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‘A vivid and absorbing portrayal of a unique and dedicated group of soldiers.’ – General Sir Mike Jackson, formerly Chief of the General Staff.
‘[a] scintillating book’ – Short List
This is a powerful piece of reportage – The Financial Times
‘The great merit of Bomb Hunters, Sean Rayment’s study of the British bomb disposal units in Afghanistan, is that it lets us hear the true voice of the soldier.’ - The Financial Times
‘Bomb Hunters is highly recommended’. – The Daily Star
“(the book)…amply demonstrate(s) why we should be just as interested in Afghanistan as ever... it is no longer enough merely to depict action for action’s sake – now the action must be there for a reason.” - The Telegraph
“The authentic voice of the British soldier is irresistible: unforgettably funny, realistic and brave. One in 10 soldiers are killed or injured in Afghanistan.” - London Evening Standard
“In Bomb Hunters, ex-paratrooper-turned-war-correspondent Sean Rayment joins some of the Army’s top Ammunition Technical Officers (ATOs) on tour to find out what their daily life is like, and how they deal with the stresses of undertaking such dangerous work.” - Legion magazineProduct Description
'Afghanistan is just like Iraq – hot, dusty and full of people who want to kill you', SSgt Simon Fuller, Royal Engineer Search Advisor
Bomb Hunters tells the story of the British army's elite bomb disposal experts, men who face death every day in the most dangerous region of the most lethal country on earth – Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Bomb Hunters are up against the Improvised Explosive Device – the IED – the deadly homemade bombs planted by the Taliban. Hard to detect and easy to trigger, an estimated 10 bombs for every one of the 10,000 British troops have been planted in the region. IEDs are now the main killer of British troops in Afghanistan and the ultimate psychological weapon.
Bomb Hunters work in 50-degree heat as they take the 'long walk' into the kill zone, defusing as many as 15 bombs a day. In the past year the casualty rate has soared as the troops have become locked into a deadly game of cat and mouse – to locate and deactivate the deadly bombs before they maim and kill soldiers, police and civilians. Skill, cold courage and inevitably pure luck play a huge part in the survival of these men and as the British public have already seen – a single lapse of concentration can result in instant death.
Ex-paratrooper, now defence journalist, Sean Rayment, takes the reader on a journey into the heat and dust of Helmand Province as he meets these courageous soldiers while they put their lives at risk to prevent other British troops falling victim to the IED. He interviews the Bomb Hunters as they perform their duties on the frontline and paints a breathtaking picture of what life is like for the men who play poker with their own lives every day, who live knowing the enemy watches their every move, waiting for a weakness to show itself, a pattern in technique to be exploited, or an error to be made that triggers the device itself.
This is as vivid and dramatic as war reporting gets, mixing 'close to the bone' narrative and dead-pan black humour from the Bomb Hunters themselves, some of whom were subsequently killed in action. No punches will be pulled on what these men feel about the war, their place in it, the politicians and generals who send them there, and how they deal with the relentless pressure of the job itself in the heart of the world's most hostile combat environment.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Sean Rayment is the distinguished defence correspondent of The Sunday Telegraph. Bomb disposal in Afghanistan is a fascinating subject for a book. The combination of the two should be a recipe for success and I am glad to say that Bomb Hunters does not disappoint - far from it. Rayment, himself a former captain in the Parachute Regiment, provides a gripping and gritty insight into the courageous group of men who constantly risk their lives defusing the Taliban's weapon of choice - the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The statistics given in this book - coupled with Rayment's incisive interviews with men on the front line - leave the reader in no doubt just how dangerous their job is in Helmand province. Soldiers serving in Afghanistan now stand a one in ten chance of becoming a casualty - being killed or wounded. Bomb Hunters is war reporting at its best and anyone reading the book will find it difficult not to agree with the final conclusion of Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes GC - that asking these brave bomb disposal operators to carry out tours of fully six months in duration is unacceptable.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I spent seven months in Brimstone 32, one of the IEDD teams in Sean's book and I am pleased he has captured the reality of our work in support of the overall mission in Helmand. He has shown that although we live and work in a high risk environment, we bear the same risks as every other soldier out on patrol ie coming under fire and in danger of becoming casualties from undetected devices. It is only when get to the target area that our job takes on a slightly different role from those in the Battle Groups, we stop focussing on being soldiers and switch back to being an IEDD team until we have completed the task and have to patrol back to our base. Like any group of soldiers, it is our training and teamwork that gets us through the difficulty and dangers of our work, whether on task or even waiting to go out on task and Sean frequently exposes that throughout the book.
I am pleased Sean chose to tell our story and I was pleased to be part of the story.
I am pleased Sean chose to tell our story and I was pleased to be part of the story.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
This book is as good piece of journalism that reports accurately life in Afghanistan for the young men and women working in the Counter-IED Task Force around Helmand Province. 6 months isolated from friends and family, working 10-14 hours a day, in extreme heat carrying 80 pounds of kit, all for a cause that you don't really understand and on top of that you have to find, disarm and safely remove something that is tailor made to kill you whilst dealing with the 'normal' every day routine of getting shot at. Anyone fancy bomb disposal?
Afghanistan doesn't get reported in the news so much anymore, with other conflicts in the Arab world taking the focus away; it makes it even easier for the British public to forget what is actually going on at the moment in Helmand Province and why our soldiers are being killed.
Sean Rayment has taking it upon himself to get to the front, take the same risks and endure what the bomb disposal teams endure every day. The book contains a lot of interviews, not only with officers that are trained to answer media questions but with soldiers from private up warrant officer. Interviews with soldiers such as Staff Sgt Karl Ley whose team managed to clear 139 IED's in a 6 month tour.
The book is concise, all of the military jargon is explained and acronyms are expanded. One of the interesting points I picked up from reading this book is how patriotism is changing, maybe only 70 years ago soldiers would be fighting for land, pride and the glory of an empire. Now most of us just fight for each other, we do what we can with the equipment we've got and we try to do whatever it takes to get all our guys back home in 6 months time with all of their limbs and no major injuries. Anything else is seen as failure. I was in Afghanistan myself only last year, part of a 4 man bomb disposal team. The number of IED's found in theatre was at an all time high, casualties were every day and we were working around the clock to clear vital resupply and casualty evacuation routes for troops on the ground, it's an extremely tiring and dangerous job.
All in all this book is informing, I think people will find it enlightening, it's not desensitised, nor is it over exaggerated, it's just reported as it is. Well done Sean.
Afghanistan doesn't get reported in the news so much anymore, with other conflicts in the Arab world taking the focus away; it makes it even easier for the British public to forget what is actually going on at the moment in Helmand Province and why our soldiers are being killed.
Sean Rayment has taking it upon himself to get to the front, take the same risks and endure what the bomb disposal teams endure every day. The book contains a lot of interviews, not only with officers that are trained to answer media questions but with soldiers from private up warrant officer. Interviews with soldiers such as Staff Sgt Karl Ley whose team managed to clear 139 IED's in a 6 month tour.
The book is concise, all of the military jargon is explained and acronyms are expanded. One of the interesting points I picked up from reading this book is how patriotism is changing, maybe only 70 years ago soldiers would be fighting for land, pride and the glory of an empire. Now most of us just fight for each other, we do what we can with the equipment we've got and we try to do whatever it takes to get all our guys back home in 6 months time with all of their limbs and no major injuries. Anything else is seen as failure. I was in Afghanistan myself only last year, part of a 4 man bomb disposal team. The number of IED's found in theatre was at an all time high, casualties were every day and we were working around the clock to clear vital resupply and casualty evacuation routes for troops on the ground, it's an extremely tiring and dangerous job.
All in all this book is informing, I think people will find it enlightening, it's not desensitised, nor is it over exaggerated, it's just reported as it is. Well done Sean.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Very readable
An excellent read highlighting the courage and dedication,not only of the ammo techs,but also the Royal Engineers search teams,ECM operators,drivers,infantry,RMP wis,and the many... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Cruncher
EXPLOSIVE READING
A FANTASTIC BOOK THAT GRIPS YOU FROM THE VERY FIRST PAGE.
HOW THESE MEN DO THE JOB THEY DO IS BEYOND ME . Read more
HOW THESE MEN DO THE JOB THEY DO IS BEYOND ME . Read more
Published 1 month ago by STEVE L
Poorly written only worth it for soldiers opinions.
This book is poorly written and was a real effort to finish. Only thing good in it is reading what the soldiers themselves have to say (which you can still get in other much better... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bundaberg
very good read
purchased this book because my son had a mention in it from the author, at the time he was in Afghanistan with the bomb squad, happily he survived and is now in Germany, very good... Read more
Published 5 months ago by ian
Review
Well worth a read if you want an idea of what the real deal is from a human perspective not the tv reports.
Published 5 months ago by TheCritic
Great Book
This book is great for people who want to know more about what EOD do on a daily basis through out Afghanistan and sometimes a little closer to home. Enjoy!
Published 7 months ago by Ash
Telling it like it is
The Bomb Hunters follows the bravest of the brave, many of whom have since paid in blood. It is not an easy read especially for anyone who has a son or daughter serving in... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. David J. Gould
Bomb Hunters: In Afghanistan with Britain's Elite Bomb Disposal Unit.
Compelling reading. A brilliant book about the unbelievable bravery and dedication of the men
in Bomb Disposal. Strongly recommended.
in Bomb Disposal. Strongly recommended.
Published 11 months ago by Dot
A terrifying task
This is one of the most informative, inspiring and yet sad books that I have read.
Informative in that most of us know little about what goes on in Afghanistan, except... Read more
Informative in that most of us know little about what goes on in Afghanistan, except... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mike France
Nerves of Steel
Bomb Hunters on the Front Line in Afghanistan with the Bravest of the Brave .
Outstanding insite into Bomb Disposel in the most Dangerous place
On Earth . Read more
Outstanding insite into Bomb Disposel in the most Dangerous place
On Earth . Read more
Published 12 months ago by janski
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