No Easy Day

No Easy Day
AuthorMark Owen
Kevin Maurer
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject
PublisherDutton Penguin
Publication date
September 4, 2012
Media type
Pages304
ISBN978-0525953722

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden (2012) is a military memoir by a former member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU)[1][2] who participated in the mission that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. The book was written by Matt Bissonnette under the pen name Mark Owen.[3] It details Owen's career with DEVGRU, including several combat missions in which he participated with the unit. At least half of the book focuses on Owen's participation in the mission that killed bin Laden.

Owen and his publisher's decision to release the book without first submitting it for United States Department of Defense (DoD) review generated controversy. The DoD claims that the book contains classified information, which the book's publisher denies. In late August 2012, advance publicity increased the initial print run from 300,000 copies to 575,000.[4] This ultimately led the publisher to release the book on September 4, a week earlier than the originally planned September 11 release date.[5] It also made the New York Times bestseller list.[6]

Shortly after the book's announcement, Owen's identity was revealed as former U.S. Navy SEALs Chief Special Warfare Operator Matt Bissonnette and the DoD confirmed that he was in fact the author.[1] For media appearances, including an interview on 60 Minutes, Owen appeared incognito.[5] In August 2016, he was ordered to return his royalties of US$6.8 million to the US federal government.[7]

  1. ^ a b Bosman, Julie (August 8, 2012). "Chronicler of Bin Laden Raid Is Unmasked". New York Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Tabassum Zakaria US Navy SEAL author worried about leaks after bin Laden raid Archived 2012-09-28 at the Wayback Machine 2012-09-01 Reuters
  3. ^ Drew, Christopher (August 19, 2016). "Ex-SEAL Member Who Wrote Book on Bin Laden Raid Forfeits $6.8 Million". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "Buzz ramps up over SEAL's bin Laden book". CNN. August 30, 2012. Archived from the original on September 1, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Ferran, Lee (August 22, 2012). "Bin Laden Raid Book By Navy SEAL Coming". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Sehgal, Parul. "Print & E-Books". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference nytimesexsealmemberswhowrote was invoked but never defined (see the help page).