A detailed first-person account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, written under a pseudonym by a Navy Seal who participated in the mission and was present at bin Laden's death, will be published next month, according to two publishing executives familiar with the deal.
The book, “No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama bin Laden,†which is scheduled to be released on Sept. 11, has been a tightly held secret at the publisher, Penguin. It promises to be one of the biggest books of the year, with the potential to affect the presidential election that will be held less than two months later.
The author's name will be listed as Mark Owen by Dutton, an imprint of Peng uin. The author, a former member of Seal Team Six, was one of the first men who entered the third floor of bin Laden's hideout and was present at his death.
A co-writer, Kevin Maurer, is the author of four books and was embedded with Special Forces in Afghanistan six times.
According to a description of the book, provided by a publishing executive, the author gives a “blow-by blow narrative of the assault, beginning with the helicopter crash that could have ended Owen's life straight through to the radio call confirming bin Laden's death, is an essential piece of modern history.â€
The publishing executives familiar with the deal would not say to what extent the book was vetted by government agencies. The Obama administration has cited the killing of bin Laden as one of the president's signature achievements of his first term.
The author also recalls his childhood in Alaska, his grueling preparation to become a Seal an d other previously unreported Seal missions. He completed 13 combat deployments during since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2011, and retired within the last year.
The author was a “team leader†in the operation that resulted in the death of bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011. For security reasons, he used a pseudonym and changed the names of other Seal members.
Bookstores were first given a few clues about the book last month. One independent bookstore owner said in July that she was told only that Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Group USA, had added a “big, major book†written by an anonymous author to its fall list.
Members of Dutton's sales staff were given a detailed description of the book during a conference call with Dutton executives on Wednesday. Christine Ball, a spokeswoman for Dutton, declined to comment.
The publisher is expecting a major bestseller, with a planned print run of 300,000 copies in hardcover, according to a p erson familiar with the plans.
Because the book is written under a pseudonym, the author will appear in disguise during television interviews to promote the book. At least one major network prime-time appearance has been planned, a person familiar with the plans said, and during interviews on television and radio, the author's voice will be altered.
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