Dan's Books

In the predawn hours of March 4, 2002, just below the 10,000-foot peak of a mountain in eastern Afghanistan, a fierce battle raged. Outnumbered by Al Qaeda fighters, Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman and a handful of SEALs struggled to take the summit in a desperate bid to find a lost teammate. Chapman, leading the charge, was gravely wounded in the initial assault. Believing he was dead, his SEAL leader ordered a retreat. Chapman regained consciousness, finding himself alone with the enemy who was closing in on three sides. Thus began the most difficult and exceptional fight of his life.

John Chapman's incredible display of valor—first by saving the lives of his SEAL teammates and then, aware that he was mortally wounded, single-handedly engaging two dozen hardened Chechen and Uzbek fighters to save the lives of an incoming rescue squad—posthumously earned him the Medal of Honor, a distinction reserved for America's greatest heroes, becoming the first airman in nearly fifty years to do so.

Alone at Dawn is also a behind the scenes look at the Air Force Combat Controllers: the world’s deadliest and most versatile special operations force, whose members must not only exceed the qualifications of Navy SEAL and Army Delta Force teams, but also act with sharp decisiveness and  deft precision—even in the face of life-threatening danger.

Drawing from firsthand accounts, classified documents, dramatic video footage, and extensive interviews with leaders and survivors of the operation, Alone at Dawn is the story of an extraordinary man's brave last stand and the brotherhood that forged him.

“No matter how skilled the writer of nonfiction, you are always getting the story secondhand. Here’s a chance to go right to the source. . . . These men were there.”
–MARK BOWDEN (from the Foreword)

It started as a mission to capture a Somali warlord. It turned into a disastrous urban firefight and death-defying rescue operation that shocked the world and rattled a great nation. Now the 1993 battle for Mogadishu, Somalia–the incident that was the basis of the book and film Black Hawk Down–is remembered by the men who fought and survived it. Six of the best in our military recall their brutal experiences and brave contributions in these never-before-published, firstperson accounts.

“Operation Gothic Serpent,” by Matt Eversmann: As a “chalk” leader, Eversmann was part of the first group of Rangers to “fast rope” from the Black Hawk helicopters. It was his chalk that suffered the first casualty of the battle.

“Sua Sponte: Of Their Own Accord,” by Raleigh Cash: Responsible for controlling and directing fire support for the platoon, Cash entered the raging battle in the ground convoy sent to rescue his besieged brothers in arms.

“Through My Eyes,” by Mike Kurth: One of only two African Americans in the battle, Kurth confronted his buddies’ deaths, realizing that “the only people whom I had let get anywhere near me since I was a child were gone.”

“What Was Left Behind,” by John Belman: He roped into the biggest firefight of the battle and considers some of the mistakes that were made, such as using Black Hawk helicopters to provide sniper cover.

“Be Careful What You Wish For,” by Tim Wilkinson: He was one of the Air Force pararescuemen or PJs–the highly trained specialists for whom “That Others May Live” is no catchphrase but a credo–and sums up his incomprehensible courage as “just holding up my end of the deal on a bad day.”

“On Friendship and Firefights,” by Dan Schilling: As a combat controller, he was one of the original planners for the deployment of SOF forces to Mogadishu in the spring of 1993. During the battle, he survived the initial assault and carnage of the vehicle convoys only to return to the city to rescue his two closest friends, becoming, literally, “Last Out.”

With America’s withdrawal from Somalia an oft-cited incitement to Osama bin Laden, it is imperative to revisit this seminal military mission and learn its lessons from the men who were there and, amazingly, are still here.

A comprehensive, life-saving handbook on how to be cognizant of your surroundings, evaluate threats, and trust your intuition in unfamiliar and unnerving situations.

In THE POWER OF AWARENESS, special operations veteran Dan Schilling shares how to identify and avoid threats just like the pros. Told with wit and wisdom, this empowering guide uses harrowing and informative stories from Dan’s own renowned career and those of other experts to outline six easily implemented tenets you can apply anywhere to improve your personal safety:

• Be Situationally Aware
• Trust and Use Your Intuition
• Determine If You Have a Problem
• Develop a Plan
• Act Decisively
• Regroup and Recover

The POWER OF AWARENESS incorporates valuable exercises to understand how situational awareness works in real life, how to better listen to your intuition and, when confronted by a criminal, how to take action with confidence—so you can avoid or evade threats before it’s too late.

It also includes helpful tools on how to secure your home or hotel room, safely use public transportation, plan international travel, and reduce your criminal target appeal and exposure in addition to how to escape an active shooter situation. As a bonus, you’ll even learn how to survive a date without getting murdered.

By the last page you’ll know that your own power of awareness can save your life.

The Last Miner is a memoir of what proved to be the final mining exploration of Utah’s legendary Little Cottonwood Canyon. Covering the latter half of the 1950s it chronicles the teenage adventures of miner Dick Fluehe and the colorful characters still working the silver ore veins.

Dick is the last living miner to work these deposits and traverse the 100+ miles of haunted tunnels and shafts that still honeycomb the internationally renowned Alta and Snowbird recreation areas. His knowledge of which mines have good air, what sections have collapsed, where bodies are, literally, buried, and which owners and miners swindled or honored their partners is encyclopedic. But it is his regaling of the life and times of such characters as Swingin’ Door, Slick, and The Bull that brings history alive in a manner Mark Twain would appreciate.

The often-venerated mining history of the American West is populated by dry and factual accounts of mines, their boom bust towns, and ore production. Dick’s journeys underground and his adventures above with the men who worked the rock, some as far back as the 1800s, illuminate a wondrous, lively, treacherous, and unknown world. There is no other living member of this storied community who can deliver such an authoritative history and insight. And there is no other book that can take you back in time and into a mine such as this.