Product Description

'Bravo Two Zero' was the code-name of the famous SAS operation: a classic story of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. BRAVO TWO ZERO by patrol commander 'Andy McNab' became an international bestseller, as did the book by 'Chris Ryan' (THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY). Both men became millionaires. Three members of the patrol were killed. One, veteran sergeant Vince Phillips, was blamed in both books for a succession of mistakes. As Michael Asher reveals, the stories in BRAVO TWO ZERO and THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY grew considerably in the telling. Their heroic tales of taking out tanks with their rocket launchers, mowing down hundreds of Iraqi soldiers, the silent stabbing of the occasional sentry, were never mentioned at their post-war debriefings... In an investigation literally in the footsteps of the patrol, Michael Asher tells the true story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #119198 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Bravo Two Zero mission, in which an eight-man SAS patrol was discovered many miles behind Iraqui lines and had to make a run back for the border and safety, is probably the most famous incident involving British troops in the Gulf War. Two bestselling books--Bravo Two Zero and The One That Got Away--were published and two of the soldiers, using the pseudonyms "Andy McNab" and "Chris Ryan", were launched into new careers as writers. Even the most uncritical reader of the two books would have been aware that some artistic licence had been employed. What Michael Asher claims is the truth about Bravo Two Zero is, however, astonishing. Asher, fluent in Arabic and familiar with the ways of the desert Arabs, travelled to Iraq 10 years after the Gulf War and re-traced the steps of the SAS patrol, finding Bedouin eyewitnesses to events. There is an almost comical disparity between McNab and Ryan's version of the mission and the version Asher reports. According to McNab, when the patrol was discovered, it was by Iraqi soldiers and a furious firefight ensued with the SAS men downing a dozen or more men before fleeing. According to Asher, the mission was "compromised" by three Arab locals, one of them a man in his 70s, and the SAS wisely decided that discretion was the better part of valour and withdrew. According to Ryan, on his lonely journey to the Syrian border, he was obliged to kill two Iraqis, one with his bare hands. According to Asher's sources, he omitted to mention this at his initial de-briefing. One of Asher's aims in his book is to rehabilitate the reputation of Vince Phillips, one of the dead. Most readers of this book and of the tale told by the Arab who discovered Phillips's body will probably decide that he has done so. Yet Asher does not seem motivated by a desire to denigrate the heroism of McNab and Ryan. We get the heroes we want and Asher understands that the Rambo-like exploits they reported were what we, and the media, demanded of them. Their real heroism, respected by both Asher and the Bedouins to whom he spoke, lay in their powers of endurance and determination when utterly isolated and alone, hundreds of miles inside enemy territory. In The Real Bravo Two Zero Asher has written a far better and more humane book than either of the two he deconstructs, but he still seems to understand why McNab and Ryan produced the books they did.--Nick Rennison

Review
THE REAL BRAVO TWO ZERO is now in the top 10 bestseller list and has received a brilliant review in FRONT MAGAZINE: 'Asher reveals fact from fiction and gives the full, no-bullshit account of what actually happened. Superbly written and researched, this is a gem of recent military history that shouldn't bemissed.' FRONT MAGAZINE, April 03 'Michael Asher, ex-SAS man and desert specialist discovered some glaring inconsistencies in the best-selling Gulf War books by Andy McNab and Chris Ryan. Retracing their steps across the Iraqui desert, Asher pieces together what really happened. Far from the supposed heroics of the now-millionaire writers, he tells of McNab's botched planning, poorleadership and a sorry attempt to pin the blame on a dead patrol member. Thewhole truth is very difficult to know, but this is a timely and humane book nevertheless.'JACK magazine, April 03 'The classic international best-seller now in paperback. What really happened when the now famous eight-man SAS patrol went behind enemy lines in the Gulf War? This really is the true story of the SAS operation that made millionaires of the two men in the patrol... Intelligence sources say this is a powerful 'expose' of the men called 'McNab' and 'Ryan'.'EYE SPY Vol II, issue 16, 2003 'SAS Trooper Michael Asher's powerful re-telling of the truth behind Bravo Two Zero and The One That Got Away raises serious questions as to how tall were these two tales in the first place.Asher, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and fluent Arabic speaker, describes how he follows literally in the footsteps of the famous patrol. We are also asked how gullible are we and also how credible is Asher. The conclusions either way are disturbing.' * * * * SCOTTISH LEGION NEWS, April/May 20

About the Author
Michael Asher served in the Parachute Regiment and SAS. A fluent Arab speaker, he has lived for years among the Bedouin peoples. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, his published books include SHOOT TO KILL (1990), THESIGER: A BIOGRAPHY (1994) and an acclaimed biography of Lawrence of Arabia.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating AND Credible
First of all, this is a fascinating book and really well written.
But what the hell are the reviewers who say he has no credibility on about?
First of all, he is an ex-Para AND ex-SAS, which makes him better qualified than most. He spent years in the desert with the Bedouin, getting to know their ways. Anyone who knows anything about the Bedouin realises that lying is a terrible sin in their eyes. Yet one of the previous reviewers says he "only has the word of a few Bedouin peasants!" A few Bedouin peasants who were there at the time of Bravo Two Zero are likely to give a very accurate representation of what happened. The reviewer also says McNab's, Coburn's and Ryan's books say similar things. WHAT?Why, then, did McNab say the LUP was 20km from the heli drop-off and Ryan only 2km?Why did McNab recall a large firefight and charging APCs when Ryan mentioned nothing of the sort?
The book is well-written and uncovers another side to a fascinating mystery. Taking nothing away from the Bravo Two Zero guys, it was a bloody good effort, but this book gets to the bottom of the story of Bravo Two Zero, and finds McNab's account to be embellished and false.
Great book, if you've read "Bravo Two Zero" or " The One That Got Away", buy it!

Truth & Lies
Many people have criticised me for being too gullible as far as the Iraqis are concerned. However, it may be worth pointing out that there is a big difference between the Iraqis I interviewed and Ryan and McNab - I never caught them out in a lie. Ryan and McNab's versions of events were so completely in contrast, that both could not be true. The Iraqis I talked to, some of them over a long period, and at unguarded moments, were always entirely consistent in their story. They also often told their tales in front of large audiences of families and friends who would have known if they were lying.
Now this does not prove that they were telling the truth. Perhaps they were not. I exercised the same judgement that anyone else would exercise in the circumstances - journalists and police investigators do this all the time. I often gave Ryan and McNab the benefit of the doubt even when I suspected they were not telling the truth. All I can say is, in most cases, I felt that my witnesses were telling the truth to the best of my judgement.
They were certainly more convincing than the accounts of two people who not only disagreed over distances and numbers, but whose accounts were both different from what they said at their official debrief. How could McNab possibly have mistaken two kilometres for twenty?
Unlike those who have criticised me- and unlike Ryan and Mcnab - I know the Bedouin. I speak fluent Arabic and lived for years with a Bedouin tribe. Those people who assume my witnesses were lying 'simply because they were Iraqis' only know the Arabs from the propaganda put forth by the media. This has no connection with the reality.
Despite what they try to tell you in the news reports, the Arabs are not all demons, but real people. The Arab Bedouin, in fact, do not live by the same standards as we do - they live by a strict code of honour. One might ask if the governments who took us into war on a pretext that turned out not to be true could say the same. Just because a point of view is plugged again and again in the media does not make it true - what you are getting is political ideology, not reality. If I had to choose between believing a Bedouin and Mr. Bush I know whom I would choose.
Even if all my witnesses were lying - which I admit is not impossible - the fact remains that McNab and Ryan were not truthful in their accounts. I would remind all those millions who bought these books that they were sold as true accounts of the SAS in action. In any other business there would be a word for that.
Anyone who wishes to prove that the Iraqis I interviewed were making it up is free to investigate the matter for himself. If I am wrong then I will be the first to admit it. But let us not make judgements on spurious racist grounds imposed on us by the media - to do so is to dehumanise others as well as ourselves.

Good Reading BUT........
The Book was great. But i do feel that there are SOME PROBLEMS with this book. Deffinately worth reading though. on the synopsis segment of the Amazon page it doesnt quite give what i found particularly interesting. Michael Asher (ex-Para and 23 SAS)follows the footsteps of those in the B20 Mission to De-bunk its Rambo like myths and see if it is actually true. People argue, rightly to a degree, that Mr.Asher wrote this 10 years after the mission and that how can this guy (Asher) claim to know the truth behind the B20 misson when he had no part of it.

That was one of the reasons why Asher wanted to investigate for himself of how can a very very professional soldier be called by someone who has not come close to the what Vince was, a Cowardly, Incompetent, Unprofessional member of the Patrol.

I do agree with this, actually saying at one point "Talk about ego, This guy wants to set out and prove a couple of fellow Blades were lying and that Mr.Asher would find the truth". BUT.... when i read the first few pages he actually had the same problems with B20 and The one that got away as i had.

I pesonally hated the way Chris Ryan wrote about SGT.Vince Phillips (one of the dead patrol members)even though he had "Sort of" apologised for the way he portrayed Vince. Vince was nearing the end of his 22 year service with the Army. He was an extremely fit(champion marathoner) and an extremely professional senior NCO. He had served with the Paras and the Commando Brigade, then entering the SAS. he was more a seasoned soldier than Mcnab and most definately the new arrival Ryan. When Ryan slandered and BLAMED the failiure of the mission on Vince i found that a very hard pill to swallow (calling Ryan a T*at whilst reading his exploit actually), he was even calling Vince Incompetent, Unprofessional and Cowardly. You NEVER, ever slander and stab a fellow soldier in the back especially when they are dead and have no way to answer back. It goes against the grain of an unwritten soldiers creed of which i and my fellow mates live by.

I do commend Ryan for his increadible 200 mile treck across the desert and the torturous events of the other four members who were caught. I do like the books and i cant and wont comment on whats true and whats not because its not my place to, BUT i hated the way a Ryan treated Vince. And so do a lot of other fellow soldiers.

second was Michael Asher felt that the professionalism and greatness of the SAS was in trouble and hoped to prove otherwise. They are the main reasons why Asher wanted to investigate but he also found interesting Revelations about the mission.