Bravo Two Zero: The Harrowing True Story of a Special Forces Patrol Behind the Lines in Iraq by Andy McNab Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Bravo Two Zero: The Harrowing True Story of a Special Forces Patrol Behind the Lines in Iraq
Book Review: Absolutly the most incredible book i ever read.
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a exelent book. I have read many books about the SAS in IRAQ some of wich are CQB by Mike Curtis and The One that Got Away By Chris Ryan, but BRAVO TWO ZERO is a breath taking story. A book you must read once you start you wont stop untill you have finnished this book. For the people who are wondering how it was in IRAQ for the brave British special forces this book is the one that will explain it in great detail. I strongly recomend that you buy this book.Book Review: After reading McNab's books, inner strength has new meaning.
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't have a military history in my family, so I won't pretend to know what its like to be at war or have somone I care for in the same situation. But if you want to get as close as you (safely) can to war and the feelings surrounding it, the likes of Andy McNab and Cameron Spence (Sabre Squadron) will give your heartstrings and your deepest thoughts of human strength a good hard jolt...... There is definately hope for human kind if we all can be as strong as McNab and the people who waited for him to get home.Book Review: Amazing - BUT NOT ALL TRUE
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this book when it first came out, and I loved it. I read "The One That Got Away" by Chris Ryan, who escaped this mission, and then "Storm Command" by Sir Peter de la Billiere, who commanded the UK forces in Desert Storm and who formerly commanded the SAS. At the time, "Bravo Two Zero" seemed to confirm my view of the SAS as the world's premier elite unit, up there with the US's Delta Force and Israel's Sayeret Matkal. The tale that Andy McNab tells shows how training, guts and determination could overcome botches like being dropped too close to a hive of Iraqi soldiers with faulty intelligence and poor radio gear. The story of how the unit adapted to adversity was inspirational.
There's only one problem. Much of it is not true and I feel kicked in the teeth by the betrayal. Pick up a copy of "The Real Bravo Two Zero" by Michael Asher, published by Cassell & Co, ISBN 0-304-36436-3 in May 2002. The author is a former SAS trooper who has spent many years travelling in Arab lands. He read Bravo Two Zero and The One That Got Away and felt there was something wrong with them, apart from the fact that they flatly contradicted each other in many places. So he went into Iraq with a film crew and did some detective work.
Amazingly he found the original drop zone and all of the other significant sites in the book. He met the Iraqis who were on the other side and finds artifacts of the mission. The Iraqis (who were ordinary farmers and who, as we see, have no reason to lie) confirm the basic details of what the book says, but they (together with Asher's GPS) show up that many of the really heroic parts were exaggerated or plain made up by McNab!
For example, McNab exaggerated the distances they covered (journeys he says were 70km were actually 2km) and made up whole incidents (most of the combat scenes, the brutality of the Iraqis apart from the interrogators). Far from causing hundreds of Iraqi casualties, the whole patrol appear to have caused none. And, most importantly, Asher clears the soldier who McNab and Ryan blame for much of what went wrong.
Ryan's book, Asher concludes, was much more accurate except for three incidents: what Ryan said the wrongly-blamed soldier did; and the two combat incidents he lists. Ryan's story was epic and amazing, and it is a shame he had to make up some parts unnecessarily to make himself seem more glorious and brave than he was. His treatment of the poor soldier seems to be ex post facto justification of Ryan's own failure. McNab's story, too, would have been great if he kept to the real details, but he appears to have embellished it to sell copies of his book, sure in the knowledge that no-one could ever show him up. Well, Asher has.
Book Review: Amazing and heroic
Summary: 5 Stars
Bravo Two Zero is a tale of a mission by the same name, featuring the exploits of eight British SAS soldiers who were on a secret mission into Iraq to take out Scuds. The commander and author is Andy McNab, one of the men who were given an order that would soon turn into a horrific experience.
Each of the eight men were carrying 210-lb. ruck sacks, and they were dropped off behind enemy lines in what was later found out to be an area saturated with enemies. Not long after their helicopter landed, they found out their radios didn't work, that they were in a bad situation, and the only way out was to trek seventy-five miles to the Syrian border for safety.
Eventually the difficulty of the task caught up to the men and less than perfect situations led to horrible conditions. Weather, the enemy, and fatigue caused the group to become split from one another. What follows is the heart of the story, the capture, and what for most would have been unbearable torture.
To hear the first-hand story of the terrible effects of sadistic and gruesome torture, and the uplifting possibilities of camaraderie is truly amazing. How the soldiers managed to laugh and keep up spirits is incomprehensible.
Despite the fact that the book is filled with military lingo and British slang, it's quite readable and definitely a page-turner. The book flies by once the incarceration takes place, and the details are vivid enough that I cringed several times while reading of the torture.
It's a true story, a great story, of heroes who astonish us with their feats of superhuman abilities and perseverance.
Book Review: Amazing story of survival
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time I heard about this story was from a History Channel special. Needless to say, I was intrigued. A few months later I saw the movie. I didn't want to do myself an injustice and not read the book that the TV special and movie were based upon.Sergeant Andy McNab, was the commander of an 8-man British SAS (Special Air Service) squad charged with doing reconnaissance of a main supply road and to destroy SCUDs deep behind enemy lines in Iraq during the Gulf War. The SAS is one Britain's elite military groups similar to the US Navy SEALs or Army Delta Force. The mission quickly went sour and the entire squad was compromised.
This book details the escape and evasion of the 8-man squad (from McNab's point of view, obviously) and the eventual capture of half of the squad. One man managed to trek over 100 miles to the safety of the Syrian border. Three men did not escape with their lives. The four men that were captured were brutally tortured and beaten. It's amazing that these four weren't killed while held captive.
At times throughout the book I found myself wincing from the things that were done to McNab (and his squad members) while a prisoner of war (POW). I've never thought that being a POW would ever be a walk in the park, but I was a little shocked and appalled at some of the things that McNab had to endure. I also laughed at some of the things McNab had to say with his cheeky, British humor. Some of the vocabulary and phrases may be a little difficult to decipher, but there's a glossary in the back of the book and a lot of things can be made clear from the context.
There isn't a whole lot of action in the traditional sense of military books (shooting and things blowing up everywhere), but this book is definitely not boring. Read this book, if for no other reason than to get a glimpse of how Allied POWs were treated during the Gulf War. This book is the dog's bollocks; I highly recommend it. :)