Seal of God by Chad Williams

Days before Chad Williams was to report to military duty in Great Lakes, Illinois, he turned on a television and was greeted with the horrifying images of his mentor, US Navy SEAL Scott Helvenston, being brutally murdered in a premeditated ambush on the roads of Fallujah, Iraq. Steeled in his resolve, Chad followed in Scott’s footsteps and completed the US military’s most difficult and grueling training to become a Navy SEAL. One of only 13 from a class of 173 to make it straight through to graduation, Chad served his country on SEAL Teams One and Seven for five years, completing tours of duty in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Iraq.

Part memoir, part evangelism piece, SEAL of God follows Chad’s journey through the grueling Naval Ops training and onto the streets of Iraq, where he witnessed the horrors of war up close. Along the way, Chad shares his own radical conversion story and talks about how he draws on his own experiences as a SEAL to help others better understand the depths of Christ’s sacrifice and love.

My review:
I'm not much into biographies/memoirs, and rarely read them. Navy SEALS intrigue me though from what I have read and know of them, so I decided to give this one a try. It has to be the best book of this type that I have ever read. I did literally read it in one sitting and enjoyed every page of it.

The author begins by telling about his youth, pulling no punches in describing what kind of kid and teenager he was, and he was very arrogant and wild. From there, he tells of his working to become a  SEAL and spends a lot of time talking about what he went through in his training to become one.

The main focus of the book is his conversion and the difference it made in his life. I was amazed at the terrible things SEALS go through to become a SEAL, and Chad did an excellent job of telling his story and describing his experiences. This book is as much of a page turner as a suspense/thriller book, which is what I love to read. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is an amazing story.

About the author:

Chad Williams is a former Navy SEAL, having served his country proudly from 2004-2010. Now engaged in full-time ministry work, Chad uses the training and experience he gained as a SEAL to help communicate the Gospel to others. Chad and his wife, Aubrey, live in Huntington Beach, California.

Seal of God is available from Tyndale Publishing.

Thanks to Tyndale for the review copy.