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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Operation Certain Death, 8 Aug 2006
Undoubtedly well-researched but the verbal interchanges between the British soldiers are at best irritating and at worst, wholly embarrassing (at times I had to skip full paragraphs). If you have an interest in this event and the history surrounding it then this book is definately worth considering, but only if you can tolerate the constant phonetics used to portray regional accents.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic read, couldn't put the book down., 10 Mar 2004
I have about 10 or more special forces books, from bravo 2 zero to CQB. All of them have been good, some great. Operation certain death was arguably the best and most detailed of them all.The Book brings you straight into the series of events that lead to Operation Barras (aka operation certain death). It starts in Sierra Leone where the Irish Rangers began their ill fated journey and takes you right through the whole military operation that followed in great detail. The auther does a superb job of depeciting the various personalities of soldiers and he explains multiple events at once without the reader getting confused. The author also points out that he has made every effort to ensure the story was depicted as true to the events possible. I am confident this was done also. Most other special forces books I have read have been from one source (the soldier), however the author sourced his information from the many people involved. If you are into the special forces this book is a must read, it is also the most recent story involving the SAS, SBS, RAF and the Parachute Regiment. I have always had alot of respect for these soldiers, this book has increased that. The professionalism that the soldiers display is really something they should be proud of and its reasuring to know that these guys are the ones who are on our side.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
too much flab, 16 Jun 2005
I found all the periferal info and the fictionised sas activities
pre- the raid could havee been totally cut out . that would have left 200 pages of a great read instead of an extra 400 pages of waffle
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8 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
The detailed and personal account of a recent SAS/SBS ops., 8 Mar 2004
The book is a fascinating read about the rescue of a group of British Soldiers taken hostage by a murderous rebel group in Sierra Leone's jungle in 2000. From the time the hostages are taken, the book runs a parallel time-line between the personal stories of the hostages and the men of the SAS & SBS who are assigned to spearhead their rescue. The book culminates in the rescue mission, which is so detailed, & spectacular that only Hollywood could better it!
But, this isn't fiction! I was pleasantly surprised how easy I got into the book despite not having much prior knowledge about Sierre Leone, its recent history or the actual rescue operation. By mixing the personal stories with the historical and political facts, the author has not only managed to capture the drama, emotions and details of the event but put them in context and thereby making the book more then just a recollection of individual stories. Damien Lewis has included a postscript that takes on 'Michael Moore'ish' perspective in the simple questions he raises and the conclusions he draws. Can't wait for the documentary and/or feature film to be released.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Not good, 27 Dec 2007
Whilst the story is gripping and no doubt well researched, by the author's admission some of the details especially surrounding the special forces is entirely fictional. As mentioned by another reviewer, the conversations between troopers is downright dire. I can only assume this is where the author ran out of imaginative dialogue to put down on paper. To cap it all off towards the end of the book the author switches from past tense to present tense. Why on earth this is done i have no idea as it completely breaks the narrative flow and adds nothing to the story. It would have been a lot better to stick to the known facts than to start imagining godawful dialogue to put into the story.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Uncelebrated triumph, 12 Mar 2004
By A Customer
As a graphic and detailed look at one of the most succesful and largely un-commented on special forces operations of recent times, the book does remarkably well. The book has a quick pace without losing detail, and the author does manage to move between the main protaganists and geographical areas without losing clarity. The sections detailing how the plans for the rescue were drawn up and finalised give a good insight into the working practices behind this kind of military operation.
The main problem with the book comes from the authors bad idea to write accents as they would sound. I know what an accent is, he didn't need to phonetically spell all their spoken words.
Still, this is a good book, that reads like a hollywood movie, and tells a tale that anyone,not just those into SAS type books can be gripped with.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Almost 5 stars..., 11 Jan 2006
Damien Lewis is a very good narrator of non-fiction war stories. This is an extremely interesting account of the situation in Sierra Leone, the events leading to and during the kidnap, the planning and the execution of the rescue. The aftermath is also examined including an analysis of the legitimacy of private military companies (mercenaries, in other words) to keep the peace in Africa. This represents the bulk of the book and makes it worth buying for this alone.However, where the book falls down a bit is the fictionalised accounts of the day to day lives of the rescuing soldiers and the inter-hostage banter. Talented as Lewis is at writing about and commenting on real events, he struggles badly at recreating the atmosphere and camaraderie of being a soldier, either in leisure or about to be sent into difficult situations. Scenes which are, presumably, supposed to show them as tough-but-cheeky chappies are frankly embarrassing. The firing range scene, the coke bottle bombs etc. The dialogue is clichéd and wooden (and written phonetically, except where officers are involved, in a bad attempt to recreate Glaswegian, cockney or Belfast accents). Speaking as a former British soldier, I just hope that people reading this recognises that the author is just plain terrible at this sort of writing and the British army isn’t really composed of such apparent nerds. The somewhat cringe-making title of the book should give you a measure of the fiction aspect of this book. However, that is a small part of an otherwise excellent book. More than three quarters of this book is worth five stars.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Mixed Feelings, 14 Nov 2004
There is no question that Mr. Lewis produced a compelling read about one of the most daring and successful special operations missions in recent times. As the narrative of the capture of a Royal Irish Regiment patrol by the brutal drugged-out West Side N------ gang moves along, Lewis woves in the background of the troubles that had plagued Sierra Leone in the 1990s. However, my problem with Lewis' account is his admission that he has essentially fictionalized much of the telling of the actions of the SAS and SBS force sent in to rescue the captured patrol. Considering that these men are at the heart of the mission, "fictionalizing" elements in a true story causes concerns for a historian like myself (It reminds me of the controvery of Edmund Morris who did a similar thing with his biography of Ronald Reagan). Now, I can easily guess why Lewis did this--British Special Forces are one of the most secretive forces in the world and perhaps his SAS sources would not have talked to him had he not promised to "fudge" much of the details. I read these passages desperately hoping that Lewis was keeping to the essence of what his sources told him. But there is no such assurance in his introduction. Instead, you read a vigorous defense for his fictionalization. Having just received William Fowler's account of British operations in Sierra Leone, there also seems to be a discrepency in the spelling of the last name of the Royal Irish patrol commander. Again, this is not good from a historian's aspect--one of these writers must have erred. Another thing that bothered me about Lewis' account was his short shrift of 1 Para's fight against the West Side element at Magbeni village. This receives scant mention in comparison to his retelling of the SAS/SBS attack on Gbeni Village to free the hostages. Finally, there is a long appendex in which Lewis argues fro Professional Military Companies (PMCs) to fill the gap in the Third World left by UN vacillation and Western unwillingess to commit forces. Fair enough, but Lewis should have left that for an op-ed or another book. Now, all that said, I do recommend Lewis' account if (a big IF) I could be assured that his SAS accounts are based in truth and he's only "fictionalized" to protect names or sources. If not, then I fear perhaps that those parts of the book make great adventure reading but little else.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Gripping stuff!!!, 31 Aug 2004
By A Customer
I have read many SAS books, and although you have to take most of them with a pinch of salt (according to many SAS authors writting about other SAS authors) - this is exciting, gripping stuff. The bad guys are really evil and deserve what they get - no sympathy felt for them whatsoever - SAS 1, bad guys 0. Easy to read - exciting and great description of the characters involved so that you really do care what happens to them. One of the best SAS books that I've read!
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Operation Certain Death, 24 Mar 2004
By A Customer
A good book but I found his interpretation of Irish, Scottish and African accents amongst others into a phonetic English unreadable, so you find yourself skipping whole paragraphs to get on with the real story. I would hope that the real SAS are more serious and sensible than the beer swilling yobs he would have us believe.
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