Bravo Two-Zero

An enjoyable book which seems a quite frank and honest account of an SAS soldiers expereince in Iraq . Where this book falls down is McNabs writing skills.The torture they went through was quite horrific but I found it hard to relate or feel what they were expereincing as I read it. I felt the chapters dealing with torture could have been written in a deeper and more heart felt way.All and all a good read , look forward to reading Immediate action which I have heard is much better.

fantastic read (0/0 people found this helpful)

This is an extrodinary account of an 8 man patrol sent out to Iraq in the Gulf War in an attempt to dissable communications to Northern Iraq and destroy any Scud sites. You know from the blurb the outcome of the group but you don't want it to happen as they get so far almost dying. McNab describes him getting tortured and all the other disgusting things that happened.
People are questioning McNabs realiability, so my opinion on this is as follows. 1)He was on the patrol so it is likely to be reliable 2)The Regiment is a top secret orginisation so some of the information MAY be witheld/changed due to security 3)It's a book, it's purpose to entertain
In the end it's up to you whether you believe him or not, i believe him and he gets a lot of admiration from me too

brilliant (2/2 people found this helpful)

absolutely brilliant
best book i've ever read
its just brilliant!!!
if you like war stories you'll
love this

Awesome (1/2 people found this helpful)

I bought this book from a local store in my hometown when Andy Mcnab was actually there signing copies a few years back

Just came round to reading it again and I forgot what a great book this is. My old man was ivolved in flying troops and equipment out of RAF Brize Norton on VC10 tankers and reading the start of the book brings back some good memories.

Although this book is very good, and controversy aside, I would still recommend Chris Ryan's the one that got away above this book.

Warts & all (0/0 people found this helpful)

Many books have a reputation which precedes them, some reputations might be a deterrent. Readers like myself may worry that if anyone sees you reading Bravo Two Zero they will think you're one of those pitiful 'chairbourne ranger' dreamers who fantasize about being part of the military elite: I've met more than a few of these in my time... Partly because of this kind of thing, I avoided this title for many years, but having now read the book I would heartily recommend it to anyone, even if only to be able to speak about it from experience.

The book raises many questions. For example, satellite photography technology has been around for many years now, so why was the patrol not provided with detailed images of the terrain? Why was the concentration of Iraqi forces in the drop-zone so badly underestimated? Why didn't the military have information on the weather conditions the patrol would encounter? According to other books such as "The Quiet Soldier", the cardinal rule taught during training for the SAS is "you must kill immediately". So why leave so many witnesses alive to compromise your location?

More pertinently, we have no idea how accurate the book is; by all accounts Chris Ryan's "The one that got away" presents a wholly different version of events. Most avid readers can't have failed to notice that both Andy McNab and Chris Ryan have since become surprisingly prolific authors and I'm sure their "true story" beginnings can have done no harm to their new careers. I for one do not begrudge them their post-military success, though had I realized that a military career could be such a useful passport to becoming a fiction author I might not have walked past the door to the army recruitment centre all those years ago.

So... is it fact, fiction or a blend of the two? None of us are going to know for sure. If it is mostly accurate then it is, as I have suggested in the title, a good 'warts & all' account of how even the best training still leaves you vulnerable to human fallibility; it therefore provides a refreshing antidote to the notion that our Special Forces are only one step removed from Marvel comic book heroes. On the other hand, if it is heavily fictionalized, then it's still a ripping good yarn. Either way I would recommend this book to anyone.

PS: I bought mine second hand and it "seems" to be signed by the author, surely Andy McNab didn't/doesn't do book signings? His face is always blacked out when he appears on TV.

Andy McNab

Reader Reviews:

light weight (0/1 people found this helpful)

fantastic read (0/0 people found this helpful)

brilliant (2/2 people found this helpful)

Awesome (1/2 people found this helpful)

Warts & all (0/0 people found this helpful)

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