More Than Courage

The story is thoroughly entertaining and presents a fairly ugly picture of captivity with a non-romanticized version of the dedication to bringing comrades home. Coyle demonstrates many of the practical concerns of a large rescue mission for a handful of men and the some of macropsychology of preparing men for combat. He had a half dozen or so minor spelling errors that slowed down my reading (a little) so that I could make sure I knew what was being said. I might have missed something but he seemed to have flip-flopped two of his characters' ranks or positions (I probably missed something) which also slowed me down for a moment. The two technical things are these: "Task Force 160" as Coyle uses it is not an Air Force organization. It's the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment of the US Army. Number two is this: the US Navy doesn't operate the AC-130 gunship, the Air Force does. Ignore these and the handful of spelling issues and the book is a great read.

For those who have enjoyed the previous works of Harold Coyle, More than Courage will not disappoint. Coyle's latest is a strong, compelling story --- a real page turner from the very beginning of the book. Coyle grabs the reader and does not let go. Character development is strong. Coyle excels in his ability to portray duty, honor and courage right next to the anxiety, turmoil and inner conflict experienced by combatants and military planners. All in all, this is a very strong effort from Coyle. In fact, I think that More than Courage in on a par with The Ten Thousand, which I found to be Coyle's best previous work.

For projecting the true realism of war, no one does it better than Harold Coyle. In a well timed piece of fiction, Mr. Coyle has American forces engaging in pre-emptive aerial strikes on suspected ex-Iraqi chemical and biological warfare sites in Syria. On-the-ground Humvee hit teams initiate the attacks, and one of them is captured and tortured. This book lays out in meticulous detail the grueling preparation and precision execution needed for the assault that gets them out.Its all in there -- high tech weaponry; the coordination of ground, air and naval assets; the importance of aerial supremacy and situational awareness; the benefits of soldier-carried computers, aiming devices, and GPS; the cruelty of third world countries violating the principles of the Geneva Convention in order to gain a propaganda advantage; and the brutality of so-called "surgical strikes" which, in order to minimize the loss-of-life for Americans, may actually necessitate the killing of the enemy in large numbers. Mr. Coyle's specialty, however, is ground combat. If you've ever wondered if you have what it takes to survive in war, now's your chance to find out. Desk jockey ... try to prove themselves in combat. The recent experiences of embedded journalists during Operation Iraqi Freedom will feel like a cakewalk by comparison.High tech killing still requires the unflinching professionalism of highly trained individuals to carry it out. Experience the excitement first hand in Harold Coyle's 'More Than Courage.' You won't want to put it down.

We have enjoyed many Coyle novels, starting with Team Yankee and including the several stories relating the military career of Scott Dixon, and even his son. He has done a wonderful job of describing the professional soldier and his (and her) sacrifices to defend the United States. More Than Courage may be his best, possibly excepting The Ten Thousand. In this novel he describes the relationships which develop within a unit and the loyalties between warriors, as well as the travails of prisoners of war in the modern era. Coyle's prescience is amazing. Published in April, 2003, as the major fighting of Operation Iraqi Freedom is ending, this book eerily describes an environment where US special operations units are operating in Syria to identify and locate chemical and biological weapons sites hidden in Syria as the Saddam regime ended in Iraq. A Syrian patrol happens upon a recon team as it is deployed around a potential site, breaks up the team's operation, and captures several of its members. The story relates the capture, the aftermath for the team members, and the efforts to obtain their release, ending finally with a rescue operation. In relating this story, Coyle is most critical of the media and the way some of them ignore any traces of taste or judgement in their drive to get a story. He is also critical of the way the media may drive and bias an event in order to generate more drama-assisted by politicians whose major concern is getting in the news. More than Courage is a good story, and will be still be a good read next year. But the timing of its publication makes it a fitting tribute to POW's returning now, and those still missing. There is no way we can offer sufficient tribute to POW/MIA's. As Bill Fornes, a Korean-era POW, related in telling his story (Walking Through a Spider's Web, 2001), he was prepared to die for his country-he was not prepared to be a prisoner of war.