Product Description

In the Afghan wild lands, British and American special forces soldiers ate, slept, fought and died alongside each other - working in close-knit units, the likes of which have rarely been seen since the Second World War. This is the story of the trials and exploits, the victories and defeats, of one of those units. This book takes us from the first ever assault against a terrorist ship carrying weapons of mass destruction to attack London, to the epic siege of the terrorist-held Qala-I-Janghi fortress in Afghanistan. In the interim, our half-a-dozen soldier-characters deliver suitcases stuffed with millions of dollars in cash to 'friendly' Afghan warlords; they penetrate the towering heights of the uncharted Naka Valley, where allied intelligence has identified the mother of all terrorist training camps; they fight in the labyrinthine tunnels running beneath the Afghan mountains; and they risk all to rescue their fellow soldiers from a downed aircraft stranded on a snow-blasted mountain peak. The book culminates in the single battle in which more terrorists were killed than any other in Afghanistan: the siege of Qala-I-Janghi, an ancient mud-walled fortress used to imprison the most dangerous Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. The battle for Qala-I-Janghi lasts a staggering eight days, from the moment of the first shots being fired at the start of the uprising, to the hour that the fort yielded up the last Al Qaeda fighters. It is a battle in which over 500 terrorists dies - but which also claims the life of a US serviceman and dozens of Northern Alliance allies, with scores of severely wounded British and American soldiers. And in the final denouement, this savage battlefield turns out to be populated by the most ultimately shocking enemy - John Walker Lindh, the white American Taliban who held out in the forts' bunker until the very last. At the same time as the story of the fort siege played out on TV screens all across the world, our band of British and American special forces were involved in a secret, deadly dual to rescue their fellow men - a duel that only one side could win.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #121308 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

From the Publisher
From the top ten bestselling author of Operation Certain Death comes the true story of extraordinary comradeship and brotherhood in battle in Afghanistan

From the Inside Flap
In late 2001, British SBS (Special Boat Service) and American CIA personnel found themselves pitted into a fight to the death against a deadly al-Qaeda army. It was the most bloodthirtsy and ultimately heroic battle since Goose Green...
Called into Afghanistan to assistin the war against the Taliban, the lads of the SBS, the secretive sister organization of the SAS, were launched into an inhospitable environment, a wild west country populated by nomadic tribes and scattered bands of al-Qaeda fighters (AQT).
Events take a dramatic turn for the worse, however, when 600 AQT, imprisoned in a mud-walled fort called Qala-I-Janghi, overthrow the guards and break into the munitions store. Faced with a violent uprising, the SBS and CIA units launch a ferocious, eight-day-long siege on the fort, culminating in a shocking, blood-soaked finale...

Action-packed, ferocious and thrilling, BLOODY HEROES is the story of ultimate betrayal, ultimate firepower, and ultimate revenge. The ultimate special forces heroics of our time.

From the Back Cover
Praise for OPERATION CERTAIN DEATH

"As a purely military operation it knocks into a cocked hat the lifting of the Iranian embassy siege."
Brigadier Andrew Stewart

"Grotesque, glorious and utterly gripping."
Bolton Evening News
"A powerful docu-novel, which conveys the danger of the operation and the courage of those who went in to successfully rescue their colleagues."
Sunderland Echo

Customer Reviews

Excellant read
Now i'm not one for reading books BUT - From the moment i picked this book up i found it hard to put down. The courage and the skill of the UK and US special forces are brought to light more than ever. As you follow them on a story that kept me hooked till the end.

The book starts with the SBS (special boat service) and SAS (special air service) landing an attack on a ship that was on its way towards to the River Themes. The ship was controlled by terroist with a cargo full of chemical warfare ready to blow London.

Then you follow Matt from the SBS and his team through the biggest operations of Afghanistan. Where at some ponits you wonder how an earth they will get out alive.

Highly recommended

Brilliant piece of work
One of the best, if not THE best, books ever written about Special Forces operations. Provides a wonderful insight into the personalities of some very special men who are driven only to do the right thing, not for money or glory, just the satisfaction of a job done well. The book actually covers three back to back operations starting with the first ever take-down of a ship in the open sea, then moves on to a surveillance operation, where some of the same soldiers had to climb a 15,000 foot mountain, carrying around 100 pounds of kit in their bergens, then stay up there unsupported for a week! That done, they are immediately sent to sort out the prison uprising which forms the main story, and that also took more than a week too conclude. Leaves the reader in awe of these special individuals. The cast of characters includes SAS, SBS, Delta, SEALs, CIA, and SOF. We all owe these guys a debt of honour, truly.

The best and most informative SF writer around!
Damien Lewis's debut novel "Operation Certain Death" was a masterpiece of SF writing and this novel is maybe even better. This informative and exciting book starts with a charting of the joint SAS/SBS operation on a suspected terrorist rogue ship in open water just off the British coast. Then the book describes the amazing SF exploits in the battle of Qala-I-Janghi when a CIA operative was ambushed against the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. This battle mainly involved the SBS, SEALs, CIA, and SOF and was one of the biggest battles in the war in Afghanistan. A real strength of Damians writing is his character development and his attention to detail. Unlike many SF writers around Lewis does not make up many of the events and exaggerate them. He openly admits to having had much input from SF people who actually took parts in the events in the book and even input from some of the enemy Taliban who were there. This book is a real page turner and even more exciting because the events actually took place. I would recommend this book to any fan of SF exploits and also anyone who wants to understand how the SF has gained so much media attention and plaudits. I eagerly await Damien's next offering with huge interest. I simply cannot wait, as in my mind Lewis has now established himself as the best SF writer around.