Tom Clancy presents: ACT OF VALOR, written by Dick Couch and George Galdorisi read by Steven Weber

Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the story combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Act of Valor takes listeners deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world.

When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home. Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the deadly terror plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight with an outcome that has potentially unimaginable consequences for the future of America.

I listened to this book while traveling in my car, mostly on short drives and each time it got harder to get out of the car when I got home because I NEEDED to find out what happened next. But one day when I was close to the end and had to drive to a meeting that was about an hour from my home, the story swept me away with its intensity. I arrived at my meeting with such urgency in my gut I felt like I was late and had to hurry. I wasn’t late but as I took my place and arranged my stuff, my heart still seemed to race. Suddenly that feeling wore off, and I realized what I was feeling was the withdrawal of the adrenaline rush. As ordinary as my life has been, I’ve been terrified for my child’s life and I’ve jumped out of airplanes. I know what an adrenaline rush feels like. Steven Weber with his masterful reading of the amazing story Dick Couch and George Galdorisi had written had drawn me in so completely it was as if I was there. My body had reacted to the action as if I’d been with them in harms way. I’ve read a lot of books I really liked and have read again, but none have ever filled me with this kind of urgency and left me with such awe.  And if that wasn’t enough, the ending had me in tears. I felt like the lieutenant's chief - "Why you?" Few writers bring me to tears but this man did it all, from the adrenaline rush of the action to the grief of loss. If you want to read a very engrossing and entertaining story that shows us what it’s really like to be a Navy SEAL, get your hands on this book and set aside some time to be thoroughly captivated. I guarantee you won’t want to put it down and when you get to the last page, you’ll wish there were a lot more book still left to go.