Product Description

SEARING HEAT - You have the most dangerous job in the world's most dangerous place. You are responsible for bomb disposal in the British sector of Iraq.You are the last defence against oblivion. And it's already a hundred degrees in the shade. COLD FEAR - You are up against some of the most sophisticated bombmakers in the world. They don't play by the rules of the Geneva Convention. Nothing but your own wits will save you. You're on your own. SILENCE - Now is the moment of truth. All you can hear is the sound of your own blood pounding through your veins. This could be your last moment on earth. IT'S JUST YOU AND THE BOMB

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3012 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
.,." packed with such powerful descriptions of coming under fire that at times you begin to imagine you have picked up the script for a Hollywood action movie."
--"London Lite"
"Will do for Saddam Hussein and George W. Bush what McNab did for Saddam and George Senior"
--"Evening Standard"
"You're left in awe and wondering if we're paying Our Boys enough for going through this kind of hell. And doubting it."
--"Books Sport"

Conn Iggulden, author of The Dangerous Book For Boys
One of the best true stories you'll ever read - and better than fiction can ever hope to be. Don't start it tonight if you have to get up for work in the morning!

London Lite
A book that sets its sights high from the off - and boy does it deliver...Genuinely exciting stuff.

Customer Reviews

Tense and engrossing
This is a non-fiction account of the tour of duty of a British bomb disposal expert in Iraq. The title is a reference to the fact that the bomb disposal squad in Northern Ireland were called "Felix" (meaning that they have nine lives, like a cat). It's an amazing story, so packed with action and danger that it would seem unbelievable if it were fiction. The first half in particular is so fast-paced that you find yourself longing for the occasional brief interludes of downtime just so that you can catch a breath! The book was very reminiscent for me of the American film "The Kingdom" - and it made me realise that the film was more realistic than I had previously thought.

Chris Hunter is a very likeable narrator who is also extremely brave and passionate about what he does. He doesn't just bring the action scenes alive, but also manages to convey what it is that soldiers love about what they do, even when it puts them in extreme danger. He also talks a lot about his family back in the UK and the strains that his army career put on his marriage. This fleshes his character out and makes it a far more interesting book than if it were just about the action on the ground.

I did feel that parts of this book got a little hard to follow due to the military jargon, but that probably more a reflection on the fact that this is an unusual choice of book for me rather than on the book itself. I was engrossed in Eight Lives Down and I highly recommend it.

Breathtaking
My husband bought me this book, and for once he was absolutely right - I LOVED it. Breathtakingly exciting, poignant, funny and heartbreaking by turns, I can't imagine anyone not being knocked out by it. Chris Hunter is the man that stands in between us and the bomb - and whilst I knew I was reading about his incredible experiences in Iraq, I kept thinking he could be describing a landscape an awful lot closer to home...

Unlike a lot of soldiers' memoirs, EIGHT LIVES DOWN is written with incredible emotional honesty. As he battles his way through heartstopping ambushes, dismantles lethal explosive devices, tries to track down the bomber teams who have made HIM their principal target, and attempts to keep his marriage off the rocks, I was with him every step of the way.

It's beautifully written too - and I particularly liked the thought-provoking quotes which head every chapter. Chris Hunter's publishers have compared this to BRAVO TWO ZERO; well they would, wouldn't they?! But they're right - it's every bit as brilliant, if not even more so.

An amazing read.
I will start by saying that any review of this book will always fall short of doing it justice.
This is a fantastic read, written with intelligence and wit, and as the previous review said a brutal honesty.
It made me laugh and at times left a lump in my throat.
This is easy to read even if you have no military background but just enough "squaddie" quotes to make a serving or former soldier to smile.
I think this would appeal to all, civillian's, serving soldier's and retired alike. This is the best military book I have read in a long while.

Even if you disagree with the war for any reason please read this book and get some understanding for the amazing self sacrifice that our soldier's are making on a daily basis.