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Riding the White Bull: The Making of a Navy Seal
Riding the White Bull follows Jack Ratliff’s winding journey from a Texas college kid to a young man determined to serve, shaped by fraternity politics, close-call adventures, and a stubborn streak that keeps pushing him forward. The book opens with vivid memories of campus life, then pivots into the harrowing rodeo episode that gives the memoir its title, and later moves into his early steps toward military training. The throughline is clear. Each experience toughens him and edges him closer to the disciplined world he will eventually enter.
As I moved through the chapters, I found myself caught off guard by how warm and candid the writing feels. Ratliff has a way of telling a story that made me feel like I was sitting across from him while he let the memories unspool. His stories about fraternity life are sharp and funny, and then they suddenly turn serious when he talks about hazing or the messy power dynamics inside the house. The rodeo chapters hit even harder. They’re packed with tension, grit, and embarrassment and pride all mixed together. I could almost feel the dirt fly when that white bull came charging out of the chute. The writing has a plainspoken quality that I enjoyed. simple, direct sentences that land with more force because they’re not dressed up.
Sometimes a story wandered, especially in the early college chapters. But oddly enough, I didn’t mind for long. The tangents reveal Ratliff’s temperament. stubborn, curious, unwilling to back down even when common sense says he should. His talk with the retired cowboy Tommy Barstow, for instance, pulled me in more than I expected. The way he listens, absorbs, doubts, and then pushes ahead anyway tells you a lot about the man he becomes. More than once, I caught myself smiling because the writing feels honest in a way that’s not easy to fake. It carries both humility and bravado, and somehow both feel true.
By the end, I realized the book works best as a portrait of formation. It charts how a young man gets scraped up by life and keeps going, learning the hard way that courage isn’t swagger. It’s steadiness when everything around you is shaking. I’d recommend this book to readers who enjoy memoirs grounded in real experience. It’s especially good for anyone curious about the rougher edges of coming-of-age stories, fans of military or Western narratives, or anyone who just likes hearing a well-told tale from someone who has lived more than his share of close calls.
Pages: 264 | ASIN : B0GN2CNG25
The Rigel Affair Book Trailer
THE RIGEL AFFAIR is a novel based on real events and the life of Navy Seal Charlie Kincaid. Part Cherokee, born into Southern poverty, Charlie trained as a diver and became the leader of the war’s first underwater demolition team. His men experienced their first test, moments after the strike on Pearl Harbor, rescuing twenty-eight U. S. sailors trapped in the sinking USS California. Their missions sent them to New Zealand, Australia, and a dozen Pacific Islands, into the most dangerous combat areas on that side of the world. They dove and carried out clandestine missions under horrific weather and health conditions while constantly facing attacks by Japanese troops, bombers, and submarines.
But Charlie’s life was not all hardship. Even as the bloody war ground on in Europe and the Pacific, he fell in love. Her name was Mattie, and she lived in New Zealand. Their love story offers a tender counterpoint to gritty battle scenes throughout the novel. The book is framed around actual love letters sent by the couple, newspaper accounts from 1941-44, material from various archives, and documented events involving Charlie’s ship, the USS Rigel. We’ve also interviewed surviving shipmates.
