Team Yankee

Reading this book in the 21st century, this story is definitely dated. The major combatants are no longer diametrically opposed, and the concept for the novel is not as plausible as it was at the time it was written. That is the critical part, however, I really enjoyed the book. I still have my copy of Red Storm Rising and this one has earned a place on my bookshelf beside it.Coyle does an excellent job. The story provides a minimal intro to the conflict and a minor side show with the evacuation of the servicemen's families, but the meat of the story is the telling of the combat actions. I haven't been in an M-1, so I have to assume that the details are accurate enough. However, I have driven, fired and TC'ed an M-60 during training at Knox, so I can say that the author has given a pretty good feel for the armored attitude and experience. Coyle tells the story from the perspective of company commander and based upon my own limited experiences has much of the details, as far as the operational and planning side, of command correct as well.Given all of the above, my biggest complaint about the book was that I wanted the story to last longer; I was enjoying it too much to want it to end.P-)

To say that Team Yankee is a high speed, low drag, and intense military thriller would be a vast understatement! This is an in your face, action packed, combat thriller that is hard to put down once you've started it. Being a former soldier, Harold Coyle knows what being a soldier is about. Armed with a VMI education and seventeen years of Active Duty in the US Army, the author set out to write a military thriller about a possible European, NATO/Warsaw Pact conventional conflict. He quite successfully accomplished that mission with Team Yankee, in flying colors! He has a particularly good writing style that is very fluid and doesn't get bogged down heavily in the details.Team Yankee begins with a succinct set up as to why the conflict starts. He then flows perfectly into the nuts and bolts of a very likely scenario of how a conventional WWIII would've begun in the mid to late 80's. The story concentrates heavily on Captain Sean Bannon, commander of Team Yankee which is a detached armor team with mechanized infantry attached to them.Along with the highly intense initial combat scenarios, there are the harrowing evacuation scenes of his wife Pat, their kids and the other dependents of Team Yankee! These scenes are exceptionally well written and will leave you exhausted.The author puts on display a great many things that can happen during war, to include the "fog of war," where there are times when communications are cut and Company Commanders have to totally wing it and pray for the best. He flawlessly displays the entire gamut of emotions that Captain Bannon and the other soldiers are going through, throughout the entire novel. In essence, this novel puts you in the Tank Commanders cupola completely and thoroughly. The dialogue is tremendously well written, along with well detailed explanations for the "plans" of attack or defense. As an added bonus, there are detailed graphics with the proper symbols for units' friendly and enemy alike. Thank God this is a work of fiction and humanity did not have to face the brutal realism in this book!Not since I read Tom Clancy's "Red Storm Rising" or Larry Bonds "Red Phoenix" have I read a military action thriller written this well. If you're into military/action thrillers, this true treasure is one you need to add to your library. It took me a while to locate a decent copy of this book and it was well worth the search!

Harold Coyle's debut novel should definitely be on the bookshelf of anyone who reads military techno-thrillers. This novel creates a World War III scenario without making a single mistake. Coyle makes this techno-thriller as realistic as possible without it becoming bogged down in technical details. The characters are three dimensional (a rarity in the techno-thriller genre), and the consequences of war are explored in detail. Simply, this is a great book.

I first read this book in 1990 while serving in West Germany as a Cavalry Scout with 4/7 Cav 3rd Armored Div. I really enjoyed it at the time. I later served in Operation Desert Sheild/Storm and was involved a heavy armor engagement at the Battle of 73 Easting. This book is as close as you can get without having to dodge sabot rounds. Coyle does a great job of not only mastering military jargon and weapons systems but he also captures the fear and terror felt by the common tanker and foot soldier... probably the most powerful war story I have ever read.

I read this book A while Back, While i was in the Army in an Armored Division. As a Tanker i can Say that How True to life this story is and/or Could have been. The fire commands in this novel are exactly the way they should be. Short,Fast and acurate. Helluva Book A REAL tankers MUST READ book.