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Bravo Two Zero: The true story of an SAS Patrol behind enemy lines in Iraq [Paperback]

Andy McNab
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)

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Book Description

1 Sep 1994

In January 1991, eight members of the SAS regiment embarked upon a top secret mission that was to infiltrate them deep behind enemy lines. Under the command of Sergeant Andy McNab, they were to sever the underground communication link between Baghdad and north-west Iraq, and to seek and destroy mobile Scud launchers. Their call sign: BRAVO TWO ZERO.

Each man laden with 15 stone of equipment, they patrolled 20km across flat desert to reach their objective. Within days, their location was compromised. After a fierce fire fight, they were forced to escape and evade on foot to the Syrian border. In the desperate action that followed, though stricken by hypothermia and other injuries, the patrol 'went ballistic'. Four men were captured. Three died. Only one escaped. For the survivors, however, the worst ordeals were to come. Delivered to Baghdad, they were tortured with a savagery for which not even their intensive SAS training had prepared them.

Bravo Two Zero is a breathtaking account of Special Forces soldiering: a chronicle of superhuman courage, endurance and dark humour in the face of overwhelming odds.



Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi; New edition edition (1 Sep 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0552141275
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552141277
  • Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 3.4 x 18 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 123,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"A gripping account of special forces at work...a tremendous adventure story" (Duff Hart-Davis Daily Telegraph )

"Superhuman endurance, horrendous torture, desperate odds - unparalleled revelations" (Daily Mail )

"One of the most extraordinary examples of human courage and survival in modern warfare" (The Times )

"The best account yet of the SAS in action" (James Adams Sunday Times )

"One of the best books to emerge from the first Gulf War...Magnificent" (John Nichol Independent on Sunday )

Book Description

A classic of modern war literature

Inside This Book (Learn More)
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First Sentence
Within hours of Iraqi troops and armor rolling across the border with Kuwait at 0200 local time on August 2, 1990, the Regiment was preparing itself for desert operations. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book - definately *based* on a true story 7 April 2008
Format:Paperback
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.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Warts & all 4 Sep 2007
Format:Paperback
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.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars McNab's first work of fiction 18 Jun 2008
By ChrisMR
Format:Hardcover
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Cracking good story!
Bravo Two Zero: Mcnab's best perhaps, although not entirely non/fiction or is that fiction? A cracking read none the less. Highly recomended.
Published 27 days ago by Avid Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opener
I thought this was a fantastic read, I have a keen interest in the military and am immensely proud of what our men and women in uniform do. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Andy Jay
5.0 out of 5 stars Heard a lot about it but never read it
This sort of book i can really enjoy and Andy McNab did not dissapoint, his writing has the experience of a serving soilder who has suffered the horrors of combat.
Published 1 month ago by steveturney
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good read
This book had me enthralled from the start to the finish. Hard to read at times - especially the interrogation sections, but Andy manages to take you along on his journey at a fast... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Regi
5.0 out of 5 stars What can I say
This man is the bees knees when it comes to writing. He has had a most interesting life up till now and describes it with unflinching honesty.
Published 2 months ago by L. Webb
4.0 out of 5 stars Page turner
It's been a while since I read a book from start to finish in such a short time but this made compulsive reading. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Martin Ingles
4.0 out of 5 stars Classic.
Very classic book. Interesting insight to the work of the greatest British Institute in the army. Very enjoyable read. Would recommend it.
Published 4 months ago by Mr Daniel James Gunn
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read - hard to put down
Excellent from start to finish.

Very hard to put down.

If it was me, I would have been rubbish. These guys are something else
Published 4 months ago by jimbo 1983
4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
A must read for sure. You can almost journey with the
soilders. A real good war book. Fantastic book with no doubt
Published 4 months ago by Barbara Wendy Dyer
4.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, but really good *spoilers*
I don't really go for military books, but my father-in-law recommended this one and of course I had heard about it through the press and whatnot, so I gave it a go. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. C. F. Cochrane
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