The Force

The Legendary Special Ops Unit and WWII's Mission Impossible

By: Saul David

Narrated by: Matthew Waterson

Hailed as "masterly" (Wall Street Journal) and a "monumental achievement" (Douglas Brinkley), this book tells the riveting, true story of the group of elite US and Canadian soldiers who sacrificed everything to accomplish a crucial but nearly impossible WWII mission.

In December of 1943, as Nazi forces sprawled around the world and the future of civilization hung in the balance, a group of highly trained U.S. and Canadian soldiers from humble backgrounds was asked to do the impossible: capture a crucial Nazi stronghold perched atop stunningly steep cliffs. The men were a rough-and-ready group, assembled from towns nested in North America's most unforgiving terrain, where many of them had struggled through the Great Depression relying on canny survival skills and the fearlessness of youth. Brought together by the promise to take part in the military's most elite missions, they formed a unique brotherhood tested first by the crucible of state-of-the-art training—including skiing, rock climbing, and parachuting—and then tragically by the vicious fighting they would face.

The early battle in the Italian theatre for the strategic fort cost the heroic U.S.-Canadian commando unit—their first special forces unit ever assembled—enormous casualties. Yet the victory put them in position to continue their drive into Italy, setting the stage for the Allies' resurgence toward victory in WWII. The unit, with its vast range of capabilities and mission-specific exercises, became a model for the "Green Berets" and other special forces groups that would go on to accomplish America's most challenging undertakings behind enemy lines.

Knitting first-hand accounts seamlessly into the narrative-drawing on interviews with surviving members and their families; the memoirs, letters, and diaries of Forcemen; and declassified documents in the American, Canadian, British, and German archives—The Force tells a story that is as deeply personal as it is inspiring.

Critic reviews

"A very fine book...Saul David has both a knack with the pen and a nose for a thrilling tale....Masterly [in] style...Readers should exult in The Force, whose heroic subjects deserve to be forever remembered."—Alexander Rose, Wall Street Journal

"The Forcebrilliantly recounts the heroic exploits of the first U.S. and Canadian Special Operations team, tasked with decommissioning a supposedly impregnable Nazi stronghold. Every chapter is filled with harrowing adventure, life and death struggle, and bedrock patriotism. The amount of new cutting-edge research is impressive. A monumental achievement!"—Douglas Brinkley, #1 New York Times bestselling author of American Moonshot: John F.Kennedy and the Great Space Race

"A riveting and harrowing account...An important, highly engaging work that is, as novelist Raymond Chandler once wrote of a book he was reviewing, unputdownable."—Washington Independent, Books of the Month

"With impeccable research and a keen eye for detail, Saul David has brought to life the surprising story of the original band of brothers. You can draw a vivid line from the make-or-break WWII battles of these daring soldiers to today's US Army Special Forces...Saul David does us -- and history -- a service by dramatizing how and why that 'tip of the spear' was forged. These brave citizen-soldiers did the impossible, and The Forcehonors their brotherhood, triumph, and ultimate sacrifices. An essential part of anyone's library."—Doug Stanton, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Horse Soldiers and In Harm'sWay

"A mesmerizing read that blends strategy with tactics and traditions, narrating in gritty detail the 1943 mountain battle by a small, dauntless American-Canadian force. This was the battlefield birth of our special Operations Forces. A compelling tale of human valor, doubts, mistakes, and victory, honestly told."—Bing West, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, New York Times bestselling author of The Village and coauthor with Jim Matthis of Callsign Chaos

"If you love the Navy SEALS, Green Berets, and Special Ops throughout the military, you're going to love this book."—Fox & Friends

"This remarkable story of the most unique special operations unit in Allied service during World War II throws you into battle during the meat grinder campaign in Italy, where the men of the Force displayed exceptional loyalty to each other and courage under fire all while undertaking some of the most difficult missions of the war. Told at soldier's-eye level, The Force is a gripping and awe-inspiring account of a storied unit and a legendary battle."—John R. Bruning, bestselling author of Raceof Aces and Indestructible

Simply fascinating and amazing

If interested in anything military, WW2, special forces, martial arts, or history this book is for you. Amazing story and very well told.

The force

A good historical story of the unit and the battles that they fought. Thanks for the story.

Great story, not so great narrating

This is an great story, however I probably should have read this one instead of listened to the audible version. The narrator was just too choppy with his pauses. It didn’t flow well at all. I typically listen to audible books on 1.5 speed which is easy for me to take in the story, but this book was just rough to focus on. The speed just made it sound even more choppy, like listening to a speed reading William Shatner, but not as cool. Overall though, it was a great Special Operations Origins story!

Amazing Brave Men

Saul David has written another incredible book with "The Force." This special group of American and Canadian men in World War II became the model for the Green Berets in Vietnam, and other special forces divisions. In many ways, the force was the first special forces. Unfortunately, this is not something you hear about often. But these were the toughest of men, prepared for freezing cold, scaling cliffs, and anything thrown at them. WOW. This is an amazing story. And the fact that they went in with little fanfare and under the radar just adds to the narrative. It's mind boggling what they did and were trained and prepared to do.

Matthew Waterson's narration is stirring. He draws the reader in and deeply engaged. Can't recommend higher.

Good story that felt rushed at the end

overall this was an interesting book with a great and promising story. however there are two things that are slightly annoying and jarring. 1 the narrator is surprisingly British, even though the book is about an American and Canadian unit. It took me sometime to get used to that, and did make for some laughable moments of British pronunciation of American / Canadian things. The other issue was that this story builds a lot to the first assault up the mountain but then after that speeds through, skimming Anzio. which is a little annoying. It left me wanting more. but mostly a good story.

Average History, Average Performance

Although a solid effort to tell the story of the FSSF, this work left much to be desired. A few narrative threads went unresolved, begging the question if they were important or not. The performance was flat, for example, every quote was read in the same chipper tone and nonchalance despite the context, often a jarring distraction from a serious point in the narrative. Worth the listen if you’re a WWII enthusiast but not the best.

Found this great story after watching the movie.

Loved the build up and broader details that were going on when the unit was forming.

But I wished there was more at end about the rest of the campaign. Only really getting the one battle in full detail was a bit of a let down.

A lot of Force build up info…not too much on the actual fighting

The author goes into great detail on how The Force was built and trained. Not nearly as much time is dedicated to what they accomplished in combat. Overall a good history story nonetheless

Important military action rendered uninspiringly

Narration could have been more stimulating. Actually, it was almost boring. Just too monotonic, unvarying in rate, inflection, pizzaz.

Story itself is potentially engaging. Given the lackluster narration, however, I cannot recommend this audio.

I gotta say, seems to me that a lot of that rage is self-inflicted. I mean, ‘com on, ya sorta have to be some kind of idiot not to reject out of hand, you know, one who claims dems support “post-birth abortions.” Being mad as hell can’t justify not taking vociferous objection to blatant idiocy.

A gritty military history about singularly extraordinary men

This is a gritty military history about a singularly WWII special force unit and its extraordinary men from Canada and the United States. Saul David gives us an engaging an entertaining account of rugged and hyper-competitive men that volunteered for the First Special Services that were trained in the high altitudes outside Helena, Montana. The men trained to parachute, ski, mountain climb and rock climb with ropes, and march long miles under grueling time constraints carrying 100lbs packs. Their initial mission was the winter invasion of Norway as envisioned by Churchill. As that mission delayed again and again, the Force as sent to Italy where it scaled a towering rock face to surprise and clear the Germans on the top before moving forward and clearing German units on further hills, in the march to Rome. This could have only been accomplished due to the men’s training and, as described by David, the men’s leadership and individual spirit. This is a story about courage, of course, but about men who performed singularly inhuman feats.