Battle Ready, Mark L. Donald
Battle Ready, Mark L. Donald
4 Rating(s)
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Battle Ready
Memoir of a SEAL Warrior Medic

Author: Mark L. Donald, Scott Mactavish

Narrator: Fred Berman

Unabridged: 9 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/12/2013


Synopsis

The gripping memoir of Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart recipient SEAL Lieutenant Mark L. Donald, Battle Ready.

As A SEAL and combat medic, Mark served his country with valorous distinction for almost twenty-five years and survived some of the most dangerous combat actions imaginable.

From the rigors of BUD/S training to the horrors of the battlefield, Battle Ready dramatically immerses the listener in the unique life of the elite warrior-medic who advances into combat with life-saving equipment in one hand and life-taking weapons in the other. It is also an uplifting human story that reveals how a young Hispanic American bootstrapped himself out of a life that promised a dead-end future by enlisting in the military. That new life begins with the Marines and includes his heroic achievements on the battlefield and the operating table, and finally, of his inspirational triumph over the demons caused by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder that threatened to destroy him and his family.

Includes an excerpt from the SEAL creed read by the author and a bonus conversation with Mark L. Donald and his editor.

About Mark L. Donald

MARK L. DONALD, the son of a retired U.S. Army Warrant Officer and a Mexican mother, enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps before transferring to the Navy to train as a Corpsman. He subsequently completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training and served in SEALs until 1996 when he was selected for the Intra-service Physician Assistant Program. He graduated with a degree from the University of Nebraska and was commissioned a Medical Service Corps officer. Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, he was assigned as operational medical support to special operations, where he served in a number of capacities until his retirement. Donald was awarded the Navy Cross, the highest medal awarded by the Department of the Navy, for extraordinary heroism while engaged in enemy action against al Qaeda fighters in southern Afghanistan. He lives in Chesapeake, Virginia.

About Fred Berman

Fred Berman is a five-time winner of the AudioFile Earphone Award for Audiobook Narration and the recipient of the 2013 Audie Award for narration in Spy the Lie. He has read a number of audiobooks for young listeners, including Judy Blume’s Soupy Saturdays with The Pain & The Great One and Andrew Clements’s The Last Holiday Concert. He has also narrated the audiobooks for Robert Kirkman’s popular series, The Walking Dead.Berman is an accomplished actor of both the stage and screen as well, performing on Broadway as Timon in The Lion King and off-Broadway in Hamlet, Twelfth Night, and King Lear. On television, Berman has had roles on NBC’s hit series Smash as well as All My Children and Law and Order. He lives in New York City.

About Scott Mactavish

SCOTT MACTAVISH is an author, filmmaker and veteran of the United States Navy. He does volunteer work for the Navy SEAL Foundation, and serves on the Advisory Team for the I:68 Foundation, a national non-profit organization that provides monetary relief to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sarah

Originally posted on Sarahsbookshelf.com: This book was a recently published memoir by Mark L. Donald, with Scott MacTavish. Many memoirs that I read go into great detail on very specific historical events. Especially with SEAL memoirs, much time is spent on the indoctrination and training of the SEA......more

Goodreads review by Terry

Mark Donald's memoir started off as journal writings to help him come to terms with his PTS after serving in several intense combat situations. The first part is primarily a bio, starting with going to high school in New Mexico as a member of a low income family. He joined the Marine Reserves at 17,......more

Goodreads review by Lia

Intriguing but also frustrating memoir of a SEAL medic (like it says on the can.) The story Donald tells - growing up in a poor Latino family in Albuquerque, New Mexico, becoming a SEAL, fighting in Afghanistan, coming home and struggling with PTSD - is fascinating. But he tends to bring up issues a......more

Goodreads review by Tracey

This was an excellent memoir. Honest, humble, not political (although he makes some good points toward the end about needing to define what “winning” means). The writer spends several chapters describing in detail a pivotal event - the event that likely laid the foundation for his later struggles wi......more

Goodreads review by Connie

What an amazing story! Mark Donald gives an extremely though-provoking memoir, ideal for those who want to better understand the hearts and minds of our military men and women who are coping with the effects of combat stress. He gives a very personal account of his journey, first as a young man look......more


Quotes

“This candid memoir by a NavySEAL medic is given a vigorous reading by Fred Berman…Most important, his overall performance winsomely conveys the author's humility.” —AudioFile Magazine