Product Description

They were like a band of brothers ...In 1983 Andy McNab was assigned to B Squadron, one of the four Sabre Squadrons of the SAS, and within it to Air Troop, otherwise known as Seven Troop. This is Andy McNab's gripping account of the time he served in the company of a remarkable group of men - from the day, freshly badged, he joined them in the Malayan jungle, to the day, ten years later, that he handed in his sand-coloured beret and started a new life. The links they forged then bound them inextricably together, but the things they saw and did during that time would take them all to breaking point - and some beyond - in the years that were to follow. He who dares doesn't always win.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4248 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

From the Inside Flap
They were like a band of brothers…

In 1983 Andy McNab was assigned to B Squadron, one of the four Sabre Squadrons of the SAS, and within it to Air Troop, otherwise known as

SEVEN TROOP

This is Andy McNab’s gripping account of the time he served in the company of a remarkable group of men – from the day, freshly badged, he joined them in the Malayan jungle, to the day, ten years later, that he handed in his sand-coloured beret and started a new life. The links they forged then bound them inextricably together, but the things they saw and did during that time would take them all to breaking point - and some beyond - in the years that were to follow. He who dares doesn’t always win...

From the pen of the man who invented the modern military memoir comes another storming battering ram of thrill-packed, unforgettable drama. Never-before-revealed operations and heartbreaking human stories combine to create a new classic of the genre and a book that takes us back to where it all began…

From the Back Cover
From the SAS soldier whoinvented the modern military memoir comes another storming battering ram of thrill-packed, unforgettable drama.

Never-before-revealed covert operations and heartbreaking human stories combine to create a new classic and a book that takes us back to where it all began…
SEVEN TROOP
This is Andy McNab's gripping account of the time he served in the company of a remarkable band ofbrothers - from the day, freshly badged, he joined them in the Malayan jungle, to the day, ten years later, when he handed in his sand-coloured beret and started a new life.

The things they saw and did during that time would take them all to breaking point - and some beyond - in the years that followed. He who dares doesn't always win...

About the Author
Andy McNab joined the infantry as a boy soldier. In 1984 he was 'badged' as a member of 22 SAS Regiment and was involved in both covert and overt special operations worldwide. During the Gulf War he commanded Bravo Two Zero, a patrol that, in the words of his commanding officer, 'will remain in regimental history for ever'. Awarded both the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) and Military Medal (MM) during his military career, McNab was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS in February 1993. He wrote about his experiences in two phenomenal bestsellers, Bravo Two Zero, which was filmed starring Sean Bean. Besides his writing work, he lectures to security and intelligence agencies in both the USA and UK. He is also patron of the Help is 4 Heroes campaign.

Customer Reviews

Stories of laughter and others of sorrow
After reading Bravo Two Zero and Immediate Action a long time ago as a young soldier, I still cannot bring myself to read a fiction book from Andy McNab; not because they might not be good but because of the first two books being non-fiction. However, as soon as I discovered that he had created a new book of his personal stories I broke my pledge of "no more war stories" and bought it.

The book does build upon Immediate Action but it has an underlying and consistent message, one that I unfortunately witnessed in some ex-Falkland paras. Without telling the lay of the book and thereby removing the enjoyment for other readers, what I will say is that the story follows a young trooper meeting "brothers in arms" and what can result from years at the hard edge. Like Andy's first two books; I read this one in under a week (I spend some time at airports!)

The message is simple; the reality of war is hell and those that return can suffer from physical and/or mental injury. Both types of wounds can be very deep and life threatening; the latter is extremely difficult to heal. The book concludes with open emotion and I take my hat (well, beret as an ex-para) to anyone who can put that onto paper.

A HAUNTING TOUR DE FORCE
This book does much more than just take over from where Bravo Two Zero and Immediate Action left off. It traces Andy McNab's military career from the time he joined 7 Troop, SAS, to the time he left, but covers many other aspects of his subsequent life as and when they overlap with other members of the Troop. In many ways, this is as much their story as his, and McNab is man enough to give centre stage from time to time to giants like Frank Collins, Al Slater and Nish Bruce. Nor does he try to sweep bad news under the carpet; the events of 1998 when Dr Thomas Shanks gunned down his former girlfriend with an AK47 in a Leeds car park are given a full airing. This is a reflective, almost sad, book, but it's none the worse for that. The reality is starting to hit home about the time-bomb of PTSD, and McNab champions the cause of counselling, even for rough, tough SAS lads. This book might be harrowing, but it still carries all the McNab hallmarks of a brilliant sense of (dark) humour, and dialogue and action that crackles with authenticity. I loved it. I just hope the powers that be take heed of what men like McNab are saying.

High personal price of special forces soldiering
A sad but very much needed work on the nasty realities of soldiering, this book recounts the very moving descent into unhappiness and despair some of McNab's best mates endured in the aftermath of service.

From this book it seems clear that the Regiment is an unnatural substitute for normal family life for young men, i.e., wife and kids are replaced by comradeship, which perhaps becomes foundational for a subsequent dysfunctional life for some of the guys. It means that when they leave there is a sense that they've lost the focus or foundation of their daily existence. And of course, the exposure to the cutting edge of modern military adventurism is the other key factor destabilising the mental health of special forces soldiers, with the inevitable horrible sights, sounds and loss of beloved friends. I couldn't help but conclude that, all the prestige notwithstanding, making it into the SAS is just not worth it for a lot, maybe even most, of the lads who manage it.

A few errors apart (i.e. Kesh RUC station was in Fermanagh, not Donegal, as the latter is part of the Republic of Ireland), the book is replete with fascinating anecdotes and occasional operational accounts, most notably in my native Northern Ireland, where, among my own community (the Protestants), the SAS are revered for their work at Loughgall in particular and against the IRA in general. Many of us would have liked to have seen them given a freer hand during the Troubles, as we are sure that had they been, there would be fewer of our friends and family lying dead in graveyards around the Province.

In closing, I am very pleased McNab wrote this and especially glad he disclosed so much of Frank Collins' story therein also. I was moved to tears at the kindness and sincerity of Collins as accounted in the book, so credit to McNab for not shying away from relating the man's religious convictions. In sum, this book shows us that even the elite forces are just human beings, amongst some of the most noble on the face of this earth. Highly recommended reading!