BOOK REVIEW OF LT COL SCOTT MANN'S NEW WORK NOBODY IS COMING TO SAVE YOU, A Green Beret's Guide to Getting Sh*t Done.
To say this is only a self-help book is to diminish the effort and ultimate affect this work will have on many lives.
Lt Colonel Mann is a substantial player. This book is a treatment of his own journey saving people from harm, and his own self-resurrection. He writes with great candor and gravity, addressing the angst we all feel in an age of lack of trust in honored institutions.
Mann has a great many achievements (read his bio!), most notably his management of Operation Pineapple Express, saving the lives of hundreds of Afghan allies in the face of annihilation at the hand of the Taliban after the abortion of the US withdrawal in 2021. Colonel Mann is a genuine hero.
I gobbled up the book in a day. It reads with a steady pace, and I took many notes of his references to historical figures as the book has a couple dozen references to important attributed events. Mann is a storyteller, and he encourages everyone to recognize, know, prepare, and tell his or her own tale.
Much is personal: both his own near suicide to demons and his heartfelt homage to his father are gripping.
He clearly identifies the frequent utility and beauty of social media yet balances it against the too often evil we see daily, and Mann points the way to better interpersonal connectivity.
I sat crying when he told the story of the passion of Gaby Camarjo and the Stay in Step program she and her disabled veteran husband founded and work today with a commitment that can only be described as ferociously inspired.
This book is an outline for personal leadership. I believe its best use would be in a small group setting in order for participants to actually work through the lessons embedded.
Colonel Mann has a lifetime of stories. His “Generosity of Scars” on Youtube (TED Talk) is masterful, and I have seen the film adaptation of his play LAST OUT – Elegy of a Green Beret and I am a changed man because of it.
His stories on gratitude, hospitality, and trust are riveting and unforgettable.
I have never met Colonel Mann, but I consider it an honor to say I believe I know him. A prediction: his biography and achievements in service to his fellow man will be studied and admired for a century to come. He is a model American.
Get this book… in fact, get a couple, and give it to friend who wants to save both himself (or herself) and others.
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