Book Review: The Terminal List by Jack Carr

May 17, 2021 by Joe Gray in Book Review

The Terminal List exemplifies the adage "write what you know" and the author Jack Carr apparently knows how to kill people. This becomes apparent as the protagonist, James Reece, goes on a rampage of revenge on the people that conspired to kill his platoon, his family, and his friends. James Reece employs a wide variety of military and insurgency tactics in order to surveil, trap, interrogate, and kill his enemies. These details are well developed and offer an insight into the world of modern combat, espionage, and terrorism. Whether he is using encrypted message systems, employing night vision optics, custom sniper rifles, or using disguises, James Reece is an unstoppable and ruthless operator. Also, he has a brain tumor, which doesn't help.

Book Review: The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

April 01, 2019 by Joe Gray in Book Review

This book is the perfect accompaniment to the author's previous release "Extreme Ownership". In "Extreme Ownership" Jocko Willink and Leif Babin make the case that for leaders to succeed they must take responsibility for everything in their world and while that is an extremely important and difficult lesson to learn, there was more to the story. That is where their new book, "The Dichotomy of Leadership", comes in. In "The Dichotomy of Leadership" the authors dissect real-world situations, both in the military and in business, that illuminate the balancing act that all leaders face. When a leader starts to slide too far to one end of the seesaw they risk falling off the ride. This book is for those that want to continue the fight and lead their teams toward victory.

30 Days of Fiction: Day 23

September 09, 2018 by Joe Gray in 30 Days of Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

A soldier stood in line like all the rest. He wore the same green uniform as all the rest. He had the same rifle, slung around the same right shoulder and the same haircut under his hat like all the rest. Everything was the same save one thing. This soldier's head towered above the rest by at least 2 feet.

Book Review: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

July 16, 2018 by Joe Gray in Book Review

Extreme Ownership is a non-fiction book written by ex-Navy Seal operators Jocko Willink and Leif Babin that both educates and entertains. In each chapter, the writers describe real accounts of their military experiences highlighting key aspects of leadership principles, then they lay out the principles involved in a more abstract way and then illustrate the application of the principles to the business world using real-life examples from their work with high-level leaders in the corporate world. Each chapter highlights a specific leadership trait or strategy such as extreme ownership, decentralized command, cover and move, check the ego, leading up and down the chain of command and much more.