Product Description

A devastating first-hand account of the current war in
Afghanistan.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32697 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-19
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Synopsis
Desert of Death - or Dasht-e-Margo - is the locals' name for the barren terrain of south-west Afghanistan. Before Captain Leo Docherty was deployed there in the spring of 2006, he used the name as a joke. After all, he went to the region with more hope than fear. Back from Iraq, where he had taken part in missions with the Marines and SAS, he looked forward to a new campaign. Here was a war which could not only be won, but which could improve the lives of the Afghan people. Brimming with confidence, and knowledge of Pashtu, Urdu and Arabic, he was ready to make a difference ...DESERT OF DEATH is a brilliantly vivid on-the-ground report of the events which led to the fiercest fighting faced by UK troops since the Korean War. It is a story of bravery and making-do, of farce and misadventure, and above all it is an unforgettable story of war in the twenty-first century.

About the Author
Leo Docherty was born in Scotland and grew up in
Gloucestershire. After studying Swahili and Hindi at university he attended
the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Scots
Guards in 2001. First posted to London, he performed ceremonial duties and
trained as a paratrooper. After a short spell in Germany he completed an
Arabic course and served operationally in Iraq.

Having passed a further language course in Pashtu, he deployed to southern
Afghanistan as the aide-de-camp to the commander of the first British
forces to enter the volatile Helmand Province in April 2006. His language
skills quickly led him to move from the British Headquarters to serve
alongside the Afghan National Army.

A passionate traveller and linguist, he used his leave periods while
serving in the Army to travel extensively in Asia and the Middle East on
horseback, bicycle and by public transport. He left the army in December
2006.

Customer Reviews

Desert of disenchantment
I read Leo's book from the perspective of someone who has sat in the desert himself and become slightly disenfranchised from what we were trying to achieve.

Having said that I was disappointed with this as I rather feel the author came across as mildly bitter. Quite rightly he pointed out the chasm that exists between us and our NATO colleagues in terms of equipment and conditions. It's a travesty for sure but the account is all rather bland. Having been attached to a Guards regiment I can see and hear what sort of "chap" Leo is, well educated and intelligent but I rather fear he comes across rather naively.

Having said that, I applaud the honesty with which this is written. I'd have liked some more depth to his colleagues and some more insight into his commanders intent to put it all into context.

Docherty's Disenchantment

On the back of the book it reads;

'Desert of Death' is the local name for the barren terrain of south-west Afghanistan. When Captain Leo Docherty - soldier, linguist and explorer - was deployed there in the spring of 2006 he was looking forward to the mission. He believed it was a war which could improve the lives of the afghan people, and a war which could be won.

On the ground, however, he quickly discovered that the situation was not so straightforward. He and his soldiers went on to face the fiercest fighting UK troops have experienced since the Korean war.'

...which all sounds terribly exciting. However, unfortunately for the reader, Docherty is on a plane back to the UK when all this fierce fighting kicks off. When the fighting actually begins, (eleven pages from the end of the book) Docherty is waiting to be sent home for rest and recuperation in the UK and is amid 'sudden flights of delicious fantasy about seeing Lucy and gorging on champagne.'

Please don't get me wrong. This man has done his duty. But what I wish to point out to future readers is that how the book has been marketed, and what it actually is, are two very different things.

So, what book is it and is it any good?

Answer; It's a book about Docherty, and its OK.

Docherty is obviously a bit of an Army outcast, but he is an intelligent man, and undoubtedly would do very well in academia or as a travel journalist. The book starts quite well, he is in Iraq, we have a brief description of his time there before he becomes disillusioned and he manages to get himself to Afghanistan. Although he is an officer in the army you get the feeling that this is secondary for him; fascinated by the locals, their language, the landscape, Afghan culture and especially the food his short book is filled with well-written gentle descriptions of the land and with accounts of impromptu tea and dinner parties with the Afghan soldiers and with long descriptions of endless 'delicious' food.

I wouldn't mind this, if Docherty would give the readers a little more insight to himself. The descriptions drag after a while, and as the book goes on, one reading Docherty's account gets the feeling that he doesn't really forge much of a connection with any other human beings.

Maybe he wants to be cast as this solitary figure throwing himself 'anonymously and humble, into a society; adopting its dress eating its food, and striving to learn its poetic and beautiful language.' Perhaps he really is that person. But the descriptions get repetitive, and I yearned for more of a human element.

In the short 192 pages we get description after description of the food Docherty eats. Any other sort of human bonding or human elements pale in comparison, even the short snapshots of his romance with Lucy, are brief, trivialised and come across as mundane. In the paragraph where she comes to visit him at Windsor he devotes more words to describing boot polish than her. As the book is fairly devoid of traditional 'action' or 'fierce fighting' it was this human element that could have saved it from becoming boring this crucial human element is in my opinion, severely lacking.

Docherty is no doubt a bright man and I wish him the very best in his future, I get the feeling he would be a great university lecturer or travel journalist. Politically his essay in the epilogue is an excellent critique of the way the war in Afghanistan has been conducted, it is passionately argued and is by far the best part of the book. But as a book on the whole, Desert of Death is average, as Docherty describes; 'Sitting down with CSM Johnstone, I tell him about my lunch, but he's not interested.' and the problem is, by the end of the book neither are we.

A personal account by a rather bitter ex-officer
First of all, this is a rather modest book, only 200 pages and fairly large font size. Because BFPO was a bit slow, it arrived the day before I left Afghanistan, so I read it with no difficulty on the plane home. The tone of the book is fairly obvious from the outset - disgruntled former officer writing to justify his inability to cope with service life. Coverage of Iraq was fairly superficial, but with a bit more depth on Afghanistan. The author obviously did not fit into his regiment and one wonders why he bothered joining in the first place. His accounts of FOB Robinson and Sangin are interesting, especially if you have served in the area, and the criticism of the lack of joined up policy (or rather its implementation) is justified, but his aspirations are a bit other worldly. Read it if you are going to the area, but read 3 Para as well.