Navy Seal Writes Firsthand Account of bin Laden Raid

A safe bet for the best-seller lists: A Navy Seal who was on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden has written a book about it that comes out next month—on 9/11, reports the New York Times. The author of No Easy Day, now retired from military duty, is using the pseudonym of Mark Owen. He also changed the names of other Seals on the raid. The book will deliver 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,” says the publisher, Dutton, an imprint of Penguin.

Reuters talks to the White House, the Pentagon, and the CIA, and all profess to have been surprised by news of the book. "As far as we can determine, this book was not submitted for pre-publication review," says a CIA spokesman. Dutton says no government agencies saw it in advance. Instead, a former special ops attorney "vetted it for tactical, technical, and procedural information as well as information that could be considered classified by compilation and found it to be without risk to national security." (More Osama bin Laden stories.)