The Operator

by Robert O'Neill

First published 2017

Robert O'Neill grew up in the quiet mountains of Butte, Montana, never imagining he would become one of America's most lethal warriors. His spontaneous choice to join the Navy SEALs launched him into years of brutal training and evaluation. The real test came when he fought to join the military's most secretive Tier One unit. Over more than a decade, O'Neill conducted four hundred combat missions across Iraq and Afghanistan during America's most aggressive counterterror campaign. Night after night, his small team eliminated enemy targets while death claimed many of his brothers in arms. O'Neill survived rescue attempts for Marcus Luttrell and Captain Richard Phillips, countless firefights, and the relentless pace of special operations warfare. His career peaked with three bullets that killed Osama bin Laden, the world's most hunted terrorist. O'Neill reveals the dark humor that sustained him through years of killing, the precision of elite military units, and the personal cost of serving on the sharp edge of American power.

Genres: war, military-fiction, adventure, action, non-fiction, biography-memoir

Vibes: dark, emotional, fast-paced, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: gritty, military, real-events

Setting: Afghanistan, Iraq, Montana, Butte

Period: 21st-century

320 pages · Hardcover · Scribner

Content warnings: death, graphic-violence, violence

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