Bravo Two-Zero

This is the second book I have read about Andy McNab and his carrier and I am extremely impressed. At the start of the book Andy talks a little about the start of his carrier, however after the second chapter you are involved in Andy and his team making decisions and plans for the operation. Once you are further in the book you actually feel for Andy and his team and all the different experiences he goes through. This book is fantastic and I recommend you reading it after you have Immediate Action by Andy McNab.

www.sasbooks.net (0/0 people found this helpful)

After reading this book one is left with the impression that the SAS are, somehow, just not as good as they think they are. McNab himself seems to have been a poor leader, unwilling to acknowledge his faults, and the story of the how the patrol so quickly and easily disintegrated into chaos could have come from the pen of Joseph Conrad.

Whilst one has to admire Chris Ryan for his epic escape from Iraq, Andy McNab's story only excites feelings akin to embarrassment.

There are numerous examples, throughout the centuries, where soldiers serving in the British Army have demonstrated their courage, fortitude and audacity but, despite McNab's spin throughout this book, this was definitely not one of those occasions.

fiction (0/2 people found this helpful)

What a load of rubbish! Its a shame that someone from the best regiment in the world had to make up such a story. Making himself out to be a superman when in reality he messed up the whole operation which resulted in the deaths of some very brave men. I thought i was reading a book about factual events when infact it was fiction. After reading EYE OF THE STORM by peter ratcliffe [great book], i have to say that andy mcnab and chris ryan should be totally ashamed!

McNab's first work of fiction (1/1 people found this helpful)

Although the book makes for a gripping read it needs to be taken with quite a pinch of salt. There is no mention of him being strongly advised before departure to take vehicles to make a quick escape if compromised, or of heavily overloading his patrol with kit. Ultimately, by failing to follow his own escape plan south towards friendly units "McNab" contributed to the death of 3 of his team and the capture of all but one of the rest by heading north towards the Euphrates and the most heavily populated area of Iraq. If you want to read what really happened to Bravo Two Zero I would recommend Peter "Billy" Ratcliffe's book Eye of The Storm for a far more down to earth and human, yet just as gripping read.

Great book - definately *based* on a true story (1/1 people found this helpful)

You'd be suprised how many people still haven't read this book, yet everyone has heard of it - maybe due to the film starring Sean Bean released in 1999.

Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an 8 man SAS team led by Andy McNab (not his real name) dropped deep behind enemy lines in Iraq during the first Gulf war. Their mission was to monitor and disturb the movement and deployment of Scud missiles being used by Saddam Hussein.

The mission goes badly wrong and the team find themselves extremely close to a large force of Iraqi military and a terrain and climate that they were largely unprepared for. They are soon discovered and pursued enormous distances day and night until most of the group have been either killed or captured. McNab was captured and the story recounts in gruesome detail the torture and psycological tecniques used to attempt to break the men down. It's gripping and exciting and you actually feel like you're there with him. These are some very tough guys.

However no review of the book would be complete without mention of the subsequent critisism levelled at McNab by other members of the patrol. Chris Ryan in his book 'The One that Got Away' says that McNab played up his own role and actually was largely responsible for the mission's early failure - Ryan clearly sees himself as the real hero of the mission, being the only member to survive the pursuit and flee to Syria.

Subsequently another surviving member of the expedition, Mike Coburn, released 'Soldier 5: The real truth behind the Bravo Two Zero mission' claiming that neither Ryan or McNab give an accurate portrayal of events and both dramatised the story for the purposes of publication (for example making up most of the major gun battles).

Believe it or not there is then a fourth book by former SAS soldier, Mike Asher, who travels the route of the escape and interviews Iraqi civilians who witnessed the flight of Bravo Two Zero patrol and gives his own view of the likelihood of the events taking place.

I had fun reading all four books and the differences in opinion didn't take anything away from McNab's original Bravo Two Zero.

Read Bravo Two Zero and enjoy it - but don't take it all as fact, and if you want to go further, check out the other books I've mentioned.

Andy McNab

Reader Reviews:

Absolutely Fantastic (0/0 people found this helpful)

www.sasbooks.net (0/0 people found this helpful)

fiction (0/2 people found this helpful)

McNab's first work of fiction (1/1 people found this helpful)

Great book - definately based on a true story (1/1 people found this helpful)

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