Brave Men Dark Waters: The Untold Story of the Navy Seals

The best work to date on the SEAL (acronym for ``Sea, Air, Land'') unit, this well-written survey presents the unit's history from its origins in the underwater demolition teams of WW II, through its Vietnam incarnation as a group of scouts and raiders, to its present status as an elite special-missions force. Kelly ( King of the Killing Zone ) does not whitewash such controversial aspects as the commandos' role in the invasion of Panama and the scandals surrounding the controversial antiterrorist ``Team Six'' in the 1980s. He is, however, generally positive in evaluating SEAL performance. He also argues convincingly that in the future the SEALs should concentrate on clandestine small-unit operations, as opposed to larger-scale raiding missions of the kind they performed in Panama. (Sept.)