Book Review: To Dare & To Conquer
Full title: To Dare & To Conquer: Special Operations and the Destiny of Nations, From Achilles to Al Qaeda
Author: Derek Leebaert
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Originally published: March 23, 2006 (later editions and formats followed)
Derek Leebaert’s To Dare & To Conquer is an ambitious, sweeping tour through roughly 3,000 years of conflict, using one central argument as its compass: small, skilled forces, when properly employed, can change the destiny of nations. Leebaert frames “special operations” broadly, reaching back to ancient stories like the Trojan Horse and forward to modern counterterrorism-era case studies, arguing that history repeatedly turns on the actions of comparatively few people operating with speed, surprise, and specialized purpose.
For readers connected to the Special Operations community, operators, families, supporters, and partners, this book offers something both affirming and challenging; affirming in its insistence that elite units matter, and challenging in its demand that we think carefully about how special operations are integrated with national strategy, political objectives, and public understanding.
What the book is about
Leebaert presents special operations as more than a set of tactics or an elite add-on to conventional war. Instead, he portrays it as a recurring, decisive thread woven through Western military history; often operating in the shadows, frequently misunderstood, and sometimes under-resourced until crisis makes its value undeniable.
He also makes a deliberate, and sometimes provocative, point: special operations logic is not exclusive to “our side.” He includes irregular and terrorist actors in his analysis, not to equate moral purpose, but to argue that modern conflict increasingly occurs on “unfixed terrain,” where non-state and irregular forces shape outcomes and where understanding that reality is essential.
Strengths
1) A big-arc historical lens.
Leebaert’s greatest strength is scope. By ranging from antiquity to the early years of the post-9/11 era, he helps readers see patterns that are easy to miss when we focus only on recent wars. The throughline is consistent: surprise, intelligence, cultural knowledge, and disciplined initiative frequently outweigh mass when objectives are limited, time-sensitive, or politically constrained.
2) A clear argument for “special operations as a systematic arm of war.”
Rather than romanticizing raids and daring missions, the book repeatedly returns to an institutional point: special operations must be treated as an integrated capability; trained, resourced, and employed with strategic coherence. Kirkus captures the tone well, calling the work “smart and well-argued,” while noting that it’s also likely to unsettle some conventional assumptions.
3) Accessible, story-driven writing.
Even when covering complex historical ground, the narrative is anchored in people and operations. Publishers Weekly notes the “lively” analysis across numerous examples, even as it observes that the later, more policy-focused chapters become more analytical and less kinetic.
Considerations for readers
1) It is intentionally expansive, and occasionally uneven.
A book that attempts to cover millennia will inevitably move quickly in places. Some readers will appreciate the momentum; others may wish for deeper development of select case studies. Publishers Weekly also flags a shift in the final sections toward politics and policy discussion, which some will find valuable and others may find less engaging than earlier historical storytelling.
2) It reflects its era.
Written in the mid-2000s, To Dare & To Conquer engages the strategic anxieties of that moment. That does not diminish its core insights, but readers should recognize that parts of the policy debate have evolved over the last two decades, even as the underlying challenge, aligning special operations with clear political ends, remains enduring.
3) Its definition of “special operations” is broad, sometimes controversially so.
Leebaert’s inclusion of adversaries and irregular actors under the umbrella of “special operations” is meant as analysis, not endorsement. Still, it may strike some readers as jarring. The value here is in sharpening discernment: if we acknowledge that agile, networked opponents can exploit speed, secrecy, and influence, we can better understand the environment SOF is asked to navigate.
Why this book matters to the SOF Support community
At SOF Support, we honor the sacrifice and resilience of Special Operations Forces and their families. Books like this help the broader public, and even many inside the defense community, better appreciate what SOF has always known: outcomes are often shaped by people operating in small teams, under extreme pressure, where relationships, trust, and judgment matter as much as technical skill.
Leebaert’s central message is ultimately a human one. Special operations succeed not merely because of equipment or daring, but because of disciplined selection, training, cohesion, adaptability, and the ability to operate in ambiguity. Those attributes are forged through years of preparation and sustained by the families and communities who stand behind the force.
Who should read it
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SOF professionals and veterans, who want a long-view historical framing of small-force impact.
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Military families and supporters, looking for a deeper understanding of why special operations remain central in many modern challenges.
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Policy, strategy, and national security readers, who want a forceful argument for integrating special operations into coherent national objectives.
Bottom line
To Dare & To Conquer is a bold, wide-ranging argument that history repeatedly rewards disciplined small units employed with strategic clarity, and punishes nations that misunderstand, underutilize, or misuse them. It’s not a narrow war-story collection; it’s a statement about how power works, how conflict evolves, and why elite capabilities require more than admiration, they require thoughtful stewardship.
For the SOF Support audience, it’s a worthwhile read, especially for those who want to connect today’s missions to a much longer lineage of human initiative, risk, and resolve.