper and rebuilds the seal training from the ground up to help all other military become a seal. I found this book to one of the best that I've ever read due to the fact that I've always wanted to be in the Navy. It gives a great deal of detail when talking about the expeditions and the training required and i found it very interesting. I over all loved the book and would mostly recommend this book to people to are very patriotic or into the military. -
“Excellence matters.” With those two words, Brandon Webb sums up the message he hoped to leave with the readers of this 2015 autobiography. Webb writes, “What (he) learned about being a Navy SEAL is, it’s all about excellence and about never giving up on yourself.”
If you’ve read any books written by other former Navy SEALs, this one isn’t much different. Yes, Webb did survive a somewhat dysfunctional family growing up. That may or may not be a common denominator with all the other SEAL team bios out there.
But here too, Webb gives us a detailed but very typical tour of Hell Week and beyond during training for BUD/S Class 215. Out of Webb’s original 220 classmates, only 23 made it through five weeks of indoctrination, six weeks of physical conditioning, eight weeks of diving and water skills training and nine weeks of land warfare. “Roughly ninety percent of (Webb’s) class had failed.” A more than seven-month trial by fire, not for the faint of heart.
Webb and his co-author, John David Mann, apparently aimed this military journal at twelve to fourteen year-old boys. In his forward, Webb writes, “What I wouldn’t give to be twelve years old again.” When Webb was fourteen, the author explains, he formed the desire to become a Navy SEAL. “Many kids (his) age and adults told (him) this was impossible. (Webb) calls these negative people dream stealers. Watch out for them. Let whatever they say stoke your dream fire a little more.” Webb goes on to advise his apparently young readers, “Remember that the tough times will eventually end . . . the best things in life take hard work and determination to complete. Think about this next time you’re practicing music, working on math, playing sports.” Webb told his readers, “Consider (this book) your own secret weapon to help you to pursue your ultimate dreams.”
I came away from Webb’s “story of surviving the toughest challenge and training the best” with a couple of surprises. I was a little shocked to learn that even with all his time in the Navy, Webb apparently served only one, six-month tour in the war zone of Afghanistan. I was not aware that legendary SEAL team members, Chris Kyle, (author of “American Sniper”), and Marcus Luttrell were the recipients of Webb’s own, newly-revised sniper course. In fact, Luttrell credits Webb with saving his life and allowing him to become “The Lone Survivor.”
After reading and reviewing so many of these former SEAL tell-all-tales, I still don’t understand why anyone would put themselves through the abusive SEAL training. I still don’t understand how even the fortunate few manage to survive. -
I bought this book at a school book fair. Several of my students are interested in war books. I prefer to stack my classroom library with books that inspire my students to push themselves to be better (Excellence Matters!) than those that inspire them to violence. This is one of those books.
To be honest, this book is dry. Really dry. But I think my students who are truly interested in war and real military will find this a good read. The details serve to push the difficulties encountered to becoming the best of the best. On the other hand, many other details are glossed over as being either unfit for young eyes or still under the heading of Top Secret.
Even the obscuring of the faces in the photographs serve to prove "this is real." I think it will take a special student to enjoy this book but I also think I have several special students. -
I enjoyed this book! A quick, easy read that is just the right size. Bravo Zulu to Brandon Webb for giving a real account of what his time in the service was like. Short, insightful chapters that tell it like it is in going through U.S. Navy SEAL training and then what really follows after that. Some author feel the need to write more than they should, but Mr. Webb kept it simple and to the point. My boys have already expressed an interest in reading this and I strongly feel that they will enjoy it like I did.
I received this book through the goodreads giveaway program. What a great program and I thank all those that made it possible for me to receive a free copy of this well done non-fiction book. -
I really like this book it didn't take long for me to read it.Brandon Webb reminds me of Chris Kyle strong and not scared of any thang.
-
The Making of a Navy Seal
This book follows the story of a young boy named Brandon Webb, as he trains to become a Navy SEAL. Throughout the book I felt connected to the story and to the boy because at the beginning he is about the same age I am when he discovers he wants to become a Navy SEAL. I enjoyed learning about the strictness and intensity a person has to undergo to become a SEAL. I also felt connected because I once went to a Army training institute and saw for myself what a training place looks like. While I was reading I could imagine what specific brutal task they had to undergo.
“The truth was, I knew I needed a plan , somewhere to go and something to aim for. From that point on, my goal was fixed: I was going to become a Navy SEAL.(pg. 27 Webb)” This quote shows the main turning point as Brandon finally decides that he will become a Navy SEAL. This is really the setup for the rest of the book because from this point he is determined to become an elite soldier. Everything that happens after this quote is showing his determination towards his decision.
What was Brandon's main motivation to become a Navy SEAL? Did Brandon ever have difficulty actually deciding or did he instantly agree to enroll in the Navy? Did any of the book have to be taken out due to the confidentiality of certain missions?
I recommend this book to any body 14-17 years old who are interested in becoming a SEAL. I really liked the book and hope that it will inspire people to try something challenging in their life. I also reccomend this book to anybody that loves to read about thriller and excitement. -
The book ‘The making of a navy seal’ was an all around good book. The author Marcus Luttrell made his biography about Brandon Webb very detailed. The book describes Branden’s experience in becoming a navy SEAL and him becoming a leading officer. It’s a great book that keeps you wanting to read more. Also it nice that there isn’t any points of filler content.
In this book there are four main points. The first describes Brandon's childhood and second it’s his training to become a SEAL.Then third part he gets recruited to a special sniper training unit and does special operations against terrorist. Fourth it’s about him becoming the head instructor for sniper training. The author's purpose of this writing was to show how hard it is to become a SEAL and what Brandon did as a sniper.
The author did very well in keeping the book interesting. One thing that could be better is how much unnecessary details there is at the beginning about Brandon's childhood. What I mean by this is some of the things the book said about his childhood never mattered later in the story. The rest of the book had all necessary parts in it. The title Makes sense for the beginning to the middle but after that it didn’t talk about how him being a navy SEAL. One great part was when they were taking out terrorist camps and caves. It gave great detail and had lots of action. The narrator made sure to quote in pieces from when he was a navy seal when he was instructing people in his sniper training. This book was definitely a strong piece of writing. It told a great story in all.
In my opinion this is a great book. I recommend this book to anyone that is interested in the navy, or anything military. It has lots of action and keeps you wanting to read more. -
The book ¨The Making of a Navy SEAL¨ by Brandon Webb is a biograhy and a personal narrative of Webb surviving the challenges to become a navy seal. I honestly liked this book a lot, in the beginning Webb talks about how ever since a young age he was able to open closed gates and fences and overcome any challenge that got in his way. Webb also talks a lot about his dad, he loves his dad a lot and he liked to go sailing and diving a lot which maybe one of the reasons why he becomes a navy seal. Webb must go through challenges in the book that not even himself thought he would make it, just like when he went and did his underwater training his first attempt he failed but his second attempt he was able to make it no problem. Webb in the book overcomes a lot of challenges and thanks Lutrell his trainer for saving his life. I feel Webb did an amazing job with giving detail to the point where I can imagine whats going on inside my head, and I like books where they have that much detail. Webbs overall message I feel in this book would be to never give up because in the book Webb never gave up, he had a dream of becoming a navy seal and he made it happen by not letting anything get in his way. The book makes you realize that even the toughest challenges are able to be overcome as long as you keep fighting and going. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in navy seals of course but also action books. I enjoyed this book and that says something because I do not like to read but this one caught my attention.
