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Squaddie: A Soldier's Story
 
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Squaddie: A Soldier's Story (Paperback)

by Steven McLaughlin (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Mainstream Publishing; New edition edition (3 May 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1845962427
  • ISBN-13: 978-1845962425
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 16,298 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #11 in  Books > History > Military History > Military Life & Institutions
    #25 in  Books > History > Military History > Strategy, Tactics & Military Science
    #47 in  Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Military

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Product Description

Product Description
From the harsh realities of basic training to post-war chaos in Iraq and knife-edge tension in Northern Ireland, "Squaddie" takes us to a place not advertised in army recruitment brochures. It exposes the grim reality of everyday soldiering for the 'grunts on the ground'. After the tragic death of his brother, and in the dark days following 9/11, McLaughlin felt compelled to fulfil his lifelong ambition to serve in the army. He followed his late brother into the elite Royal Green Jackets and passed the arduous Combat Infantryman's Course at the age of 31. Thereafter, McLaughlin found himself submerged in a world of casual violence. Squaddie is a snapshot of infantry soldiering in the twenty-first century. It takes us into the heart of an ancient institution that is struggling to retain its tough traditions in a rapidly changing world. All of the fears and anxieties that the modern soldier carries as his burden are laid bare, as well as the occasional joys and triumphs that can make him feel like he is doing the best job in the world. This is an account of army life by someone who has been there and done it.

From the Publisher
A disturbing and shocking account of the brutal hardships that soldiers endure and the violence that permeates army life

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Customer Reviews

28 Reviews
5 star:
 (19)
4 star:
 (5)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (3)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (28 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars 'Squaddie' is the British 'Jarhead' - but better!, 3 Jun 2006
This review is from: Squaddie: A Soldier's Story (Paperback)
At long last a book that tells us what it is really like to be one of HM's soldier's at the sharp end! Having read well over a dozen SAS books and numerous ex-Colonels accounts i was begining to despair of ever finding a book that showed what plain, dirty old fashioned soldiering is all about - until i discovered this gem.

Squaddie is not about supermen diving through windows or marching hundreds of miles on bleeding feet, but about the very unglamourous and frequently violent existance of everyday infantry troops at home and abroad - in this case the Royal Green Jackets.

No stone is left unturned, and in great detail Mclaughlin takes us on a often hilarious journey through a tough basic training, daily barracks life and culture, and a chaotic Iraq tour, finishing with a sharp insight into the modern-day Northern Ireland operational tour.
His honesty is both painfull and apealing, such as when told he was off to Iraq, he confessess his immediate response was 'bollocks to winning medals' and how 'the s..t was pouring out of him' as departure day loomed.

Squaddie is a grimly bleak and humourous account of life at the sharp-end in the British infantry, and i can not commend it highly enough - read it and you will understand just what our soldiers have to go through on a daily basis.
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The essence of being a Squaddie laid bare., 4 Oct 2006
This review is from: Squaddie: A Soldier's Story (Paperback)
Squaddie is without doubt the most original soldier's story of recent times; it is long overdue and most welcome, particularly for anyone who has ever served in the British Infantry. I myself served eight satisfying years in the QLR and left as a Platoon Sergeant, but until now I had never read a book that accurately captured the Squaddie experience - both the good, bad, and truly awful bits too!

The level of detail that McLaughlin goes into is astounding, and whether he is describing weapons systems, basic training, battalion life or operational tours - his descriptions are always bang-on, totally convincing, and unnervingly accurate. Several times reading this book I had to put it down and have a little daydream, such is the level of personal recall it stirred inside.

Those of us who have been there will know what he is talking about; being beasted around Catterick by depot-screws, trying to reassemble an SA80 in the field and losing your camstud, scraping the carbon off a Gimpy when your hands are so cold you just want to curl up and die, platoon mongs and stag bitches, etc - I swear this book took me right back in an instant.

In this day and age of overblown and exaggerated Special Forces accounts it's refreshing to see an ordinary soldier embracing his experience and celebrating the sheer bloody grind of being an Infantryman. What I particularly liked about this book is the total lack of heroics and the grim honesty with which the author appraises his own fears and weaknesses - and he confesses to many. McLaughlin is his own severest critic and openly admits his failings, going so far as to show himself in an extremely bad light at times - unlike other `heroes' we could mention.

As with himself, McLaughlin is a tough but fair judge regarding his comrades and regiment. Overall he gives a very good impression of the Royal Green Jackets and he has done them a great service with this book - certainly I would be happy for my son to join them. Yes there are a few `bad apples', but this is the Infantry for God's sake, and none of us should be surprised - that's life!

Totally believable, bang up to date, unpretentious, and a fine testament to a great regiment from one of its own - Squaddie does exactly what it says on the tin and I heartily recommend it.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The voice of the Squaddies. , 4 Jun 2006
This review is from: Squaddie: A Soldier's Story (Paperback)
This book was recommended to me by a pal who served in the authors regiment(Royal Green Jackets) many years ago, and i have to say i can now see why! The book is a brutally honest and at times extremely disturbing portrait of life in the lower ranks of the infantry.
If your looking for a tale of heroic leadership under enemy fire then i am afraid 'Squaddie' is not the book for you, and you will be very dissapointed. But if you want to know how it really is - both the good bits and the bad - then give it a whirl. Mclaughlin's book should be made compulsary reading for the following people:

Schoolboy dropouts searching for an identity and trying to escape from an abusive steparent - as Mclaughlin clearly was.

Privately educated and privaleged Sandhurst cadets who want to understand and motivate their men - take note Prince Harry!

Concerned parents worried about teenage boys being taken in by recruitment sgt's tales of skiing and surfing - only to end up in Iraq.

And anybody else with merely a passing interest in the army. The book would make a good film and i look forward to maybe seeing that come about. One thing is for certian, the working-class British Squaddies now have a voice, and about time too.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars squaddie
the book was in a decent condition and arrived within a couple of days, also an excellent read for anybody wanting to know about the british army.
Published 3 days ago by Steven L. Ansell

5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice man
I met the author of this book in Waterstones in Carlisle today. Wish I'd bought the book then and there- currently ordering it online now instead. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ms. K. E. Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Squaddie a soldiers story
Truly great read,not your normal gung ho saga,you get the feeling you are there brings to non service personell a view of what service life is all about, the dedication,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by wakey lad

5.0 out of 5 stars honest and informative
Comparisons with Jarhead are innacurate. Swofford was a naive boy when he joined the Marines, McLaughlin was a man with a fair idea what he was letting himslef in for. Read more
Published 6 months ago by GoNavy

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic read
This was certainly one of the best books I have ever read, and would recommends to anyone who likes to enter into the world of war. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. James Stuart Morrison

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad & a good weekend read.
This book was recommended by a mate, also an ex squadde.

At first I was chuckling away, sympathising over all the pain, hardship & the "bull" you have to put up with,... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Mr. R. J. Yeates

5.0 out of 5 stars The sharp end of Squaddie culture
This is a great military story about the reality of everyday life for a professional soldier in the British Army. Read more
Published 22 months ago by R Strunk (ex DWR)

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst soldiers account written
I find it quite hard to believe that this book was ever published. It is written by a soldier with only 3 years experience, 6 months of which was in basic training. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. Sp Nelson

5.0 out of 5 stars Squaddie
This book really gives a good description of life in a British infantry regiment. It brought back memories of being in Belfast and and on active service. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. J. W. Howarth

4.0 out of 5 stars AN INTERSTING BLOKE
This book is a good easy read, McLaughlin's time in the army will be well recognised by anyone who has served or is still serving. Some funny stories. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Tommy Atkins

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