An Ordinary Soldier
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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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--The Sunday Times, October 26,2008 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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 a small unit up against a ferocious enemy in impossible conditions.For his repeated bravery Doug Beattie was decorated with the Military Cross. AN 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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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling account of the Afghan conflict.,
By Pedros "Senna" (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: An Ordinary Soldier: Afghanistan: A Ferocious Enemy. A Bloody Conflict. One Man's Impossible Mission (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.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Candid, honest and an awe-inspiring story,
By
This review is from: An Ordinary Soldier: Afghanistan: A Ferocious Enemy. A Bloody Conflict. One Man's Impossible Mission (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.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly heartfelt account of modern warfare,
By Mr. Tristan Martin (Hertfordshire, UK) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: An Ordinary Soldier: Afghanistan: A Ferocious Enemy. A Bloody Conflict. One Man's Impossible Mission (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.
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