- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd; First Edition, First Impression edition (6 Oct 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1847373763
- ISBN-13: 978-1847373762
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
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- #49 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Asia > Central Asia > Afghanistan
An Ordinary Soldier
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Product Description
Review
A riveting read...One of the strengths of the book is Beattie's description of working with the Afghans
--The Sunday Times, October 26,2008
--The Sunday Times, October 26,2008
Product Description
On 11th September 2006 - exactly five years after the attacks on the Twin Towers - a modern day Rorke's Drift was played out in the town of Garmsir, known as the Taliban gateway to Helmand Province. 40-year-old Capt. Doug Beattie of the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment was charged with the mission to help retake Garmsir from the Taliban. His commanders said it would take two days; it actually took two weeks of exhausting, bloody conflict in which at times he would be one of only three men up against a ferocious enemy in impossible conditions. His wife thought he had taken a desk job - instead he was leading from the front, fighting for his life, trying to stand firm against an overwhelming onslaught. For his repeated bravery Doug Beattie was decorated with the Military Cross. This thrilling, modern war story is alternately shocking, thoughtful, even humorous, but always unflinchingly candid. Beattie never shrinks from portraying the horrors of war and his role in them, but the maturity of voice and heartfelt honesty sets this book apart from other military memoirs.A N ORDINARY SOLDIER offers an extraordinary insight into the mission in Afghanistan and, crucially, the relationship between British troops and the Afghans they serve alongside. Above all, it's Beattie's personal story of being what he modestly calls 'an ordinary soldier' - someone who balances being a loving father and husband with that of fighting in the world's most hostile place. It demands to be read.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
If I had to list my top ten war books this would be up there. Well written with well documented facts and accounts of fierce fighting that rate as one of the best ever written from this conflict. Certainly as good as Sniper one and eight lives down from the Iraq war this will find a place onto many book shelves to be read and reread.
Like so many war books this is not for the faint hearted.
I have just been told that Doug Beattie has cancelled his book signing date with waterstones in Colchester due to the numbers of soldiers coming back wounded and says he will show them some respect.
This should truly deserve our respect for them and for Doug.
Just for them....read this book. It will give all a true reflection of our boys, their commitment to the cause and why we should all respect that.
Like so many war books this is not for the faint hearted.
I have just been told that Doug Beattie has cancelled his book signing date with waterstones in Colchester due to the numbers of soldiers coming back wounded and says he will show them some respect.
This should truly deserve our respect for them and for Doug.
Just for them....read this book. It will give all a true reflection of our boys, their commitment to the cause and why we should all respect that.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Author Doug Beattie won a Military Cross for his actions described in this book, which take place in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, 2006. You might therefore expect some ferocious combat in his book, An Ordinary Soldier and you certainly get that but also something else that is often missing from other military memoirs: emotional honesty.
Beattie lays himself open to the reader, describing his actions - sending men off to fight and sometimes die, calling in merciless air support to batter other people, shooting wounded soldiers and so forth - in describing these, he is highly self-critical: are these the right things to do? Are these actions comparable to the Nazis? Can I still retain my humanity? Am I the same person? This reflection is both honest, candid and laudable.
Another facet of Beattie's book that is commendable is how he describes the relationship betwixt the British forces and the Afghanis who choose to fight alongside them: passionate but disorganised, poor but generous; some he admires a great deal, others he cannot stand.
As with other books describing the war in Afghanistan, one wonders just what we are doing out there, what we are actually achieving at such a cost of lives, both Afghanis and British? Beattie seems to get bogged down in a series of firefights, attempting to dominate land, only then having to relinquish it; nothing but the spilling of much blood seems to be the end result. There are certainly no military victories, much less any "nation-building" to describe.
Doug Beattie's book, An Ordinary Soldier, will be familiar to readers of the genre in terms of the military aspects portrayed therein and as such does not sufficiently differentiate itself from other titles. Where he leaves his mark is in the arena of self-criticism, the candid and unflinching contemplation of his actions. Beattie makes evident that the British infantryman is no mindless automaton but one who is capable of retaining his humanity in the worst of conditions.
Beattie lays himself open to the reader, describing his actions - sending men off to fight and sometimes die, calling in merciless air support to batter other people, shooting wounded soldiers and so forth - in describing these, he is highly self-critical: are these the right things to do? Are these actions comparable to the Nazis? Can I still retain my humanity? Am I the same person? This reflection is both honest, candid and laudable.
Another facet of Beattie's book that is commendable is how he describes the relationship betwixt the British forces and the Afghanis who choose to fight alongside them: passionate but disorganised, poor but generous; some he admires a great deal, others he cannot stand.
As with other books describing the war in Afghanistan, one wonders just what we are doing out there, what we are actually achieving at such a cost of lives, both Afghanis and British? Beattie seems to get bogged down in a series of firefights, attempting to dominate land, only then having to relinquish it; nothing but the spilling of much blood seems to be the end result. There are certainly no military victories, much less any "nation-building" to describe.
Doug Beattie's book, An Ordinary Soldier, will be familiar to readers of the genre in terms of the military aspects portrayed therein and as such does not sufficiently differentiate itself from other titles. Where he leaves his mark is in the arena of self-criticism, the candid and unflinching contemplation of his actions. Beattie makes evident that the British infantryman is no mindless automaton but one who is capable of retaining his humanity in the worst of conditions.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Superb insider's account of life in the UK military inside Afghanistan that tells it how it is from a soldier's perspective - and ignore the modesty in the title - for truly this is no ordinary soldier but a heroic one. Written with a mature viewpoint that avoids cliche and sensationalism, this is a book that educates, informs, and brings home the reality of war in a way not often available in other media.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An excellent read about amazing feats
I have read many true accounts of various conflicts involving British Forces and I would rate this as one of the top ones, what really suprises me is how he managed to stay alive... Read more
Published 6 days ago by graham
Credible or Incredible
Doug Beatties's account of his life before and during his army career is the same life story of young men told UK wide, less off course his own predicament in Gramsir. Read more
Published 2 months ago by BookMark
Should be compulsory reading for politicians sending men and women to...
I recently bought this book, not simply because I have always appreciated true stories of courage and heroism in war, but also because a nephew of mine recently returned from... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Roger an old romantic
ORDINARY SOLIDIER
After 25 yrs in the service of her Majesty, i read this an Doug Bettie's Task Force Helmand in two days. Read more
Published 9 months ago by 24254939
Intriguing..
I should start off by saying that I am a pacifist and largely disagree with developed countries' "politics" towards the so-called non-developed world. Read more
Published 9 months ago by fiesemoep
An Ordinary Soldier
A brilliant book. An amazing account of life on the front line by a truly courageous soldier and leader of men.
Strongly recommended.
Strongly recommended.
Published 11 months ago by Dot
Action packed and gripping
Again another eye opener on what men and women are facing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lots of detail and action. A good read
Published 12 months ago by Mr. N. J. Farmer
As a rule I do not read contemporary war books - but......
I had just finished a book about the 1st Afghan war in the 19th century and was searching for some further reading on the other British-Afghan wars of the 19th century when I came... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Noel
Down to earth account of the war
This book is surprising for one main reason, for once an officer who writes about the true horrors of war and the difficulties and internal conflicts that comes with. Read more
Published 15 months ago by KJ
Excellent
Excellent, well written book. Puts you right there in the thick of it with him. Had to go straight out and buy Task Force Helmand after this. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Burnin'-rubber
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