Book Review

Murphy’s Law: My Journey from Army Ranger and Green Beret to Investigative Journalist
by Jack Murphy
Threshold Editions, An Imprint of Simon & Schuster
ISBN 978-1-5011-9125-1
271 pages

Reviewed by Kenn Miller
Originally published in the December 2020 Sentinel

A year or so ago, when the infamous John Stryker Meyer was president of SFA Chapter 78, among the guest speakers to come to a chapter meeting was Jack Murphy, an eight year special operations veteran of the U.S. Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion and 5th Special Forces Group. Jack Murphy was one of our most popular speakers, but it was his young daughter, patiently enduring her father’s talk to the other old men while waiting for a promised trip to Sea World who really won our hearts.

After eight years in the U.S. Army — all of which seems to have been in the Ranger Regiment and in Special Forces, and is well covered in this book — Jack Murphy realized that about all the Army held for him was a comparatively dull life as a senior NCO, passing time until retirement, so he left the Army and finally went to college and earned some impressive scholarly credentials from Columbia University.

With a United States Army Special Operations education, and Ivy League academic credentials — Jack Murphy set off on a career as an investigative journalist. He was apparently aware that such a career might earn a man both friends and enemies.

And while the strictly military parts of the book are interesting and well told, the post-military part of MURPHY’S LAW just might be the most interesting (and somewhat shocking) part of this very readable and informative book.

As a journalist Murphy goes back to some of the places he knew from previous combat deployments, and that is good exciting reporting about a less than peaceful and perfect part of the world. That’s not a surprise, and not much of a shocker. It is also no surprise to discover that like every other large institution, the U.S. military also has its share of scandal and corruption. Murphy tells of sexual and power corruption, and abuses that have been uncovered, and he does so knowing that telling the truth can make a man a lot of enemies.

Jack Murphy may well become the “Robert Woodward” of military investigative journalism, and we need such journalism. It takes a lot of courage to serve as an Army Ranger, a Green Beret, and as an honest investigative journalist. Jack Murphy has shown this courage, and I look forward to reading everything he writes.

Buy MURPHY’S LAW, read MURPHY’S LAW, and tell your friends about it. And keep your eyes open, because Jack Murphy still has a lot more to write about.

Click here to read an excerpt from Murphy’s Law.

Editor’s Note: In August 2024, Jack Murphy announced the upcoming release of his new book We Defy: The Lost Chapters of Special Forces History. Scheduled for official release on December 9, 2024, it can be preordered on Amazon in Kindle format.