Product Description

On 16th April 1994, Nick Richardson was shot down over the beseiged Bosnian Muslim town of Gorazde, his plane hit by a surface-to-air missile. NO ESCAPE ZONE is the story of Richardson's journey to the Bosnian theatre of war and his descent into the hell of the war-torn Balkans. It recounts in graphic detail the rigorous training as his aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal steamed full tilt to the Adriatic, his missions over Bosnia and the dramatic shootdown itself. But that was merely the beginning. Picked up by Muslim forces, he rapidly learnt that nothing was what it seemed in the former Yugoslavia. When the Serbs stormed Gorazde, Richardson - now teamed with a crack SAS unit - found the Muslims turning against them. A dangerous escape became their only option, because capture meant almost certain death. An action-packed narrative in the bestselling tradition of Sabre Squadron and TORNADO DOWN, Nick Richardson's first-hand account of his breakout from the besieged town is one of the most gripping, untold escape stories of the modern era.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1028364 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback

About the Author
Nick Richardson was a Lieutenant-Commander in the Fleet Air Arm until October 1999. He still lives in Yeovil near Fleet Air Arm HQ.

Customer Reviews

slow start, exellent end
This is a excellent book. I gave 4 star because of few reasons. If the title of this book was, "my life in RN", or "how to fly the Sea Harrier"... it would definitely win all 5 stars. But the title is "No escape zone", and on the cover of the book is also written, "one of the most gripping escape stories of the modern era".

It has a slow start, on 180 pages Mr. Richardson describe how to fly the Sea Harrier, he explains ways of dropping bombs, how to fly against more superior at that time MIG-29, combat training... but this is not the book about that. In my opinion, this book is about how he was shot down over the city of Gorazde, and how he and the SAS team got trough enemy lines to safety. The story about that is written on only 120 pages comparing with the 180 pages of introduction.

In this 120 pages, he describes who was who in this war, who did what, how people of Gorazde under siege lived and fought against superior enemy, and he describes it well, although this was not his war (his statement).

Despite of my remarks, this book is worth reading, and I highly recommend it. You will read it in one breath especially the last 100 pages. I did.

GRIPPING
I found this book to have a slow start,but with relevent pieces of information to keep you interested for the reality of the situation to come.Nick must have wondered what and where the hell he was after ejecting out of a multi-millon pound jet fighter into the unknown wilderness that was war torn Bosnia.The ending is so gripping i was late back from my dinner hour at work!!!!!whoops....

Unique in many ways
This is a unique book as it explores two aspects of life that are very hard to find books on- that of a British Naval Harrier pilot as well as an autobiography of a military serviceman under NATO command during the Bosnian crisis of the mid 90's. While the cover claims it as being "one of the most gripping, untold escape stories of the modern era," I feel that its claim to fame lies in the aforementioned aspects of life, as books on either of these subjects are extremely difficult to come by. While more autobiographies are being written on the Bosnian campaign, I can't help but feel that there are nowhere near enough and not from a diverse enough range of views. To look at the book itself, explanation of the Harrier FRS1 flying abilities, tactics against aircraft and other roles are well explained from an expert's point of view (the author ended his full time career as senior pilot for 899 Training Squadron) in simple language for anyone to understand. While his views on the Bosnian campaign reflect much of what was though by other military personnel, these are not explained as well. The reader has to read about the death and destruction, then reading his simple reasoning that "it was no longer our war," creating a somewhat anti-climax. I was hoping for something maybe a little more insightful or philosophical in his argument, rather than what seems like such a simple explanation. For those who have read Mike Curtis' CQB, mention of Richardson's shoot down is mentioned, providing a cross reference that is very hard to find in many military books! All in all, a worthwhile read.