A new book called “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden,” will be released in September, according to the book’s publisher. The book has been written by a Navy SEAL who was a member of the team that performed the raid and who was present when bin Laden died. The publishing company, Penguin, will release the book on September 11. The book was written under the pseudonym of Mark Owen. Names of other Navy SEALs have been changed in the book too.
A description of the book was provided by Penguin and it says that the author provides a “blow-by-blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen’s life straight through to the radio call confirming Bin Laden’s death.”
Owen uses the book to discuss his 13 combat deployments he took part in since September 11, 2001 and his childhood in Alaska. Owen retired this past year. The co-author of the book, Kevin Maurer, spent time with Special Forces six times in Afghanistan. It is not clear if Penguin asked for approval to publish the book. The chief spokesman for the Navy, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said in an email that, “The author did not seek Navy support/approval for this book. We have no record of any request from an author associated with that book company.”
The National Security Council released a statement through spokesman Tommy Vietor that said, “We learned about this book today from press reports. We haven’t reviewed it and don’t know what it says.”
Penguin is planning at least 300,000 copies in hardcover during the book’s release. Prime-time television interviews with Owen are also being planned. Since it is a pseudonym, Owen will be shrouded to protect his identity and his voice will be changed as well while on television.