This book is an interesting one. I bought it on a whim as I usually do when I go to the bookstore and am left to my own devices. After a while of it being on my shelf, I skimmed it and thought at first that it was some sort of wannabe training book that used the name of the Special Forces to get people to read it. However, packed in this volume is some excellent advice and information. For instance, I can never become a Navy SEAL; for one, my eyesight is too bad, and for two, I am too old.

Starting with the foundation of diet and food, the book goes through those basics first. It gives training advice and talks about optimal training methods. The title of the book comes from the fact that the author looked through the required criteria to become a Special Forces Operative in a few different military branches. Now that isn't to say that he got all of them. I don't know anything about what the Spetsnaz goes through, but Chris McNab goes over the tests of the Navy SEALS, the Royal Marines, the United States Marine Corps, and so on. So there is mention of 'Hell Week' for example, the final exam of the Navy SEAL.

It talks about how to prepare for those events and others through various means. You might be some guy that loves his couch and the biggest amount of weight you lift is the remote control. The book doesn't exactly outline a training regimen, but it does contain information on some exercises that are useful. This book is meant for the general audience, so if you are a huge fitness buff, the information contained in this book might be old news to you.

Anyway, this book is really good and informative. It goes down pretty easily, but I don't really like how it is formatted sometimes. It is irritating when it has text, and then the text is interrupted by an image and has to continue two pages later. However, that isn't a big deal. Thus, I give this book a rating of five stars. ( )