Commando Extraordinary

by Charles Foley

Book Overview

Out of print for 9 years, this incredible story recounts the exploits of Hitler's favorite commando, SS Col. Otto Skorzeny. From snatching Mussolini from an impenetrable mountain to the rescue of a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• ISBN: B000MZYM7K
• Release Date: January 1953
• Publisher: Ballantine
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent

Written by Charles Foley in the early 1950's after interviewing Otto Skorzeny in Spain. This is a better read than My Commando Operations by Otto Skorzeny because it does not have the language translation problems - but it is also an excellent book to read. The book starts with the author trying to track down Otto Skorzeny for an interview due to all the post war rumours and was finally granted one in Spain, he gives details of his childhood, joining of the Waffen SS after he was rejected by the air force for being too old at 31, his early military career until he was sent home due to continuing illness which then follows into how he set up the elite formation. Then Charles Foley goes into giving great details on his first spectacular mission rescuing Mussolini and every other operation some of which were never acted upon dispite all the planning.

Well written, factual, focuses on Sorzeny's WW2 military activities

To my mind, the best of the books on Skorzeny other than his own. This book focuses on his WW2 military activities. Again, it sticks to the standard and now well-known plot of Skorzeny's military activities - action on the Eastern Front, rescuing Mussolini, kidnapping Horthy's son and thereby keeping Hungary in the war on Germany's side, the Ardennes offensive, the Werewolves - but there's also a good collection of photo's. Post WW2 activities are more or less ignored (this book was written in the early 50's and the author met with and interviewed Skorzeny a number of times). Other interesting facts about this book: - the introduction is by Robert Laycock (commander of Layforce for those who know their WW2 special ops), - the last few chapters are more military-political and focus on the need for the British Army to revive the SAS as a strategic special forces unit. These chapters are fascinating as they were reviewed by the author with David Stirling - and were written at the time of the Malayan Emergency just as the British were reviving the SAS. Skorzeny and his special ops unit are used as examples of what can be achieved - keeping in mind that this books was written before any accounts of the British SAS such as 'The Phantom Major' were published. This books worth purchasing just for these chapters.

Great book

A bit slow at the beginning and end. The middle is a good read on how someone can do great things through force of will. I made this book reading for a management class I was teaching.

One of the Best

This is one of the more thorough examinations of the life of one of World War II Germany's most colourful characters. Otto Skorzeny is practically unknown outside the realm of Military History, and has never really been bought to the public eye. Though this book was written in the 1950's, before some of Skorzeny's prolific post-war activities, Foley manages to conduct one of the most thorough and justified examinations to date of Skorzeny. he gets inside the subject's head, consulting him, his colleagues and his enemies, giving a well researched and detailed account of Skorzeny's early career and famous exploits. A certain degree of bias must be accepted, due to Skorzeny's influence in writing the book, but it is still a classic. A must for anyone interested in the subject of WWII commando operations, and the one which all other authors on Skorzeny quote.

Absolutely Fantastic!!

This book by Charles Foley ranks with Into Thin Air as one of the greatest non fictional adventure stories of all time. Foley does an excellent job of conveying, in detail, the unbelievable military tenure of Otto Skorzeny (the commander of Germany's special operations group during WWII). Whether it is rescuing Mussolini from a garrison stronghold on a mountain peak, infiltrating US forces, blowing up critical bridges, or kidnapping the traitorous Admiral Horthy from a Hungarian castle, the reader is right along side Skorzeny on his incredible nerve shattering missions. The book also, at times, is extremely humorous. For example, the meeting of Skorzeny with Hitler for the first time or the hair brained schemes of Himmler, concocted to try and save the Reich, left me laughing out loud. Skorzeny's trial at Nuremberg is another fascinating tale. Both British and American officers were prepared to (and did) defend him against numerous charges. I could not put this book down and read until the early morning. Absolutely fantastic!