BOOK REVIEW: Fearless by Eric Blehm

I wouldn’t normally pick up a book like Fearless by Eric Blehm. I love non-fiction and biographies, but I’m not much for war stories. Two things motivated me to break my “rule” and read it: 1) reading Inside Delta Force by Eric L. Haney last year made me curious about their Navy counterpart, SEAL Team Six, and 2) this didn’t strike me as a typical war story. And it’s not.

This book is the story of a truly extraordinary American life. It recounts the journey of Adam Brown from idyllic childhood to the depths of drug addiction; finally finding faith in Jesus Christ before rising through the ranks of the Navy to become the best of the best in SEAL Team Six. Adam’s defining characteristics are his courage in the face of any challenge, and his compassion for others.

Blehm has really done his homework here; interviewing many of Adam’s family, friends, and teammates. He interweaves their testimonials seamlessly into the narrative of the story. He keeps things moving at a good clip, and I could feel the tension and pace building as the story moved closer to its inevitable conclusion.

Some Christians may be put off by the fairly frequent use of profanity throughout, but I can picture this book being used in a men’s bible study to promote discussion on a variety of topics. The themes are too numerous to mention but they include sacrifice, marital fidelity, fatherhood, addiction, pain, war, pacifism, patriotism, and friendship.

This is a powerful, convicting, sad, and triumphant story. Best of all, Jesus Christ, not Adam Brown, is presented as the ultimate hero. Or as Adam himself puts it, “the greatest man on Earth is Jesus Christ.” May this book of triumph and tragedy remind us of that glorious fact.