Product Description

He has played an East End hardman, an SAS soldier and investigated vicious world gangs. Now Ross Kemp is taking on perhaps his hardest assignment of all - the Taliban. In order to prepare for this life-threatening ordeal, Ross Kemp trains with the First Battalion Royal Anglians in England’s subzero temperatures, practicing firing SA 80 rifles and .50 calibre machine guns, getting to know the soldiers and learning the tactics they use to stay alive. Sent with them to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, he immerses himself fully: he endures the stifling heat, the constant threat of snipers, RPG attacks, suicide bombers and land mines. In short, he discovers first hand what it's like to fight on the frontline. It’s the closest he’s ever come to dying – bullets fizzing inches from his head as they hit the ground on either side of him. After two harrowing and arduous months Ross returns to England, but there is little relief to be had as he meets the mothers of soldiers killed in the conflict. Then in September 2008 he goes back to the war zone, to see how the men he grew so close to are faring, to check how many of them are still alive. It’s a fascinating, horrifying and often moving insight into the brutal reality ordinary soldiers have to face in one of the world’s most dangerous and volatile regions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2056 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-04
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Born in Essex in 1964, Ross Kemp is best known for his portrayal of Grant Mitchell in EastEnders. His father was a senior detective with the Metropolitan Police force, but before that he served in the army for four years. His regiment was amalgamated with others to form the Royal Anglians, the troops Ross was with in Afghanistan.

Customer Reviews

Ross Kemp on Afghanistan - A Review
Well done to Ross Kemp for having the desire to document the experiences of British troops on the front line. The news often has stories about the conflict out there, but as Ross himself says, he wanted to find out more about the men and women who are out there doing the job they do and to document their daily struggles, successes, hopes and fears. These personal aspects are increasingly less reported in the home press - he notes that it is no longer front page news when a British soldier dies on operations.

The book covers his three visits to Helmand province, on Herricks' 6,8 and 9. As an exercise in comparing and contrasting, it is interesting to note the differences and developments on each tour he visits. His first visit on Herrick 6 describes some pretty basic living conditions that the lads out there have to cope with, through to his time spent on Herrick 9 where he notes some changes in the living conditions out there. Unfortunately for the lads (and Ross)the standard of toilets hasn't noticeably improved!

For anyone with an interest in the military, this book is a good snapshot of contemporary life on operations for the UK soldier. A very good read and I think it well deserves the 5 stars I have awarded it.

Exceptional.
I have not seen the TV series yet but was given this book as a present. I cannot begin to explain how enlightening and emotional this book is. Ross Kemp has written this from the heart, giving a true and honest portrayal of the life of a British solider fighting on the front line. I had some idea of what soldiers go through but this opened up the true nature of the tough job they are doing and risking their lives on a daily basis.

I think Ross has produced a fantastic book that I found hard to put down.

Brilliant!
This is a brilliant portrayal of life in the army by ross kemp. He does not attempt to glam it up at all and tells it how it is. A truly touching piece of writing!