Riding the White Bull: The Making of a Navy SEAL
Long before combat, before elite training, and before the Navy SEALs became a cultural myth, Jack Ratliff was learning how character is forged—through risk, discipline, and responsibility.
In Riding the White Bull: The Making of a Navy SEAL, Ratliff offers a deeply reflective, literary memoir that examines how a life of service is shaped long before a man ever faces war.
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Reviews
“[A] vivid and inherently fascinating memoir… deftly crafted, and a compelling read from first page to last…. unreservedly recommended.
Midwest Book Review
“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…sharp and funny…I could almost see the dirt fly when that white bull came charging out of the chute.”
Literary Titan Review
“Ratliff writes with a crisp efficiency that makes his colorful tales a joy to read … a captivating memoir, written with flair and humor, of four transformative years in a young man’s life.”
Independent Review
“From the start, Ratliff’s debut memoir takes readers on a wild ride, digging into his early experiences in college, an amateur stint in rodeo, and his later enlistment in the Navy… infused with lively anecdotes…including his experiences rescuing downed pilots in the water—some of whom did not survive.”
Publishers Weekly (Booklife) Review
About the Book
Ratliff’s reflections extend beyond his naval career into the lessons he carried forward into civilian life—as a lawyer, educator, and leader—making the book resonate with readers interested in leadership, ethics, American history, and the origins of special operations culture.
Ratliff—a retired U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander—traces the formative experiences that shaped his judgment and resilience: a rugged West Texas upbringing, collegiate life in the 1950s, Navy ROTC, service aboard destroyers in the “tin can Navy,” and elite training with Underwater Demolition Team 11, the direct precursor to today’s Navy SEALs.
Interwoven with its moral seriousness, Riding the White Bull is also marked by a dry, understated humor. Ratliff brings a sharp eye and a quietly comic voice to the absurdities of youth, masculinity, and institutional life. From fraternity politics and collegiate hazing rituals to the bravado of rodeo culture and the eccentric characters who populate it.
For press inquiries, contact Johanna Ramos Boyer