Battlefield Afghanistan: Hurt Locker: The Inside Story of Coalition Forces on the Front Line |
 |
 click here for more details, find new or used items |
Mike Ryan
|
|
Pages: 224 (Paperback)
ISBN: 1862273901
Pub: The History Press Ltd
Pub date: 2008-03-01
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 48429
Reader Reviews:
not a history book (0/0 people found this helpful)
This book is very brief, and lacks a lot of depth. It reads more like a collection of magazine articles. It lacks references. It is full of praise for the troops, which is a good thing but that means it cannot be taken seriously as a history book.
I couldn't understand who Mike Ryan is, which made it hard to work out his relationship with the events. He claims at several points to have some sort of insider knowledge. Former soldier? Journalist? Staff at RMA Sandhurst? It doesn't say in the book.
There are even some typos and grammatical errors in this book!
Up Close And Personal (1/2 people found this helpful)
Mike Ryan's book covers operation in Afghanistan from the early days of the ejection of the Taliban up to publication date. It has a good basic coverage of the politics and the events but it is not aiming to be a military history of the campaign or a military analysis. Although the author has views (and in some cases strong views) about strategy this is really a book from the tactical level. There's lots of tales of brave actions (medals by the dozen) and tactical analyses of the war. Although there is a strong pro-Rugby-Playing-Nations bias Ryan does not neglect our other allies (including the much maligned Dutch). Since Ryan is an undisguised fan of the fighting man he also takes the chance to lobby for some better kit (and give Dr John Reid a kick as he passes).
The book needs a final re-edit and a bit more text (he said greedily), but what we have is very enjoyable. There are lots of photos for fans of exciting kit - including a shot of a Polish unit.
Dissapointing (6/8 people found this helpful)
Based on the synopsis and other reviews I was expecting detailed eye witness accounts of the fighting in Afghanistan. In reality the book is only 154 pages long with a lot of space taken up with black and white photographs.
A lot of space is taken up with setting the background to the conflict - not first hand accounts of the action itself as I expected. There was very little in this book that I did not already know, and very little detail of eye witness accounts.
I much preferred the book 'Not a good day to die' by Sean Naylor (a detailed account of operation Anaconda).
Battlefield Afghanistan (5/8 people found this helpful)
An excellent book truly setting the context of the current coalition operations in Afghanistan. If you read one book about Afghanistan this should be it.
The author covers the historical context that gives the reader a deeper insight into a region that has been in constant turmoil for decades.
Solid foundation on current situation in Afghanistan (5/7 people found this helpful)
A must for anyone going to Afghanistan on operations. Excellent photography and first class flow of writing. I managed to complete the book in two days.
Similar Products
Sniper One: The Blistering True Story of a British Battle Group Under Siege
Desert of Death: A Soldier's Journey from Iraq to Afghanistan
Soldier: The Autobiography
Eight Lives Down
Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Countries & Regions -> Asia -> 1946-Present
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Britain & Ireland -> Post-war Period, 1946-Present
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Military History -> Strategy, Tactics & Military Science
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Essays, Journals, Letters & True Accounts
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)