A fantastic look at the origins & operations of Delta, told from the perspective of one of Delta's founding members (& later commanding officer). Also included is Boykin's side of the story regarding NBC News' 2003 "Outing" of him, in which the network incorrectly painted the General as an intolerant bigot on a crusade to crush Islam in the name of Jesus. Jerry Boykin dazzles the reader with war stories while interspersing the text with details about how God was at work in his life through the various operations & trials he faced.

I found Never Surrender to be captivating & encouraging, with never a dull moment. It is a well-written book, having the feel of sitting across the table from General Boykin, listening to him sharing his wisdom & stories over a cup of coffee. Never did the narrative get bogged down in minutiae. I have no problem recommending Never Surrender as a fantastic & uplifting memoir. You will be encouraged & your faith will be strengthened by the reading of it.

Thank God for men like Jerry Boykin. They're getting harder to come by. ( )

NEVER SURRENDER:A SOLDIER'S JOURNEY TO THE CROSSROADS OF FAITH AND FREEDOM by LTG (Ret) William G. Boykin with Lynn Vincent is an amazing inspirational biography of "LTG (Ret) William G. "Jerry" Boykin life and his struggles.He is "the former commander of U.S. Army Special Forces and Founding Member of Delta Force" and a military hero.It is well written with depth and details.What an amazing story of courage,faith, devotion to his country and his faith,how a soldier surrounded with war,history,danger,and circumstances continued on with his faith,family and friends.While LTG Boykin takes his readers on a journey through his struggles with recent events and the drama surrounding it,he also will touch your heart with his strong faith,believe in his country and his family.As he said in his book "America is a melting- pot society".Our "cause is just"."That's why we are the good guys and why we will never surrender". "Never Surrender" is an incredible story of an incredible soldier who while his faith may have faulted,restored and carried him through some of the toughest times of his life.This is a must read for any and all biography readers and also but anyone who enjoys a great military story full of actual events.A what great biography.This book was received for the purpose of review from Faith Works & Center Street Book Blogs and details can be found at Faith Works,a division of Hachette Book Group,Inc.and My Book Addiction Reviews. ( )

My husband and I are very different people. I am an avid reader; he would tell you that he hates to read. Nevertheless, when this book came into our home, he picked it up. (Trust me, that's unusual.) He turned a couple of pages, and when I gently suggested he take a look at it, he began to read! He did not stop that first day until he got to sixty-some pages.

The following day, he picked it up and read some more! As we drove down the street one day, he began to tell me about this man's life. I asked, "If this were made into a movie..."

"I'd go see it!" he exclaimed, interrupting me.

On another day, he stated, "This man is a machine! You can't believe the things he's done!" Well, he finished reading the book! Yep, he read all 350 pages, and he loved it.

Obviously, this is a compelling read. Covered are Noreiga's arrest, and the tracking of Escobar, the Colombian drug lord. Boykin tells the truth about Delta Force's involvement during the Waco, Texas fiasco and clears up the "false story" from CIA agents that the news agencies reported. It's a man's story, made for a real man's enjoyment. Buy it for the guy in your life; he'll read it, even if he's a non-reader! ( )

When I started this book, I didn't realize who the author was. It just seemed like a really interesting book to read. As it ends up, Lt. Gen. (ret.) William G. Boykin (Jerry) is a pretty famous (some might say infamous) person of the past 15-20 years! He is one of the founding members of the US Army Delta Force, which is of course made especially famous by the awesome Chuck Norris movies.

Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the Crossroads of Faith and Freedom was a really interesting book written by a super decorated US Army soldier. The book tells story after story of how famous military operations went down. The Iran Hostage Crisis, Grenada, Panama, Columbia and Somalia were all operations that Boykin wrote about. Reading the tactical plans, and the resulting actions, for each of these was really interesting. Plus, Boykin knows what he is talking about...he helped design all of them.

The most interesting chapter, I felt, was the chapter on Mogadishu, Somalia. As most people know, thanks to the movie Blackhawk Down, the operation in Mogadishu didn't quite go as planned. Many people died, unnecessarily, because the people in charge of the funding wouldn't release the right supplies and weapons. Boykin, and the other leaders of Delta Force, had planned everything out including what they would need to accomplish their mission. Since they didn't get what they asked for, they were woefully unprepared. A number of people died because of this oversight. Boykin, as the leader of the mission, had to make the horrifying call of leaving a man down in order to save others. He said that was the worst thing he has ever experienced.

Another reason for Boykin's fame is because he said some things that were interpreted as being religiously aggressive. Boykin has never been afraid to admit he is a Christian, and some things he said during the most recent war in Iraq rubbed people the wrong way...a lot of people. Boykin said that he believed God put George Bush in the White House, which is what the papers quoted. What the papers didn't quote was that he then went on to say that God put Bill Clinton and every other American leader in their positions. Boykin was pretty much crucified in the press, even though he was completely exonerated by internal military investigations.

A small portion of this book is about Boykin's faith. While going through the various trials, he relied on God to help him. I was a little surprised though, considering the title of the book, he didn't spend more time on his faith. It seemed to me that he glossed over it more than anything else.

All in all...I thought this was a pretty good book that had some pretty fascinating insight into military tactics and life behind the scenes of Delta Force.

Rating: 4 out of 5
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This review, and others, can be found at www.lettersonpages.com ( )