This workmanlike volume traces the modern (largely post-Vietnam) history of American special forces, including the remarkable bureaucratic and Congressional maneuverings that have virtually made them a separate branch of the armed forces. Tracing both operational activities and the more peaceful -- but no less intricate -- Washington battles, Marquis displays a fine awareness of the peculiar culture of the special operations community. Politics and technology seem likely to evoke more rather than less call on American commandos in the future; hence the particular significance of this book.